water under the bridge
Forgiven and forgotten
Water under the bridge refers to past events that are no longer worth worrying about or discussing.
The image is of water that has already flowed beneath a bridge and moved on downstream—gone, irretrievable, and therefore not worth dwelling on.
We had our disagreements, but that's all water under the bridge now.
The phrase typically signals forgiveness or acceptance of what cannot be changed.
- let bygones be bygonesRelease past resentments mutually
- bygonesFormer offenses dismissed
- ancient historyStudy of earliest civilizations
- old newsOutdated information
- turn the pageAdvance to new beginnings
over · move on · irreversibility · closure · past · yesterday · long ago · clean slate · acceptance · reconciliation · formerly · healing · time heals · flow · washed away · let sleeping dogs lie · spilt milk · resolution
- forgivenessforgiveness of sins, redemption, absolve, mercy, grace
- idiomstime flies, hit the sack, seize the day, ring a bell, break a leg
- nostalgianostalgia, nostalgic, memories, memory, remember
- refusalsno, decline, no thanks, refuse, nope
- acceptance phraseslet it go, it is what it is, such is life, c'est la vie, que sera sera
- reassurancesyou're safe, no sweat, no biggie, don't worry, it's alright
water under the bridgebad blood
Lasting hostile feelings
holding a grudge · unforgivable · a chip on one's shoulder · unforgotten · unhealed
water under the bridgefront and center
Prominent central position
the elephant in the room · pressing matter · undecided · indeterminate
water, bridge, watery, watered, watering, waters, waterproof, waterless, watercraft