Lord willing and the creek don't rise
- idiom
- Informal
:
si Dios quiere
- He hopes to finish the house this year, Lord willing and the creek don't rise.
Examples
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We'll meet for lunch next week, Lord willing and the creek don't rise.
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I'll see you at the reunion, Lord willing and the creek don't rise.
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We’ll meet again next month, Lord willing and the creek don't rise.
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I plan to finish the project by Friday, Lord willing and the creek don't rise.
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Lord willing and the creek don't rise, we will finish the project by next week.
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I plan to go hiking this weekend, but Lord willing and the creek don't rise, it all depends on the weather.
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If all goes well, Lord willing and the creek don't rise, I'll be starting my new job on Monday.
Synonyms
896
2.7
Said when you want something to happen
Words people use to tell someone everything will be fine
Surface Forms
Morphology
Lord + willing + and + the + creek + don't + rise
The first part 'Lord willing' is largely transparent — a B1 learner knowing 'Lord' and 'willing' can infer 'if God allows' (similar to cross-linguistic equivalents like 'God willing'). However, the full idiom pairs that with a culturally specific rural image ('the creek don't rise' — i.e. unless a local creek floods and prevents plans) and a conventionalized colloquial pattern, so the overall conditional meaning 'if nothing goes wrong' is only partially predictable without exposure.
Etymology
Lord willing and the creek don't rise is a saying from country life in the United States. People would say Lord willing to mean 'if God allows' and fear that the creek might rise and flood the road so they could not travel. So the phrase means 'if nothing goes wrong'.