let bygones be bygones

English

WOTD – 14 November 2022

Etymology

From bygone (“event that happened in the past”).

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /lɛt ˈbaɪɡɒnz biː ˈbaɪɡɒnz/

• Audio (General Australian):

  (file)

• (General American) IPA^(key): /lɛt ˈbaɪˌɡɑnz bi ˈbaɪˌɡɑnz/
• Hyphenation: let by‧gones be by‧gones

Verb

let bygones be bygones (third-person singular simple present lets bygones be bygones, present participle letting bygones be bygones, simple past and past participle let bygones be bygones)

1. (intransitive, idiomatic) To disregard or ignore a past difficulty in a relationship or an offence (when dealing with another individual).

   Synonym: forgive and forget

   • 1881, P. Chr. Asbjörnsen [i.e., Peter Christen Asbjørnsen], “Peik”, in H. L. Brækstad, transl., Round the Yule Log. Norwegian Folk and Fairy Tales, London: Sampson Low, Marston, Searle, & Rivington, →OCLC, page 196:

     "Never mind, I'll give you a hundred dollars for it," said the king; "you did me out of horse and saddle the other day, and the bridle too, but I'll let bygones be bygones, if I get the pot."

   • 1886 May, Thomas Hardy, chapter 44, in The Life and Death of the Mayor of Casterbridge: The Story of a Man of Character, London: The Folio Society, published 1968 (1996 printing), →OCLC, page 323:

     To intrude as little of his personality as possible upon a gay event with which that personality could show nothing in keeping, he decided not to make his appearance till evening—when stiffness would have worn off, and a gentle wish to let bygones be bygones would exercise its say in all hearts.

   • 1958, Elizabeth George Speare, chapter 20, in The Witch of Blackbird Pond, Boston, Mass.: Houghton Mifflin Company, published 1986, →ISBN, pages 228–229:

     You'll find, when you come back, I promise you, Kit, that everyone is willing to let bygones be bygones, and that you can make a fresh start.

   • 1992, Ethel Footman Smothers, “Let Bygones Be Bygones”, in Down in the Piney Woods (A Borzoi Book), New York, N.Y.: Alfred A[braham] Knopf, →ISBN, page 145:

     But I ain't got no quarrel witcha. Just let bygones be bygones.

Translations

to disregard or ignore a past difficulty in a relationship or an offence

• Catalan: fer creu i ratlla
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 既往不咎 (zh) (jì wǎng bù jiù)

• Czech: co bylo, bylo
• Dutch: geen oude koeien uit de sloot halen, zand erover
• Finnish: antaa menneiden olla menneitä, sitä tikulla silmään joka vanhoja muistelee
• French: passer l’éponge (fr)
• German: Schwamm drüber (de)
• Greek: περασμένα ξεχασμένα (perasména xechasména)
• Hungarian: ami elmúlt, elmúlt (hu), a múlt legyen a múlté, ami volt, elmúlt, ami történt, megtörtént, borítsunk fátylat a múltra, fátylat rá, spongyát rá
• Icelandic: láta hið liðna vera gleymt, strika yfir fortíðina
• Irish: an rud atá thart bíodh sé thart
• Italian: acqua passata non macina più
• Japanese: 過去のことは水に流せ (kako no koto wa mizu ni nagase), 既往は咎めず (kiō wa togamezu)
• Korean: 과거를 묻지 마세요 (gwageoreul mutji maseyo)
• Polish: puszczać w niepamięć impf, puścić w niepamięć (pl) pf
• Portuguese: águas passadas não movem moinhos
• Russian: кто ста́рое помя́нет, тому́ глаз вон (kto stároje pomjánet, tomú glaz von), что бы́ло, то прошло́ и быльём поросло́ (što býlo, to prošló i bylʹjóm porosló)
• Spanish: borrón y cuenta nueva (es), el pasado, pasado está, lo pasado, pisado, pelillos a la mar (es) (informal)
• Welsh: peidiwn â dal dig

See also

• let sleeping dogs lie
• water under the bridge

Further reading

• “bygones are bygones, let bygones be bygones, etc.” under “bygone, adj. and n.”, in OED Online ⁠, Oxford: Oxford University Press, September 2022.
• “let bygones be bygones, phrase”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.