What's done is done
Suggest a CorrectionMeaning
A past action cannot now be changed and should be accepted or left behind. Can express mature acceptance or an attempt to avoid accountability; context determines the tone. Regional use: English dramatic form of an older European proverb; now international English.
Origin
Lady Macbeth says 'what's done, is done' in Macbeth, written around 1606, while urging Macbeth to stop brooding over Duncan's murder. The broader idea that completed acts cannot be undone is much older and has medieval French and English parallels, so the line should not be treated as a wholly new concept invented by Shakespeare. His compact wording supplied the durable English formula.
Research Sources
Variants
- What is done is done
- What's done cannot be undone
- What is done cannot be undone
Usage Examples
- We should correct the invoice, but what's done is done and blame will not help.
- What is done is done; the question is how we prevent a repeat.
- She regretted the remark, then accepted that what's done cannot be undone.