Advertisement

Advertisement

Strike while the iron is hot

  1. Take advantage of favorable circumstances while they last. The image is from a blacksmith's shop; the smith can shape iron only by striking it with his hammer when it is red hot.


Discover More

Idioms and Phrases

Take advantage of favorable conditions, as in They just made a huge profit, so let's strike while the iron is hot and ask for some money . This adage alludes to the blacksmith's forge. [Late 1300s] Also see make hay while the sun shines .

Advertisement

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement


strike upstrike zone