{"id":5975,"date":"2022-09-03T19:41:34","date_gmt":"2022-09-03T19:41:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/?p=5975"},"modified":"2022-09-03T19:41:34","modified_gmt":"2022-09-03T19:41:34","slug":"water-under-the-bridge-meaning","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/water-under-the-bridge-meaning\/","title":{"rendered":"Water Under the Bridge \u2013 Meaning, Origin and Usage"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Did someone just apologize to you for doing you wrong? If you feel like forgiving them, you could use the phrase <strong><em>\u2018water under the bridge\u2019<\/em><\/strong> to let them know you don\u2019t have a problem with them and that you appreciate the apology.<\/p>\n<p>This post unpacks the meaning and origin of this expression.<\/p>\n<h2>Meaning<\/h2>\n<p>The expression <em>\u2018water under the bridge\u2019<\/em> is usually a response to someone apologizing to you for something. The person appears genuine in their apology, and you are willing to forgive them for their transgressions.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s a way of telling the person that you want to put the events behind you and move forward without holding a grudge against them. You're telling the person that bygones are bygones, and what happened in the past stays in the past.<\/p>\n<p><em>\u2018Water under the bridge\u2019<\/em> means you don\u2019t hold the actions or words of the other person against them, and you don\u2019t feel it's something worth falling out over.<\/p>\n<h2>Example Usage<\/h2>\n<p>\u201cI appreciate your apology, thank you. It\u2019s water under the bridge, and we shouldn\u2019t let that ruin our friendship. Bygones are bygones, and let's move forward in life.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf you man up and apologize, you\u2019ll probably find he doesn\u2019t care about it. If he says it's water under the bridge, you know you\u2019re all good with him.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s okay. I won\u2019t hold it against you. I know you were drunk and weren\u2019t thinking about what you were saying. It\u2019s water under the bridge.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-5976\" src=\"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/Water-Under-the-Bridge-300x232.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"289\" height=\"224\" srcset=\"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/Water-Under-the-Bridge-300x232.jpg 300w, https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/Water-Under-the-Bridge.jpg 461w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 289px) 100vw, 289px\" \/> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-5977\" src=\"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/Water-Under-the-Bridge2-244x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"182\" height=\"224\" srcset=\"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/Water-Under-the-Bridge2-244x300.jpg 244w, https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/Water-Under-the-Bridge2.jpg 352w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 182px) 100vw, 182px\" \/><\/p>\n<h2>Origin<\/h2>\n<p>The expression 'water under the bridge' originated in the 1900s. The proverb's original format is 'A lot of water has flowed over the dam.' There are two variations of the saying. 'water under the bridge,' used by the British, and 'water over the dam' used by Americans.<\/p>\n<p>'Water under the bridge' is the original version, and Americans adopted the phrase, changing it to their version in the following decades. Language experts are unsure of the exact date the term appeared, its first use in print, and who coined the expression.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Water Under the Bridge (Meaning and Use)\" width=\"512\" height=\"288\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/4zDD1HLRZbc?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<h2>Phrases Similar to Water Under the Bridge<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Let bygones be bygones.<\/li>\n<li>No worries.<\/li>\n<li>I forgive you.<\/li>\n<li>It\u2019s all good.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Phrases Opposite to Water Under the Bridge<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>I refuse to forgive you.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>What is the Correct Saying?<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Water under the bridge.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Ways People May Say Water Under the Bridge Incorrectly<\/h2>\n<p>The phrase has nothing to do with water or bridges. Using it to describe rivers or water following under bridges is incorrect. The \u2018water\u2019 in this case is the transgression, and the bridge is your relationship with the person.<\/p>\n<h2>Acceptable Ways to Phrase Water Under the Bridge<\/h2>\n<p>You can use the phrase \u2018water under the bridge\u2019 when you want to tell someone that you\u2019re not going to hold previous words or actions they said against you as a grudge. Typically, you\u2019ll use this phrase when replying to someone apologizing to you.<\/p>\n<p>The phrase suits social and professional use. Use it with friends when they apologize for insulting you or at work when your manager apologizes for treating you unfairly. \u2018Water under the bridge\u2019 is another way of telling someone that you forgive them and don\u2019t hold their transgressions against them. You can use it when you want to tell someone you\u2019re wiping the slate clean.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p class=\"mb-2\">Did someone just apologize to you for doing you wrong? If you feel like forgiving them, you could use the phrase \u2018water under the bridge\u2019 to let them know you don\u2019t have a problem with them and that you appreciate the apology. This post unpacks the meaning and origin of this expression. Meaning The expression [&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\/5975"}],"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=5975"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5975\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8303,"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5975\/revisions\/8303"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5975"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5975"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5975"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}