"Spilt Milk" Idiom Meaning, Origin & History | Superduper English Idioms
Channel: Superduper English Idioms
Date: 15/03/2021

0:00 - How to Say, “Spilt milk.”
0:38 - Examples of “Spilt milk.”
1:28 - Meaning of “Spilt milk.”
2:25 - Origin of “Spilt milk.”
4:00 - More Examples of “Spilt milk.”
4:54 - Conclusion

“Spilt milk.”

When someone says, “spilt milk”, they mean that something has been done and cannot be reversed, changed, undone.

You may also hear the complete version of this idiom, “Don’t cry over spilt milk,” which has the additional meaning that since things can’t be undone, there’s no use in being upset.

“Spilt milk. We’ll just have to get a new one,” your partner might say after she sees how upset you are at breaking something.

Maybe your friend is telling you how he spent an extra year in college, “If I had been more studious, I would’ve graduated sooner. I guess it’s spilt milk, though…”

“Don’t cry over spilt milk, we’ll just have to visit again!” your wife might say to you after realizing that you guys didn’t see Niagara Falls on your honeymoon to Canada.

As you can tell, “spilt milk”, or “spilled milk” in America, means that a thing is completed, finished, in the past and though you may wish to change, take back, backpedal on it, you simply cannot.

The idiom, “spilt milk”, is similar to the idiom, “water under the bridge”, except that “spilled milk” implies you are distressed and wish you could change it…

… while “water under the bridge” means that perhaps it was regrettable, wrong or immoral, but it’s in the past, so there’s no point dwelling on it.

The origin of “spilt milk,” or “it’s no use crying over spilt milk,” or “don’t cry over spilled milk,” is not entirely clear, but the idiom has been around since at least the 17th century.

You can imagine that not all cultures placed so much importance on animal milk and thus have different idioms to beg someone not to be upset over something irreversible.

In India, you will hear, “What is the use of crying when the birds ate the whole farm?”

“You can’t turn back the lost,” is something you might hear in Russia.

In Germany, you might be shocked to hear, “Now, the child has already fallen into the well.”

If you’re in Cuba, someone might tell you, “Don’t fight, there’s a lot of cane sugar,” in other words, don’t be upset because you can still do something about it.

“No use crying over spilt milk. You’ll just have to train harder for the next marathon,” your friend might tell you after you didn’t qualify.

Perhaps your grandpa sees that you are upset for having ripped the curtains, “Come, I will mend it for you, don’t cry over spilt milk.”

“Spilt milk! The important thing is that you’re doing it now and that you don’t give up,” your mom might advise you when she hears you regretting that you hadn’t started learning a skill earlier.

So, the next time you want to comfort someone that is upset, sad, distressed over something that can’t be undone, changed, just mention that it’s “spilt milk”.

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References: https://www.grammarphobia.com/blog/2009/09/crying-over-spilled-milk.html

https://www.quora.com/What-are-the-most-common-and-funny-idioms-in-Hindi

https://lyricstranslate.com/en/idiom/dont-cry-over-spilled-milk

https://blog.hablacuba.com/en/news/7-hilarious-cuban-expressions/