See cross the Rubicon in All languages combined, or Wiktionary
Download JSON data for cross the Rubicon meaning in English (9.9kB)
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"etymology_text": "Refers to Julius Caesar's crossing of the Rubicon to wage civil war with Rome, on January 10, 49 BCE, in violation of law. Suetonius' use of the phrase the die is cast in describing this act popularised the use of that phrase, which was first attributed to the Greek dramatist Menander.",
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"text": "He knew that by coming out to his family he would be crossing the Rubicon, but he could not live a lie anymore.",
"type": "example"
},
{
"ref": "2015 September 5, Toby Helm, quoting Justin Welby, “Welby urges MPs: reject right-to-die bill that ‘crosses the Rubicon’”, in The Observer, →ISSN",
"text": "Britain will cross a “legal and ethical Rubicon” if parliament votes to permit terminally ill patients to end their lives, said the archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, as leaders of all the UK’s major faith groups call on MPs to reject plans to allow assisted suicide.",
"type": "quotation"
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{
"ref": "2016, Joseph Henrich, chapter 17, in The Secret of Our Success […], Princeton: Princeton University Press",
"text": "Having crossed the Rubicon, we can't go back. The impact of this transition is underlined by the fact that, despite our long evolutionary history as foragers, we generally can't survive by hunting and gathering when we have been stripped of that relevant culturally acquired know-how.",
"type": "quotation"
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{
"ref": "2019 August 16, Bonnie Girard, “Battle-Ready: The PLA’s Hong Kong Garrison”, in The Diplomat, archived from the original on 2019-08-16",
"text": "Will China cross the Rubicon by sending its military to Hong Kong?[…]\nAs the world contemplates whether Beijing will cross the Rubicon and use military force to quell protests in Hong Kong, one question naturally comes to mind: Would the existing garrison be used, or would tanks and soldiers, recently seen moving toward the border in nearby Shenzhen, come across from the mainland? Would they conceivably act as a combined force?",
"type": "quotation"
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{
"ref": "2022 March 9, Luuk van Middelaar, “History is brutally back, and Ukraine will test Europe’s appetite for the consequences”, in The Guardian, →ISSN",
"text": "With the invasion of Ukraine the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, has thrown himself into the unthinkable. He has crossed the Rubicon into a time of war. He has no way back.",
"type": "quotation"
},
{
"ref": "2022 October 21, Jason Bailey, “How George Clooney and Julia Roberts Quietly Became the Tracy-Hepburn of Our Time”, in The New York Times",
"text": "When the inevitable moment arrives to cross the romantic Rubicon in “Ticket to Paradise,” the machinery of the screenplay and the far-fetched nature of the moment don’t matter — they can just look at each other and sell it.",
"type": "quotation"
}
],
"glosses": [
"To make an irreversible decision or to take an action with consequences."
