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单词 to shut the stable door after the horse has bolted
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to shut (also close, lock) the stable door after the horse has bolted
to shut (also close, lock) the stable door after the horse has bolted: to attempt to avoid or prevent something undesirable when it is already too late to do so. Also (esp. in earlier use) to shut the stable door when the horse (or steed) is stolen and variants, and in shortened form to shut (also close, lock) the stable door.
ΘΚΠ
the world > time > a suitable time or opportunity > untimeliness > [verb (intransitive)] > be late > be late to act
to shut the stable door after the horse has bolteda1393
postvidea1661
a1393 J. Gower Confessio Amantis (Fairf.) iv. l. 903 For whan the grete Stiede Is stole, thanne he [sc. Negligence] taketh hiede, And makth the stable dore fast.
c1450 MS Douce 52 in Festschrift zum XII. Neuphilologentage (1906) 46 (MED) When þe hors is stole, steke þe stabull-dore.
1509 H. Watson tr. S. Brant Shyppe of Fooles (de Worde) xii. sig. D.iii The foole..shytteth the stable dore whan the horse is stolen.
1612 in M. C. Questier Newslett. Archpresbyterate G. Birkhead (1998) 172 Theye had warninge and forwarninge of it butt theye wente to shutt the stable dore when the steede was stolen.
1740 J. Ralph in Champion 13 May (1741) II. 212 As to Sir Chaloner Ogle and Comp. he is at this instant Cruizing off Cadiz. It is [printed it] presum'd to fulfil the old Proverb, Of shutting the Stable Door.
1858 J. Gadsby Trip to Sebastopol (ed. 2) 75 Knowing as I did that they had only been constructed after the mischief was done,—that the stable-door had been locked after the horse had bolted.
1924 Exeter & Plymouth Gaz. 10 May 4/2 Supt. Braddell believes that unless greater care is exercised there will be a fatal accident. It is no use locking the stable-door after the horse has bolted.
1999 I. Rankin Dead Souls lxix. 370 In the trade, it was known as shutting the stable door.
2019 Guardian (Nexis) 26 Sept. The business secretary..set up a taskforce to help those affected by the corporate failure, but has been accused of ‘shutting the stable door after the horse has bolted’.
extracted from stable doorn.
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更新时间:2024/9/21 17:22:58