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burn bridges |
Also found in: Dictionary/thesaurus, Medical, Legal, Encyclopedia, Wikipedia, Hutchinson | 0.06 sec. |
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burn one's bridges (behind one) 1. Lit. to cutoff the way back to where you came from, making it impossible to retreat. The army, which had burned its bridges behind it, couldn't go back. By blowing up the road, the spies had burned their bridges behind them. 2. Fig. to act unpleasantly in a situation that you are leaving, ensuring that you'll never be welcome to return. If you get mad and quit your job, you'll be burning your bridges behind you. No sense burning your bridges. Be polite and leave quietly. 3. Fig. to make decisions that cannot be changed in the future. If you drop out of school now, you'll be burning your bridges behind you. You're too young to burn your bridges that way. burn your bridges to permanently and unpleasantly end your relationship with a person or organization Welles had burned his bridges so badly with the movie studios that they laughed when you mentioned his name. Etymology: based on the military action of burning a bridge you have just crossed to prevent the enemy from crossing it after you How to thank TFD for its existence? Tell a friend about us, add a link to this page, add the site to iGoogle, or visit webmaster's page for free fun content. |
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Manage termination of accounts professionally--don't burn bridges when an account is terminated. It makes no sense to do things to burn bridges at the beginning of a long process,'' Curran said. The editor of Anti-Gay, a book that caused a firestorm of controversy in the United Kingdom when it was published in 1996, Simpson has the distinction of being both hated and respected (in Queen he jokingly worries that the book, meant to burn bridges, instead ignited a new brand of gay lifestyle). |
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