the die is cast
the situation can't be changed
TRANSLATION
the die is cast = die Entscheidung ist gefallen, die Würfel sind gefallen --- GOOGLE INDEX the die is cast: approximately 500,000 Google hits
STATISTICS
IN THE PRESS
Secretary General Kofi Annan vainly appealed for compromise and unity. But as France, China and Russia threatened to veto a US-backed resolution authorising force against Iraq, he realised THE DIE IS CAST.
(BBC News)
---
THE DIE HAS BEEN CAST. So we may be about discover what happens when spending cuts and tax rises combine with higher borrowing costs.
(The Guardian)
(BBC News)
---
THE DIE HAS BEEN CAST. So we may be about discover what happens when spending cuts and tax rises combine with higher borrowing costs.
(The Guardian)
Did you
know?
the die is cast
idiom
- said when a situation is certain to develop in a particular way because decisions have been taken which cannot be changed
(Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary)
---
When Caesar decided to cross the Rubicon (more about that in a moment), he is supposed to have said "Jacta alea est", meaning "the dice have been thrown". He was referring to dice like those used in the game of craps.
He used the dice metaphor as a way of saying "the decision has been made and it can't be changed" because he knew once he crossed the river and marched on to Rome, his fate was sealed. As we now know, his invasion of Rome set off a civil war that brought him to power.
The literal translation of this expression - the dice has been thrown - eventually changed to use die (the plural of dice) and cast (a synonym for throw) to give us "the die is cast. The present perfect form "the die has been cast" is frequently used as well.
Caesar would probably like the fact that with his one action, two English idioms were created. In addition to "the die is cast", he also gave us "cross the Rubicon", a similar expression which means passing a point at which there is no turning back.
---
SMUGGLE OWAD into today's conversation
"The die is cast. I quit my job to stay at home with the children."
idiom
- said when a situation is certain to develop in a particular way because decisions have been taken which cannot be changed
(Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary)
---
When Caesar decided to cross the Rubicon (more about that in a moment), he is supposed to have said "Jacta alea est", meaning "the dice have been thrown". He was referring to dice like those used in the game of craps.
He used the dice metaphor as a way of saying "the decision has been made and it can't be changed" because he knew once he crossed the river and marched on to Rome, his fate was sealed. As we now know, his invasion of Rome set off a civil war that brought him to power.
The literal translation of this expression - the dice has been thrown - eventually changed to use die (the plural of dice) and cast (a synonym for throw) to give us "the die is cast. The present perfect form "the die has been cast" is frequently used as well.
Caesar would probably like the fact that with his one action, two English idioms were created. In addition to "the die is cast", he also gave us "cross the Rubicon", a similar expression which means passing a point at which there is no turning back.
---
SMUGGLE OWAD into today's conversation
"The die is cast. I quit my job to stay at home with the children."
