burn that bridge when one comes to it

English

Etymology

A mixed metaphor combining cross that bridge when one comes to it and burn one's bridges.

Pronunciation

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Verb

burn that bridge when one comes to it (third-person singular simple present burns that bridge when one comes to it, present participle burning that bridge when one comes to it, simple past and past participle burned that bridge when one came to it or burnt that bridge when one came to it)

1. (idiomatic) To anticipate dealing with a problem or situation either by acting in a manner that alienates or cuts ties with others, or merely with the expectation of encountering trouble.
   • 1941, Frank Leslie eds. et al., The American Magazine, volume 132, page 44:

     That takes care of Kay. As for the man, I'll burn that bridge when I come to it.

   • 1950, David Albert Davidson, In Another Country, page 204:

     ...when the time came in making the inevitable break. Well — he'd burn that bridge when he came to it.

   • 1999, Andre Norton, Rosemary Edghill, The Shadow of Albion, page 168:

     Tonight the happy couple were to sleep at Dyer House, as generations of Dukes and their Duchesses had before them, but — as Wessex's partner often said — they would burn that bridge when they came to it.

   • 2010, Jessica Beck, Fatally Frosted: A Donut Shop Mystery, page 62:

     “We can't do anything about that now. Emma, we'll burn that bridge when we come to it, okay?”

   • 2015, Lawrence Block, Defender of the Innocent: The Casebook of Martin Ehrengraf, page 110:

     Clients often whistled a different tune at a later date, but one could burn that bridge when one came to it.

Related terms

• build bridges
• burn one's bridges