Dictionary

make hay while the sun shines en · VERB

Pronunciation

• (Australia) audio

Etymology

Hay harvest can be spoiled by wet weather. It is important that farmers seize the opportunity of dry weather for haymaking tasks (cutting, drying, gathering), more so in medieval times, when forecasting the weather was more difficult. Attested since 1546, originally a Tudor expression, and used figuratively since 1673.

Meanings

1. (idiomatic) To act while an opportunity exists; to take action while a situation is favorable.
   • Near-synonym: grasp the nettle
   • Until the mid-2010s, the ROSCOs 'made hay while the sun shone', taking advantage of growing passenger demand and expanding services to find homes for their rolling assets - in some cases, well beyond their expected design lives. 2023 June 28, Ben Jones, “Are we getting rid of our (still useful) rolling stock too early?”, in RAIL, number 986, page 28:
2. (qualifier:literal) To make hay during favourable (dry) weather.

Forms

Relateds

haymaking · haymaker

Synonyms

take time by the forelock · grasp the nettle · strike while the iron is hot

Translations (21)

mk железото се кове додека е жешко (act while an opportunity exists) · fi tao kun rauta on kuumaa (act while an opportunity exists) · el στη βράση κολλάει το σίδερο (act while an opportunity exists) · es ahora que hay modo (act while an opportunity exists) · gd buain am maorach nuair a tha an tràigh ann (act while an opportunity exists) · fr battre le fer tant qu’il est chaud (act while an opportunity exists) · ms sediakan payung sebelum hujan (act while an opportunity exists) · lo ນ້ຳຂຶ້ນໃຫ້ຮິບຕັກ (act while an opportunity exists) · nl het ijzer smeden als het heet is (act while an opportunity exists) · ja 善は急げ (act while an opportunity exists) · cmn 趁熱打鐵 /趁热打铁 (act while an opportunity exists) · de das Eisen schmieden, so lange es heißt ist (act while an opportunity exists) · br pa'z eus avel eo gwentañ a zo d'ober (act while an opportunity exists) · it battere il ferro finché è caldo (act while an opportunity exists) · hi बहती गंगा में हाथ धोना (act while an opportunity exists) · pl kuć żelazo, póki gorące (act while an opportunity exists) · ru куй желе́зо, пока́ горячо́ (act while an opportunity exists) · cs kuj železo, dokud je žhavé (act while an opportunity exists) · hu addig üsd a vasat, amíg meleg (act while an opportunity exists) · es la ocasión, la pintan calva (act while an opportunity exists) · pt aproveite a maré (act while an opportunity exists)