burn that bridge when one comes to it

burn that bridge when one comes to it

English

Etymology

A mixed metaphor combining cross that bridge when one comes to it and burn one's bridges.

Verb

burn that bridge when one comes to it

1. (idiomatic) To anticipate dealing with a problem or situation by acting in a manner that alienates or cuts ties with others.
   • 1941, Frank Leslie, et al, eds., The American Magazine, Vol. 132, p. 44:

     That takes care of Kay. As for the man, I'll burn that bridge when I come to it.

   • 1950, David Albert Davidson, In Another Country, p. 204:

     ...when the time came in making the inevitable break. Well — he'd burn that bridge when he came to it.

   • 1999, Andre Norton, ‎Rosemary Edghill, The Shadow of Albion, p. 168:

     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.

   • 2010, Jessica Beck, Fatally Frosted: A Donut Shop Mystery, p. 62:

     “We can't do anything about that now. Emma, we'll burn that bridge when we come to it, okay?”

   • 2015, Lawrence Block, Defender of the Innocent: The Casebook of Martin Ehrengraf, p. 110:

     Clients often whistled a different tune at a later date, but one could burn that bridge when one came to it.

See also

• burn one's bridges