"The die is cast" nghĩa là gì?

Photo courtesy mazz_5.

'The die is cast' = con súc sắc đã gieo -> nghĩa là một sự kiện/sự việc đã xảy ra hoặc một quyết định đã được quyết mà không thay đổi được (an event has happened or a decision has been made that cannot be changed); bút sa gà chết.

Ví dụ
This game is done, the jig is up and the die is cast – use whatever rusty metaphor you can wrap your tongue around, but the conclusion is evident: our current government hasn’t a single strand running through it that even attempts to attach itself to a balanced budget game plan.

Angela Merkel is said to be licking her lips at the prospect of rebuffing Britain’s entreaties and demonstrating to German voters who is Europe’s real Iron Lady. All of these concerns are legitimate and compelling. But they are also irrelevant. The die is cast. Mrs May will either successfully deliver Britain’s withdrawal from Europe, or perish in the attempt.

Readers of Seutonius, or of Goscinny and Uderzo (creators of the Astérix comics), will remember the words "Alea iacta est", uttered by Julius Caesar as he crossed the bridge over the Rubicon from Gaul into Italy. The phrase means "the die is cast": Caesar has defied the explicit orders of the Roman Senate that he stay in Gaul. In any event, he should have surrendered control of his armies and left them in Gaul, if he had wanted to return home. By crossing the river and defying the Senate, Caesar consciously passed a point of no return and became an outlaw and enemy of the state. He was gambling all, and on a long chance. Ahead lay the great civil wars with Pompey, after which, at least pending his assassination, he was master and effectively king of all the lands subject to Rome's rule.

Phạm Hạnh


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