what's done is done

Alternative forms

• what's done cannot be undone

Etymology

From a line of dialogue spoken by the character Lady Macbeth in Act III Scene II of Macbeth by William Shakespeare.

Proverb

what's done is done

1. Events that have already taken place cannot be changed and actions that have already been committed cannot be undone, so it is best not to dwell on them.

See also

• genie is out of the bottle
• there's no point crying over spilt milk
• yesterday is gone