crossing the Rubicon
Point of no return
Crossing the Rubicon means passing a point of no return—taking an irreversible action that commits you to a course.
The phrase comes from Julius Caesar's 49 BC decision to lead his army across the Rubicon River into Italy, an act of war against Rome.
Today it applies to any decisive step that forecloses retreat: When she submitted her resignation, she knew she was crossing the Rubicon.
- CaesarRoman imperial title
- point of no returnThreshold beyond which reversal impossible
- irreversibleCannot be undone
- burning bridgesRuining relationships irreparably
- commitmentFirm pledge to act
all in · decisive · fateful decision · Rome · army · river · fate · gamble · high stakes · bold · audacity · rebellion · treason · march · legions · civil war · destiny · courage
- AllusionsAchilles heel, Pandora's box, Trojan horse, forbidden fruit, Midas touch
- Historical AllusionsTrojan horse, Achilles heel, Pyrrhic victory, Pandora's box, sword of Damocles
- no returnburning bridges, bridge burning, point of no return, death, birth
- Ancient WarsTrojan War, Peloponnesian War, Punic Wars, Persian Wars, Gallic Wars
- legendary featsepic quests, David and Goliath, John Henry, dragon slaying, giant killing
- Caesar's GaulJulius Caesar, Gaul, Gallic Wars, legions, Roman legions
crossing the Rubiconhedging one's bets
Reducing exposure to loss
keeping one's options open · sitting on the fence · playing it safe · fence-sitting · equivocating
crossing the Rubiconholding back
Preventing forward movement
hesitating · playing it safe · timidity · vacillating · dithering
crossing the Rubiconstaying put
Remaining in place
business as usual · standing pat · conservatism · inertia · stasis
cross, crossed, crosses, crosser, crossers, crossing, crossings, crossroad, crossroads