A bridge too far - Another phrase heard more often recently

Jace

Jace

Well-known Member
I listen to the radio....during the day...so, that way I can "multi-task"...

Recently, I've heard the phrase "a bridge too far"...being used more & more..

Is it because of "the times"?

What say you?
 

I remember that phrase from a long time ago while I was growing up. To me it is a way to say that someone has overachieved the goal that they were pursuing whether it be good or bad.
 

Jace said:
I listen to the radio....during the day...so, that way I can "multi-task"...

Recently, I've heard the phrase "a bridge too far"...being used more & more..

Is it because of "the times"?

What say you?
Click to expand...
perhaps they're taking up British Idiom... 'A bridge too far'' is used pretty often here meaning a goal that's quite unattainable
 
The expression of a bridge too far, comes from the WWII Operation Market-Garden, in which only 2 of 3 bridges were secured by Anglo-American paratroopers, leading to the failure of the operation. The actual saying is attributed by UK general R.E. Urquhart to UK General Frederick Browning: “I think we may be going a bridge too far."
helenbacque said:
There is an old movie by that name .... "A Bridge Too Far". Perhaps it's being featured on one of the streaming channels and what you've heard is advertisement.
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Bridge_too_far_movieposter.jpg
It featured many an 'A' Lister.
 
I thought it meant that you were pushing your luck with whatever endeavor you were pursuing. Let's see what the interwebs say about it...

A bridge too far is an act of overreaching- going too far and getting into trouble or failing.
A step or act that is regarded as being too drastic to take.
Something that is very difficult to achieve.

Putin was able to take over Crimea but Kyiv proved a bridge too far.
 
SeniorBen said:
I thought it meant that you were pushing your luck with whatever endeavor you were pursuing. Let's see what the interwebs say about it...

A bridge too far is an act of overreaching- going too far and getting into trouble or failing.
A step or act that is regarded as being too drastic to take.
Something that is very difficult to achieve.

Putin was able to take over Crimea but Kyiv proved a bridge too far.

When I heard it, I too, thought ⬆️ that exactly!
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grahamg said:
"Love sayings", (most especially "old saying", ones that have stood the test of time).

You cant get enough of them in my view!
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You should look up Shakespeare, he's the past master at expressions and sayings.
Expectation is the root of all heartache.
Heartache wasn't around in The Bard's day, what he actually said was:
"Oft expectation fails, and most oft there where most it promises.", it's from All's Well That Ends Well.
Here's a few others:
Vanish into thin air.
"Then put up your pipes in your bag, for I'll away. Go; vanish into air; away!" Othello.
There's a method in my madness.
"Though this be madness, yet there is method in't. Will you walk out of the air, my lord?" Hamlet.
Wild-goose chase.
"Nay, if they wits run the wild-goose chase, I have done, for thou hast more of the wild-goose in one of
thy wits than, I am sure, I have in my whole five: was I with you there for the goose?" Romeo & Juliet
The Green-Eyed-Monster.
"Oh, beware, my lord, of jealousy! It is the green-eyed monster which doth mock the meat it feeds on." Othello.
Break the ice.
"And if you break the ice and do this feat, achieve the elder, set the younger free.
For our access, whose hap shall be to have her will not so graceless be to be ingrate." The Taming of the Shrew.
Wear my heart on my sleeve.
"For when my outward action doth demonstrate. The native act and figure of my heart. In compliment extern, 'tis not long after
But I will wear my heart upon my sleeve for daws to peck at: I am not what I am." Othello.
A Heart of Gold.
"The king's a bawcock, and a heart of gold, a lad of life, an imp of fame. Of parents good, of fist most valiant." Henry V.
One fell swoop.
"He has no children. All my pretty ones? Did you say all? O hell-kite! All? What, all my pretty chickens and their dam. At one fell swoop?"
Macbeth.
 
horseless carriage said:
You should look up Shakespeare, he's the past master at expressions and sayings.
Expectation is the root of all heartache.
Heartache wasn't around in The Bard's day, what he actually said was:
"Oft expectation fails, and most oft there where most it promises.", it's from All's Well That Ends Well.
Here's a few others:
Vanish into thin air.
"Then put up your pipes in your bag, for I'll away. Go; vanish into air; away!" Othello.
There's a method in my madness.
"Though this be madness, yet there is method in't. Will you walk out of the air, my lord?" Hamlet.
Wild-goose chase.
"Nay, if they wits run the wild-goose chase, I have done, for thou hast more of the wild-goose in one of
thy wits than, I am sure, I have in my whole five: was I with you there for the goose?" Romeo & Juliet
The Green-Eyed-Monster.
"Oh, beware, my lord, of jealousy! It is the green-eyed monster which doth mock the meat it feeds on." Othello.
Break the ice.
"And if you break the ice and do this feat, achieve the elder, set the younger free.
For our access, whose hap shall be to have her will not so graceless be to be ingrate." The Taming of the Shrew.
Wear my heart on my sleeve.
"For when my outward action doth demonstrate. The native act and figure of my heart. In compliment extern, 'tis not long after
But I will wear my heart upon my sleeve for daws to peck at: I am not what I am." Othello.
A Heart of Gold.
"The king's a bawcock, and a heart of gold, a lad of life, an imp of fame. Of parents good, of fist most valiant." Henry V.
One fell swoop.
"He has no children. All my pretty ones? Did you say all? O hell-kite! All? What, all my pretty chickens and their dam. At one fell swoop?"
Macbeth.
Click to expand...
All as good as it comes, but an up to date play and playwriter I wanted to mention to you, (with a famous line it it), is running at "The Salisbury Playhouse" this week, and I went to see it last night, and believe it is the best play I've ever seen barring a Shakespeare play, and with just hre brilliant actors/actresses!

