the die is cast

== English == === Etymology === Calque of Latin iacta ālea est, which is grammatically, and thereby semantically, an incorrect translation by the Roman historian Suetonius (c. 69 – p. 122 C.E.) in his work Vīta Dīvī Iūlī (On the Life of the Caesars, 121 C.E.) of the Ancient Greek ἀνερρίφθω κύβος (anerrhíphthō kúbos), which was said to have been spoken by Julius Caesar (100 – 44 B.C.E.) when he crossed the Rubicon to irreversibly begin a civil war in the Roman Republic (see cross the Rubicon). Caesar was quoting from the comedy Ἀρρηφόρῳ (Arrhēphórōi, The Bearer of Ritual Objects) by the dramatist Menander (c. 342 or 341 – c. 290 B.C.E.). The Greek phrase is more accurately translated as “let the die be cast” (meaning “let the game be played” and implying “let us proceed irreversibly”), and refers a game of chance in which the outcome is determined by the throwing of dice or a single die. === Pronunciation === (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /ðə ˌdaɪ ɪz ˈkɑːst/ (Northern England) IPA(key): /ðə ˌdaɪ ɪz ˈkast/ (General American) IPA(key): /ðə ˌdaɪ ɪz ˈkæst/ Rhymes: -ɑːst, -æst === Phrase === the die is cast (idiomatic) A conclusive action has been taken, so events will proceed in an irreversible manner; the point of no return has been passed; the future is determined; there are no more options. Synonyms: genie is out of the bottle, les jeux sont faits, you can't put the toothpaste back in the tube, you can't unring a bell ==== Coordinate terms ==== cross the Rubicon ==== Translations ==== ==== See also ==== === References === === Further reading === alea iacta est on Wikipedia.Wikipedia “the die is cast, phrase” under “die, n.1”, in OED Online ⁠, Oxford: Oxford University Press, September 2022.