{"id":3493,"date":"2022-06-29T16:58:24","date_gmt":"2022-06-29T16:58:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/?p=3493"},"modified":"2022-06-29T16:58:24","modified_gmt":"2022-06-29T16:58:24","slug":"dont-cry-over-spilled-milk-meaning","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/dont-cry-over-spilled-milk-meaning\/","title":{"rendered":"Don\u2019t Cry over Spilled Milk \u2013 Meaning, Origin and Usage"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Are you looking for a way to tell someone to stop feeling sorry for themselves or their regrets? If so, you could say \u201c<em>don\u2019t cry over spilled milk<\/em>\u201d to get them to move past their frustration. This post unpacks the meaning and origin of this expression.<\/p>\n<h2>Meaning<\/h2>\n<p><strong>The expression \u201c<em>don\u2019t cry over spilled milk<\/em>\u201d means don\u2019t wallow in sorrow or frustration over past events.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Hindsight is always 20\/20, and there is no point obsessing over things that happen in the past. We can\u2019t control the past, and we can\u2019t change it, so thinking and dwelling on past mistakes are pointless.<\/p>\n<p>\u201c<em>Don\u2019t cry over spilled milk<\/em>\u201d tells someone that they need to focus on the future and forget about the past.<\/p>\n<p>Wallowing in guilt or self-pity won\u2019t get you anywhere and may damage your mental health and attitude. When you say \u201c<em>don\u2019t cry over spilled milk<\/em>,\u201d you\u2019re telling the person to cheer up and face the future.<\/p>\n<h2>Example Usage<\/h2>\n<p>\u201cDon\u2019t cry over spilled milk, Cathy. It\u2019s not your fault your hedge fund lost 95% of its inflows from bad stock picks; you\u2019ll make a comeback.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI felt sorry for leaving that guy at the bus stop. Don\u2019t cry over spilled milk, I guess. I didn\u2019t want him in the car with me anyway.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDon\u2019t cry over spilled Milk, Arianna. There\u2019s nothing you can do to change the situation. Just let it go and move on with your life.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOne of the best pieces of advice I ever got was don\u2019t cry over spilled milk. What is in the past is in the past, and we can\u2019t change it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhy are you still fuming over that? Don\u2019t cry over spilled milk; there\u2019s nothing you can do about it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI know you\u2019re still angry about how things went, but don\u2019t cry over spoiled milk. You\u2019ll get them next time.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere\u2019s no sense in crying over spilled milk. Pick yourself up and move on with things.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCrying over spilled milk never did anyone any good. Get over the loss and move forward, or you\u2019ll get stuck in the mud.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-3494\" src=\"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/Dont-Cry-over-Spilled-Milk.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"229\" height=\"172\" \/> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-3495\" src=\"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/Dont-Cry-over-Spilled-Milk2.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"233\" height=\"155\" \/><\/p>\n<h2>Origin<\/h2>\n<p>This expression has disputed origins. Language experts believe there are two possible origin stories for the saying. The first involves a book, published in 1888, telling the tale of a man who was the victim of a robbery. Despite the unfavorable outcome, the man says, \u201cIt was no use, however, crying over spilt milk.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The second origin story for this expression comes from author James Howell, who wrote \u201cParamoigraphy\u201d in 1659, where he wrote the saying \u201cNo weeping for shed milk.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Don&#039;t Cry Over Spilled (Spilt) Milk | English Idioms &amp; Phrases | Spilt vs. Spilled\" width=\"512\" height=\"288\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/29xiFS9ihZs?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<h2>Phrases Similar to Don\u2019t Cry over Spilled Milk<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Don\u2019t get your panties in a bunch.<\/li>\n<li>Let it go.<\/li>\n<li>Shed tears over.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Phrases Opposite to Don\u2019t Cry over Spilled Milk<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Remember the time.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>What is the Correct Saying?<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Don\u2019t cry over spilled milk.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Ways People May Say Don\u2019t Cry over Spilled Milk Incorrectly<\/h2>\n<p>The phrase has nothing to do with spilling milk or crying. In this case, crying is a response to a feeling of negative emotion, and the crying in this idiom is a person complaining about an outcome they didn\u2019t expect.<\/p>\n<h2>Acceptable Ways to Phrase Don\u2019t Cry over Spilled Milk<\/h2>\n<p>You can use the phrase, \u201cdon\u2019t cry over spilled milk,\u201d when telling someone to let go of the past and move on with their life. The person might be stewing in guilt, living in fear, or feeling angry at someone or something.<\/p>\n<p>The expression serves as a way to tell them to calm down and let the situation go. There is nothing they can do to change the past, and they need to handle the outcome, even if it wasn\u2019t their fault.<\/p>\n<p>The phrase suits professional and social use. Use it at the office to tell a colleague to stop beating themselves up about losing a sale. Use it at home to tell your kids to stop complaining about losing their favorite toy at the park.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p class=\"mb-2\">Are you looking for a way to tell someone to stop feeling sorry for themselves or their regrets? If so, you could say \u201cdon\u2019t cry over spilled milk\u201d to get them to move past their frustration. This post unpacks the meaning and origin of this expression. Meaning The expression \u201cdon\u2019t cry over spilled milk\u201d means [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3493"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3493"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3493\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5096,"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3493\/revisions\/5096"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3493"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3493"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3493"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}