it's easy to be wise after the event

It is far easier to understand how something bad could have been prevented after it has already occurred. I never would have bought this car if I had known it needed so much work done to it. Well, it's easier to be wise after the event.

be wise after the event

If you say that someone is wise after the event, you mean that they understand a situation and know how to deal with it, but only because it has already happened. I still feel I should have done more to try and stop him getting into the car, but it's easy to be wise after the event.

be wise after the event

understand and assess an event or situation only after its implications have become obvious.

The French version of this expression can be traced back to the late 15th century: the chronicler Philippe de Commynes used the phrase saiges après le coup in his Mémoires , remarking of it ‘comme l'on dit des Bretons’ (as the Bretons say).

be ˌwise after the eˈvent

(often disapproving) know what should have been done in a particular situation, but only after it has happened: ‘If we’d been more careful, the fire would never have happened.’ ‘It’s no good being wise after the event — we can’t do anything now.’