],
"id": "en-cross_the_Rubicon-en-verb-Z8jtP2eH",
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"word": "burn one's boats"
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{
"word": "burn one's bridges"
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{
"word": "cross the line"
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{
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{
"word": "the die is cast"
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{
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"translations": [
{
"code": "af",
"lang": "Afrikaans",
"sense": "to make an irreversible decision",
"word": "die Rubicon oorsteek"
},
{
"code": "ca",
"lang": "Catalan",
"sense": "to make an irreversible decision",
"word": "passar el Rubicó"
},
{
"code": "cmn",
"lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
"roman": "pòfǔchénzhōu",
"sense": "to make an irreversible decision",
"word": "破釜沉舟"
},
{
"code": "nl",
"lang": "Dutch",
"sense": "to make an irreversible decision",
"word": "de Rubicon oversteken"
},
{
"code": "eo",
"lang": "Esperanto",
"sense": "to make an irreversible decision",
"word": "transiri Rubikonon"
},
{
"code": "fi",
"lang": "Finnish",
"sense": "to make an irreversible decision",
"word": "ottaa ratkaiseva askel"
},
{
"code": "fi",
"lang": "Finnish",
"sense": "to make an irreversible decision",
"word": "ylittää Rubicon"
},
{
"code": "fr",
"lang": "French",
"sense": "to make an irreversible decision",
"word": "franchir le Rubicon"
},
{
"code": "fr",
"lang": "French",
"sense": "to make an irreversible decision",
"word": "passer le Rubicon"
},
{
"code": "gl",
"lang": "Galician",
"sense": "to make an irreversible decision",
"word": "cruzar o Rubicón"
},
{
"code": "de",
"lang": "German",
"sense": "to make an irreversible decision",
"word": "den Rubikon überschreiten"
},
{
"code": "el",
"lang": "Greek",
"roman": "diavaíno ton Rouvíkona",
"sense": "to make an irreversible decision",
"word": "διαβαίνω τον Ρουβίκωνα"
},
{
"code": "el",
"lang": "Greek",
"roman": "pernó ton Rouvíkona",
"sense": "to make an irreversible decision",
"word": "περνώ τον Ρουβίκωνα"
},
{
"code": "he",
"lang": "Hebrew",
"roman": "laḥtsot et harubiḳon",
"sense": "to make an irreversible decision",
"word": "לחצות את הרוביקון"
},
{
"code": "is",
"lang": "Icelandic",
"sense": "to make an irreversible decision",
"word": "taka örlagaríka ákvörðun"
},
{
"code": "it",
"lang": "Italian",
"sense": "to make an irreversible decision",
"word": "passare il Rubicone"
},
{
"code": "it",
"lang": "Italian",
"sense": "to make an irreversible decision",
"word": "il dado è tratto"
},
{
"code": "it",
"lang": "Italian",
"sense": "to make an irreversible decision",
"word": "bruciarsi i ponti alle spalle"
},
{
"code": "ky",
"lang": "Kyrgyz",
"roman": "Rubikondu ötüü",
"sense": "to make an irreversible decision",
"word": "Рубиконду өтүү"
},
{
"code": "pl",
"lang": "Polish",
"sense": "to make an irreversible decision",
"tags": [
"imperfective"
],
"word": "przekraczać Rubikon"
},
{
"code": "pl",
"lang": "Polish",
"sense": "to make an irreversible decision",
"tags": [
"perfective"
],
"word": "przekroczyć Rubikon"
},
{
"code": "pt",
"lang": "Portuguese",
"sense": "to make an irreversible decision",
"word": "atravessar o Rubicão"
},
{
"code": "ru",
"lang": "Russian",
"roman": "perejtí Rubikon",
"sense": "to make an irreversible decision",
"word": "перейти́ Рубикон"
},
{
"code": "sh",
"lang": "Serbo-Croatian",
"roman": "preći Rubikon",
"sense": "to make an irreversible decision",
"word": "прећи Рубикон"
},
{
"code": "es",
"lang": "Spanish",
"sense": "to make an irreversible decision",
"word": "pasar el Rubicón"
},
{
"code": "sv",
"lang": "Swedish",
"sense": "to make an irreversible decision",
"word": "övergå Rubicon"
},
{
"code": "sv",
"lang": "Swedish",
"sense": "to make an irreversible decision",
"word": "gå över Rubicon"
},
{
"code": "sv",
"lang": "Swedish",
"sense": "to make an irreversible decision",
"word": "korsa Rubicon"
},
{
"code": "uk",
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"roman": "perejtý rubikón",
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"tags": [
