cry over spilt milk

Cultural  

1. To dwell pointlessly on past misfortunes: “I know you wish that you'd handled the project more efficiently, but there's no use crying over spilt milk.”

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Example Sentences

My motto in investing has always been cry over spilt milk, for analyzing errors is how you learn almost everything.

From Barron's

"I'm not going to cry over spilt milk, it's over now."

From BBC

“Don’t cry over spilt milk, honey,” says Mom.

From Literature

In 2013, he posted angry messages on a Facebook page for former pupils, decrying the “victim culture” of the people sharing their stories, and accusing one student of “crying over spilt milk.”

From The New Yorker

We’ve all heard about “crying over spilt milk”, or “eat less, exercise more”, but we never really take a moment to ponder why they became clichés in the first place.

From Time