cross that bridge when you come to it






cross that bridge when you come to it

deal with a problem when and if it arises.

1998 - Spectator - As to what would happen to the case for non-proliferation when the Cold War was won, the allies would cross that bridge when they came to it which seemed at the time well beyond any foreseeable future.




Related Idioms and Phrases :



burn your bridges

commit yourself irrevocably.

In a military campaign, burning your boats or bridges would make escape or retreat impossible.



hold no brief for

not support or argue in favour of

The brief referred to is the summary of the facts and legal points in a case given to a barrister to argue in court.



bright and early

very early in the morning



as bright as a button

intelligently alert and lively – informal

There is a play here on bright in its Old English sense of shiny (like a polished metal : button) and bright in its transferred sense of quick-witted, found since the mid 18th century.



the bright lights

the glamour and excitement of a big city



bright spark

a clever person (often used ironically to or of a person who has done something you consider stupid) - British informal



bright young thing

a wealthy, pleasure loving and fashionable young person

The term was originally applied in the 1920s to a member of a young fashionable group of people noted for their exuberant and outrageous behaviour.



look on the bright side

be optimistic or cheerful in spite of difficulties.



bright-eyed and bushy-tailed

alert and lively and eager - informal



bring home the bacon

supply material provision or support

achieve success – informal

This phrase probably derives from the much earlier save your bacon, recorded from the mid 17th century. In early use bacon also referred to fresh pork, the meat most readily available to rural people.



bring the house down

make an audience respond with great enthusiasm, especially as shown by their laughter or applause



bring something home to someone

make someone realize the full significance of something.



bring something into play

cause something to begin to have an effect



bring someone to book

bring someone to justice or punish someone.



the British disease

a problem or failing supposed to be characteristically British especially (formerly) a proneness to industrial unrest - informal



broad in the beam

fat round the hips – informal

A beam was one of the horizontal transverse timbers in a wooden ship and so the word came to refer to a ship's breadth at its widest point. It is from this sense that the current meaning of broad in the beam developed.



in broad daylight

used generally to express surprise or outrage at someone's daring to carry out a particular act, especially a crime, during the day, when anyone could see it.



it is as broad as it is long

there's no significant difference between two possible alternatives - informal




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