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"word": "перейти́ рубіко́н"
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"roman": "perestupýty rubikón",
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"word": "переступи́ти рубіко́н"
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"sense": "to make an irreversible decision",
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"imperfective"
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"word": "перехо́дити рубіко́н"
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"roman": "perestupáty rubikón",
"sense": "to make an irreversible decision",
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"word": "переступа́ти рубіко́н"
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"wikipedia": [
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"Menander"
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"type": "example"
},
{
"ref": "2015 September 5, Toby Helm, quoting Justin Welby, “Welby urges MPs: reject right-to-die bill that ‘crosses the Rubicon’”, in The Observer, →ISSN",
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"type": "quotation"
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"ref": "2016, Joseph Henrich, chapter 17, in The Secret of Our Success […], Princeton: Princeton University Press",
"text": "Having crossed the Rubicon, we can't go back. The impact of this transition is underlined by the fact that, despite our long evolutionary history as foragers, we generally can't survive by hunting and gathering when we have been stripped of that relevant culturally acquired know-how.",
"type": "quotation"
},
{
"ref": "2019 August 16, Bonnie Girard, “Battle-Ready: The PLA’s Hong Kong Garrison”, in The Diplomat, archived from the original on 2019-08-16",
"text": "Will China cross the Rubicon by sending its military to Hong Kong?[…]\nAs the world contemplates whether Beijing will cross the Rubicon and use military force to quell protests in Hong Kong, one question naturally comes to mind: Would the existing garrison be used, or would tanks and soldiers, recently seen moving toward the border in nearby Shenzhen, come across from the mainland? Would they conceivably act as a combined force?",
"type": "quotation"
},
{
"ref": "2022 March 9, Luuk van Middelaar, “History is brutally back, and Ukraine will test Europe’s appetite for the consequences”, in The Guardian, →ISSN",
"text": "With the invasion of Ukraine the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, has thrown himself into the unthinkable. He has crossed the Rubicon into a time of war. He has no way back.",
"type": "quotation"
},
{
"ref": "2022 October 21, Jason Bailey, “How George Clooney and Julia Roberts Quietly Became the Tracy-Hepburn of Our Time”, in The New York Times",
"text": "When the inevitable moment arrives to cross the romantic Rubicon in “Ticket to Paradise,” the machinery of the screenplay and the far-fetched nature of the moment don’t matter — they can just look at each other and sell it.",
"type": "quotation"
}
],
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"To make an irreversible decision or to take an action with consequences."
],
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"(idiomatic) To make an irreversible decision or to take an action with consequences."
],
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"translations": [
{
"code": "af",
"lang": "Afrikaans",
"sense": "to make an irreversible decision",
"word": "die Rubicon oorsteek"
},
{
"code": "ca",
"lang": "Catalan",
"sense": "to make an irreversible decision",
"word": "passar el Rubicó"
},
{
"code": "cmn",
"lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
"roman": "pòfǔchénzhōu",
"sense": "to make an irreversible decision",
"word": "破釜沉舟"
},
{
"code": "nl",
"lang": "Dutch",
"sense": "to make an irreversible decision",
"word": "de Rubicon oversteken"
},
{
"code": "eo",
"lang": "Esperanto",
"sense": "to make an irreversible decision",
"word": "transiri Rubikonon"
},
{
"code": "fi",
"lang": "Finnish",
"sense": "to make an irreversible decision",
"word": "ottaa ratkaiseva askel"
},
{
"code": "fi",
"lang": "Finnish",
"sense": "to make an irreversible decision",
