cross a bridge when one comes to it
Also, cross that bridge when you come to it. Deal with a situation when, and not before, it occurs. For example, If we can't sell the house—well, we'll cross that bridge when we come to it. The ultimate origin of this proverb, a caution not to anticipate trouble and often put as don't cross a bridge till you come to it, has been lost. The earliest recorded use is in Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's The Golden Legend (1851): “Don't cross the bridge till you come to it, is a proverb old and of excellent wit.”
RELATED CONTENT
When To Use “A,” “An,” And “The”Articles are words that make it clear whether a noun refers to something specific or something general. The English language has only three articles: a, an, and the. This stanza from Emily Dickinson’s poem “A Bird Came Down the Walk” demonstrates the use of all three: A Bird came down the Walk— He did not know I saw— He bit an Angleworm in halves And …
Nearby words
crosby, bing, crosette, crosier, crosland, cross, cross a bridge when one comes to it, cross as a bear, cross assembler, cross bedding, cross bridging, cross buck
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.