burn that bridge when one comes to it
Word Rarity
Uncommon
Frequency: Zipf frequency 4.29 in modern English
49
Scrabble Score
30
Letters
3
Syllables
16
Unique Chars
Meaning
verb
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.
Example Sentences
- "That takes care of Kay. As for the man, I'll burn that bridge when I come to it."
- "...when the time came in making the inevitable break. Well — he'd burn that bridge when he came to it."
- "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."
- "“We can't do anything about that now. Emma, we'll burn that bridge when we come to it, okay?”"
- "Clients often whistled a different tune at a later date, but one could burn that bridge when one came to it."
Etymology
Inflected Forms
burns that bridge when one comes to it (present, singular)
burning that bridge when one comes to it (participle, present)
burned that bridge when one came to it (participle, past)
burned that bridge when one came to it (past)
burnt that bridge when one came to it (participle, past)
burnt that bridge when one came to it (past)