Learn English – Meaning of “let bygones be bygones”

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What is the exact meaning of the phrase let bygones be bygones?

If I had a fight with my best friend and then say it, which of the following does it mean?

I want to forget the past and reconcile and get back to friendship.
I want to forget the past but not reconcile and get back to friendship.

Best Answer

A "bygone" is a thing that happened in the past. A definition given of this idiomatic expression is:

To ignore or disregard a past offense (when dealing with another individual

Thus, you've already forgiven that past offense which that person, and presumably you want to get back to being friends.

As far as I know, this phrase is always used in reconciliation. For example, when two friends fight(as in your case), and they come back together, their conversation might run something like this:

A: I'm really sorry for what happened last week
B: Come, come, let bygones be bygones. What's done cannot be undone. Let's be friends again.
A: Sure mate!

In my personal experience, "let bygones be bygones" is used for reconciliation(your first interpretation)

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Learn English – Meaning of “I have got…”

It is an auxiliary verb with the the same meaning as "must". Here is what dictionary.com says:

auxiliary verb
2. Informal . must; have got  (followed by an infinitive).

So, in your example, the meaning is "I must get..." Note, it is used with "have" which again is an auxiliary meaning "must", and I can't think of an example of where you could use "get" in this way without "have". But perhaps I am wrong about that. In this case, using both adds an emphasis to the importance of the "getting".

Note, as the dictionary says it is pretty informal, and should not be used in any type of formal communication.

Learn English – What’s the origin of “water under the bridge”

I could not find earlier mention in English, but in French several expressions using the component water under the bridge with the acception of time passing only in one direction can be found in the sayings:

"Laisser passer l'eau sous les ponts"

(to let water flow under the bridge, meaning to let it go)

and

" Il passera bien de l'eau sous les ponts"

(There will be lot of water flowing under the bridge meaning it'll happen in a long time)

Both expressiosn can be found in the 18th century Dictionnaire de l'académie française http://books.google.fr

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Learn English – Meaning of “I have got…”

Learn English – What’s the origin of “water under the bridge”

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