idiom · neutral
cry over spilt milk
UK/kraɪ ˈəʊvə spɪlt mɪlk/US/kraɪ ˈoʊvər spɪlt mɪlk/cry·o·ver·SPILT·milk
to be upset about something that has already happened and cannot be changed
Examples
“We missed the last train, but there's no point crying over spilt milk — we'll catch the next one.”
“Stop worrying about your mistakes; don't cry over spilt milk.”
“He regretted his decision but knew there was no use crying over spilt milk.”
Band 8 sentence
“Yes, it was a bad decision, but crying over spilt milk won't fix anything — we need a practical solution.”
Collocations
- cry over spilt milk
- no use crying over spilt milk
Word family
Common mistakes
Don't cry for spilt milk.→Don't cry over spilt milk.
Say it for a higher band
5regret→6complain about the past→7+cry over spilt milk
Synonyms
regret something
Easily confused
regret
“I regret not studying harder for the exam.”
Related words
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In Emotions
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