Here is the great line:
“Retired people are like nuclear power stations. They like to live by the sea.”

Here is the link to some more info,
https://www.wiltshirecreative.co.uk/whats-on/main-house/the-children/

The Children, By Lucy Kirkwood​

"Two ageing scientists in an isolated cottage on the coast, as the world around them crumbles. Then an old friend arrives with a frightening request.
The English regional premiere of a witty, compelling and entertaining drama about ageing and responsibility."


and there is a review here:
https://www.salisburyjournal.co.uk/news/20049711.children-starts-run-salisbury-playhouse/
 
horseless carriage said:
You should look up Shakespeare, he's the past master at expressions and sayings.
Expectation is the root of all heartache.
Heartache wasn't around in The Bard's day, what he actually said was:
"Oft expectation fails, and most oft there where most it promises.", it's from All's Well That Ends Well.
Here's a few others:
Vanish into thin air.
"Then put up your pipes in your bag, for I'll away. Go; vanish into air; away!" Othello.
There's a method in my madness.
"Though this be madness, yet there is method in't. Will you walk out of the air, my lord?" Hamlet.
Wild-goose chase.
"Nay, if they wits run the wild-goose chase, I have done, for thou hast more of the wild-goose in one of
thy wits than, I am sure, I have in my whole five: was I with you there for the goose?" Romeo & Juliet
The Green-Eyed-Monster.
"Oh, beware, my lord, of jealousy! It is the green-eyed monster which doth mock the meat it feeds on." Othello.
Break the ice.
"And if you break the ice and do this feat, achieve the elder, set the younger free.
For our access, whose hap shall be to have her will not so graceless be to be ingrate." The Taming of the Shrew.
Wear my heart on my sleeve.
"For when my outward action doth demonstrate. The native act and figure of my heart. In compliment extern, 'tis not long after
But I will wear my heart upon my sleeve for daws to peck at: I am not what I am." Othello.
A Heart of Gold.
"The king's a bawcock, and a heart of gold, a lad of life, an imp of fame. Of parents good, of fist most valiant." Henry V.
One fell swoop.
"He has no children. All my pretty ones? Did you say all? O hell-kite! All? What, all my pretty chickens and their dam. At one fell swoop?"
Macbeth.
Click to expand...
Are you a fan of Robbie Burns too?

"A mans a man fur auuuu that"! (etc.,etc.,etc.)!
 
grahamg said:
Are you a fan of Robbie Burns too?

"A mans a man fur auuuu that"! (etc.,etc.,etc.)!
Click to expand...
Shamefully, not as much as I should have, mind you I did enjoy Tam O'Shanter, but that was way back. There again I studied Chaucer and his unfinished final effort, The Canterbury Tales, a raucous read, is also a distant memory.

Did you know that Chaucer established English as a major literary language? He wrote his verse with lines that contain ten syllables and often had rhyming pairs of lines called couplets. The meter, or rhythm, formed with ten syllables per line eventually evolved into the meter called iambic pentameter, the meter that Shakespeare wrote his plays in.
 
horseless carriage said:
Shamefully, not as much as I should have, mind you I did enjoy Tam O'Shanter, but that was way back. There again I studied Chaucer and his unfinished final effort, The Canterbury Tales, a raucous read, is also a distant memory.
Did you know that Chaucer established English as a major literary language? He wrote his verse with lines that contain ten syllables and often had rhyming pairs of lines called couplets. The meter, or rhythm, formed with ten syllables per line eventually evolved into the meter called iambic pentameter, the meter that Shakespeare wrote his plays in.
Click to expand...
I've never read any works by Chaucer I must confess, (though we were told to often enough during our school days).
Still "as far as I'm aware", I read my first book aged fourteen, and can't even remember what it was, and not that many during my entire school days, though we read "The Times" of London newspaper in the school library sometimes, and homework might take three hours to complete every evening, so plenty of reading there!!!:)
 
SeniorBen said:
I thought it meant that you were pushing your luck with whatever endeavor you were pursuing. Let's see what the interwebs say about it...

A bridge too far is an act of overreaching- going too far and getting into trouble or failing.
A step or act that is regarded as being too drastic to take.
Something that is very difficult to achieve.

Putin was able to take over Crimea but Kyiv proved a bridge too far.
Click to expand...
This is how I've always interpreted the expression.
 
I thought it was a good idea to stretch my hamstring by putting my foot on the counter and bending at the waist as far as I could. It turned out to be a bridge too far. I am hobbling around for three weeks now with leg pain. Decided to go to my chiropractor for advice. His method was to grab my foot and pull while moving my leg back and forth sideways. This turned out to be a bridge too far as well.
 
Jace said:
I listen to the radio....during the day...so, that way I can "multi-task"...

Recently, I've heard the phrase "a bridge too far"...being used more & more..

Is it because of "the times"?

What say you?
Click to expand...
Are the talking heads on your radio station mature people?

I've noticed young people throwing around old phrases they discovered because "OMG, that so says what I'm tryna say!"
 
Murrmurr said:
Are the talking heads on your radio station mature people?

I've noticed young people throwing around old phrases they discovered because "OMG, that so says what I'm tryna say!"
Click to expand...
Let us ask..."what is the definition of mature"?🤔
Don't know..he filled Rush Limbaugh's radio spot.
 
I like the phrase..and it "goes well with certain situations!😉
 
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