What does it mean?
If you decide to deal with a problem when it arrives, rather than in advance, then you cross that bridge when you come to it. It’s a great natural phrase to use in conversation when you are dealing with potential problems.
Watch the video below for some common examples….
Haven’t got time for a video right now? Have a look at these written examples instead…..
Example 1
Perhaps your friends have asked to come and stay with you next month. You have agreed but they are smokers and you don’t like people smoking in your house. You could contact them now and make them aware that smoking is not allowed in the house but you decide to wait until their visit and see if they light a cigarette indoors and then you will ‘cross that bridge’. You discuss it with your husband:
“What do you think? Shall I email Ben and Kate and let them know that they can’t smoke in the house?
“No, don’t worry about it. Let’s just cross that bridge if/when we come to it. I don’t think they will light up in the house.”
Example 2
Perhaps you have applied for a new job but that job requires you to wear a suit to work every day and you don’t own any suits. You think about rushing to the shops and buying lots of suits but you decide to wait and see if you get the job first and then ‘cross that bridge’. You discuss it with your friend:
“I think I’d better go shopping this weekend.”
“Why don’t you wait to hear if you’ve got the job first and then cross that bridge….You don’t want to spend unnecessary money.”
The next time you are speaking in English (perhaps making decisions in a meeting or with a friend) see if you can slip this phrase in and use it in a natural way!
Over to you!
Do you like this English idiom? Do you think you’ll be able to use it the next time you’ve got a potential problem to make a decision about? Let me know by replying below! 👇😊
14 Responses
I have just booked a trip to South America for next year. I don’t know where I’m going to stay yet but I’ll cross that bridge later…can I say that Nicki?
Yes absolutely! Great example Lou, thanks for sharing it 🙂 And have a brilliant trip!
Thanks Nicki. I really like idioms and it was nice to try the pronunciation in the video too!
Great! I’m so pleased you enjoyed this lesson Marie. I hope you get a chance to use this idiom in conversation soon!
Hi Nicki!
I liked your lessons about “cross the bridge when it comes to it”.
It’s very useful for me because I have to cross the bridge with my garden. I have to clean my flowers and bushes.
We have similar phrase in Bulgaria and I think this is not problem for me to use it properly. Are my sentences correct, please?
I’m glad you liked the lesson Kalinka!
I’m not really sure what you mean with your example….Maybe you’ve been postponing sorting out the garden and now it’s overgrown?
Perhaps you’ve directly translated your sentence from Bulgarian and that’s why it doesn’t really work. Feel free to watch the YouTube video again to clarify – https://youtu.be/F0SEqinZQqY
Hope that helps and thanks for your comment! 😊
hi Nicki
here is a phrase (i tried to use the idiom is it correct ?)I doubt !
My laundry is done , i’ll hang the washing outside . The weather isn’t sure but let’s cross that bridge when we come to it !
keep safe Nicki !
Yes you could use it like the Martine! 😊
We tend to use it for potential problems a bit further into the future (have another look at the examples in the blog post and video to see what I mean) but you’ve got the idea!
Just a bit of nice vocabulary for your notebook – We wouldn’t say ‘the weather isn’t sure’ but we would say ‘it looks like it might rain later’ or ‘the weather looks a bit iffy’!
Thanks for sharing your example
Bonjour ,Nicki
Currently, I have a goodhealth. But what about 2030 ?
I was answered ‘ let’s cross that bridge when we come to it !’
Don’t worry, Nicki, I am optimistic !…
Yep, great Francoise! It’s a perfect idiom for talking about your health in the future.
I’m glad you are optimistic that you will still be fit and strong though 😁
hi Nicki,
I invited tom and Julia and George and Sarah. I expect they’ll get on well.
We’ll see ! we’ll cross that bridge when we come to it! (is it correct !)
This is a very nice mini conversation Anne and it’s correct! But with this idiom there’s usually an element of a potential problem so it might sound a bit more natural if you knew they had different political views or something like that and you hoped they wouldn’t argue about it at the dinner table – I hope that makes sense!
Lovely use of ‘get on well’. That’s a great phrase 😊
Yesterday I had a little argument with my students and I’m undecided wether to face the situation now or not. Well, I’ll cross that bridge when I come to it.
Nicki, is it correct?
Thanks for your example Stefania! Yes, if you mean you might wait until you see them again and then deal with the situation if you have to, then that’s a great use of this idiom! 😊