Shutting The Barn Door After The Horse Has Bolted

To close the stable door after the horse has bolted.

Shutting the barn door after the horse has bolted.

Shut or lock the stable door after the horse has bolted try to avoid or prevent something bad or unwelcome when it is already too late to do so. Until the late 19th century it was used in the form shut the stable door after the steed is stolen. See full dictionary entry for stable. If you try to replace the oil filter on the engine now you re just closing the stable door after the horse has bolted.

Synonyms and related words. Meaning of shut close the stable barn door after the horse has bolted in english shut close the stable barn door after the horse has bolted to be so late in taking action to prevent something bad happening that the bad event has already happened thesaurus. Proverb this saying dates back to medieval times. Close the barn door after the horse has bolted is alternative often used in american english.

Phrase verb inflects if you say that someone has closed or shut the stable door after the horse has bolted you mean that they have tried to prevent something happening but they have done so too late to prevent damage being done. Trying to prevent or rectify a problem after the damage has already been done.