Strike while the iron is hot

1. Take advantage of favorable circumstances while they last. The image is from a blacksmith's shop; the smith can shape iron only by striking it with his hammer when it is red hot.

Idioms and Phrases

Take advantage of favorable conditions, as in They just made a huge profit, so let's strike while the iron is hot and ask for some money. This adage alludes to the blacksmith's forge. [Late 1300s] Also see make hay while the sun shines.

Example Sentences

“Strike while the iron is hot. If you see a price you like, go for it,” Matthews said.

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"We have to strike while the iron is hot," exuberant blueberry farmer Alistair Campbell tells the BBC.

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"The US sees this as a moment to strike while the iron is hot. Our question is what are we trying to achieve here?"

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“There’s a consensus among the teams and the FIA and ourselves that now might be a good time to try and strike while the iron is hot and renew and extend the Concorde Agreement,” the CEO, Greg Maffei, said on the call.

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“Why can’t we strike while the iron is hot,” she says her family members told her.

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