We'll burn that bridge when we get to it

(idea) by Lord Brawl (3.9 hr) (print)

1 C!

Sun May 14 2000 at 20:20:50

A fusion of two phrases:

"we'll cross that bridge when we come to it" -- we'll deal with problems as they arise. Not always a good policy - if your name is Hannibal and you're travelling with elephants, for example;
"burn your bridges behind you" - making irrevocable decisions. Retreating troops will burn the bridges behind them to slow up an advancing enemy. If you do this to advancing troops, you've committed them irrevocably to the assault. See burn one's bridges.

Thus when we say "we'll burn that bridge when we get to it" we acknowledge that we're going to make a snap decision, and live with the irrevocable consequences should we choose incorrectly.

printable version

chaos

Your last act as a free man should of course be to burn the scrap of paper	Burn one's bridges	You can't make an omelet without killing a few people	If someone wants to do something and it isn't hurting you... DON'T BE A FUCKING DICK
Farberisms	Hannibal	And then I crawled out from under the table	Any woman who thinks she is pro-life should ask herself
I love it when a plan comes together	SNAFU	Why is nasal mucus green?	No one knows my plan
Only a simple computer program	The chameleon effect	such is the way for a survivor of broken promises	David Farber
random acts of management	Random acts of kindness	heard at Wal-Mart	Going to Hell in a handbasket
ad hoc	The guy who may as well already be dead and therefore doesn't care about the consequences of his actions and is able to move with perfect freedom for the remainder of what will likely be a tragically short life	The Cosmic Carrot	snap decision

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Everything2

We'll burn that bridge when we get to it

Epicenter

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