What's done is done
"What's done is done" is a common phrase in English. The expression uses the word "done" in the sense of "ended" or "settled", a usage which dates back to the first half of the 1400s.[1] The transliterated Hebrew version of the phrase is "Et Hanaaseh Ein Lehashiv"[2] and the transliterated Spanish version of the phrase is "A lo hecho, pecho"[3]
Meaning
It usually means something along the line of: the consequence of situation (which was once within your control), is now out of your control, that is, "there's no changing the past, so forget about it.".
Etymology
One of the first uses of this term was by Shakespeare's character Lady Macbeth in Macbeth who said: "Things without all remedy Should be without regard: what's done, is done"[4] and "Give me your hand. What’s done cannot be undone.—To bed, to bed, to bed!" [5]Though Shakespeare used the term, he did not coin it. It is actually a derivative of the early 14th Century French proverb: "Mez quant ja est la chose fecte, ne peut pas bien estre desfecte", which is translated in English as "But when a thing is already done, it cannot be undone".[6]
References
- ^ "What does "what's done is done" mean?". Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Retrieved December 06, 2011.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=(help) - ^ "Et Hanaaseh Ein Lehashiv". Retrieved December 06, 2011.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=(help) - ^ "Details: "What's done is done / A lo hecho, pecho"". Curiosity Media, Inc. Mar 20, 2010. Retrieved December 06, 2011.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=(help) - ^ "What's done is done - Shakespeare Quotes". eNotes.com, Inc. Retrieved December 06, 2011.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=(help) - ^ "Macbeth: Act 5, Scene 1, Page 3". SparkNotes LLC. Retrieved December 06, 2011.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=(help) - ^ Bruce, Elyse (June 29, 2010). "What's Done Is Done". Retrieved December 06, 2011.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=(help)