I've heard the expression "let's cross that bridge a little further down the road" to convey something I understand a bit like: "let's take that difficult decision a bit later" or "let's take on that challenge a bit later". Can the expression be interpreted like that? Any other ideas?
Tell me more
×
English Language & Usage Stack Exchange is a question and answer site for
linguists, etymologists, and serious English language enthusiasts. It's 100% free, no registration required.
|
|
|||||
|
|
"Let's not worry about that until further down the road," and "Let's cross that bridge when we get to it" are two ways to idiomatically express "Let's defer that until later, and stay focused on the topic at hand right now." The phrasing you gave sounds like a combination of those two idiomatic expressions - be it inadvertent or deliberate (much like when someone says "ginormous") |
|||
|
|
|
You are correct, but it's an uncommon mixture of common metaphors: "crossing the bridge" and "down the road". A more popular expression for a similar concept is we'll cross that bridge when we come to it, often used when trying to remove undue worry about an upcoming event. |
|||||||||
|
|
Let's cross that bridge when we come to it. Let's not make that decision prematurely. Kick the can down the road. Let's put off doing whatever it is that we're talking about. So you've got a mixed metaphor here. I'd take it to mean avoiding the need to make a decision. |
|||
|
|
