What's done is done
"What's done is done" is an idiom in English.
The expression uses the word "done" in the sense of "finished" or "settled", a usage which dates back to the first half of the 15th century.[1]
Meaning
no
Etymology
One of the first-recorded uses of this phrase was by the character Lady Macbeth in the tragedy play Macbeth (early 17th century), by the English playwright William Shakespeare, who said: "Things without all remedy Should be without regard: what's done, is done"[2] and "Give me your hand. What's done cannot be undone. – To bed, to bed, to bed!"[3]
Shakespeare did not coin the phrase; 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 into English as "But when a thing is already done, it cannot be undone".[4]
See also
References
- ^ "What does "what's done is done" mean?". Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company (via yourdictionary.com). Retrieved December 6, 2011.
- ^ "What's Done is Done – Shakespeare Quotes". eNotes. Retrieved December 6, 2011.
- ^ "Macbeth: Act 5, Scene 1, Page 3". SparkNotes. Retrieved December 6, 2011.
- ^ Bruce, Elyse (June 29, 2010). "What's Done Is Done". Idiomation (via WordPress. Retrieved December 6, 2011.