a) stop complaining about everything
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b) be careful not to cry wolf or to raise a false alarm
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c) there’s no point in complaining about something that has already happened
Well done ! That’s the right answer.
’Don’t cry over spilled milk’ means there is no use in being upset over situations that have already happened and cannot be changed.
Tip : ’spilled’ and ’spilt’ can be used interchangeably.
French translation
ce qui est fait est fait, il ne sert à rien de pleurer sur le lait renversé
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Examples in context
’Suarez not crying over spilt milk
Soccer : Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers may have challenged referees over their treatment of Luis Suarez but the striker is trying to take it all in his stride. The Reds boss yesterday revealed he had spoken to Mike Riley, head of Professional Game Match Officials Ltd, about decisions going against them.’
irishtimes.com, 28 Sept. 2012
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’Obama Makes ’Spilled Milk’ Joke During 2012 State Of The Union
Few would say that President Obama’s State of the Union address was funny. But he did, at one point, try to make a joke :
We’ve already announced over 500 reforms, and just a fraction of them will save business and citizens more than $10 billion over the next five years. We got rid of one rule from 40 years ago that could have forced some dairy farmers to spend $10,000 a year proving that they could contain a spill — because milk was somehow classified as an oil. With a rule like that, I guess it was worth crying over spilled milk.’
huffingtonpost.com, 16 Oct. 2012
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Everyday usage
I know you don’t like your new haircut, but you can’t change it now. It’s no use crying over spilt milk.
There’s no point crying over spilled milk. We must get better guarantee next time.
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