"word": "ylittää Rubicon"
},
{
"code": "fr",
"lang": "French",
"sense": "to make an irreversible decision",
"word": "franchir le Rubicon"
},
{
"code": "fr",
"lang": "French",
"sense": "to make an irreversible decision",
"word": "passer le Rubicon"
},
{
"code": "gl",
"lang": "Galician",
"sense": "to make an irreversible decision",
"word": "cruzar o Rubicón"
},
{
"code": "de",
"lang": "German",
"sense": "to make an irreversible decision",
"word": "den Rubikon überschreiten"
},
{
"code": "el",
"lang": "Greek",
"roman": "diavaíno ton Rouvíkona",
"sense": "to make an irreversible decision",
"word": "διαβαίνω τον Ρουβίκωνα"
},
{
"code": "el",
"lang": "Greek",
"roman": "pernó ton Rouvíkona",
"sense": "to make an irreversible decision",
"word": "περνώ τον Ρουβίκωνα"
},
{
"code": "he",
"lang": "Hebrew",
"roman": "laḥtsot et harubiḳon",
"sense": "to make an irreversible decision",
"word": "לחצות את הרוביקון"
},
{
"code": "is",
"lang": "Icelandic",
"sense": "to make an irreversible decision",
"word": "taka örlagaríka ákvörðun"
},
{
"code": "it",
"lang": "Italian",
"sense": "to make an irreversible decision",
"word": "passare il Rubicone"
},
{
"code": "it",
"lang": "Italian",
"sense": "to make an irreversible decision",
"word": "il dado è tratto"
},
{
"code": "it",
"lang": "Italian",
"sense": "to make an irreversible decision",
"word": "bruciarsi i ponti alle spalle"
},
{
"code": "ky",
"lang": "Kyrgyz",
"roman": "Rubikondu ötüü",
"sense": "to make an irreversible decision",
"word": "Рубиконду өтүү"
},
{
"code": "pl",
"lang": "Polish",
"sense": "to make an irreversible decision",
"tags": [
"imperfective"
],
"word": "przekraczać Rubikon"
},
{
"code": "pl",
"lang": "Polish",
"sense": "to make an irreversible decision",
"tags": [
"perfective"
],
"word": "przekroczyć Rubikon"
},
{
"code": "pt",
"lang": "Portuguese",
"sense": "to make an irreversible decision",
"word": "atravessar o Rubicão"
},
{
"code": "ru",
"lang": "Russian",
"roman": "perejtí Rubikon",
"sense": "to make an irreversible decision",
"word": "перейти́ Рубикон"
},
{
"code": "sh",
"lang": "Serbo-Croatian",
"roman": "preći Rubikon",
"sense": "to make an irreversible decision",
"word": "прећи Рубикон"
},
{
"code": "es",
"lang": "Spanish",
"sense": "to make an irreversible decision",
"word": "pasar el Rubicón"
},
{
"code": "sv",
"lang": "Swedish",
"sense": "to make an irreversible decision",
"word": "övergå Rubicon"
},
{
"code": "sv",
"lang": "Swedish",
"sense": "to make an irreversible decision",
"word": "gå över Rubicon"
},
{
"code": "sv",
"lang": "Swedish",
"sense": "to make an irreversible decision",
"word": "korsa Rubicon"
},
{
"code": "uk",
"lang": "Ukrainian",
"roman": "perejtý rubikón",
"sense": "to make an irreversible decision",
"tags": [
"perfective"
],
"word": "перейти́ рубіко́н"
},
{
"code": "uk",
"lang": "Ukrainian",
"roman": "perestupýty rubikón",
"sense": "to make an irreversible decision",
"tags": [
"perfective"
],
"word": "переступи́ти рубіко́н"
},
{
"code": "uk",
"lang": "Ukrainian",
"roman": "perexódyty rubikón",
"sense": "to make an irreversible decision",
"tags": [
"imperfective"
],
"word": "перехо́дити рубіко́н"
},
{
"code": "uk",
"lang": "Ukrainian",
"roman": "perestupáty rubikón",
"sense": "to make an irreversible decision",
"tags": [
"imperfective"
],
"word": "переступа́ти рубіко́н"
}
],
"word": "cross the Rubicon"
}
This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable English dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2024-04-26 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2024-04-21 using wiktextract (93a6c53 and 21a9316). The data shown on this site has been post-processed and various details (e.g., extra categories) removed, some information disambiguated, and additional data merged from other sources. See the raw data download page for the unprocessed wiktextract data.
If you use this data in academic research, please cite Tatu Ylonen: Wiktextract: Wiktionary as Machine-Readable Structured Data, Proceedings of the 13th Conference on Language Resources and Evaluation (LREC), pp. 1317-1325, Marseille, 20-25 June 2022. Linking to the relevant page(s) under https://kaikki.org would also be greatly appreciated.