to make hay while the sun shines
1
5.8
- idiom
- Informal
:
aprovechar el momento
- You have to make hay while the sun shines.
In other words, you know how they say make hay while the sun's shining?
- In other words, you know how they say make hay while the sun's shining?
Examples
-
Other observers, equally struck by the fabulous expansion going on around them, stressed the need to make hay while the sun shone, to seize once-in-a-lifetime opportunities.
Academic text (2005) -
I believe a lot of them are making hay while the sun shines, so to speak, as are most of the people I know on both the left and right.
Blog text (18) -
Gotta make hay while the sun shines.
-
Now listen you two, you better make hay while the sun shines.
-
But as they say, you have to make hay while the sun shines.
Fiction book (1994) -
Make hay while the sun shines.
-
So, until prohibition ends, make hay while the sun shines.
-
Right now, the economics are most likely tight or slightly underwater, and Pirelli needs to make hay while the sun shines.
Blog text (11) -
To succeed in this competitive market, you must make hay while the sun shines.
-
As the weather improves, the farmers need to make hay while the sun shines.
Synonyms
10
3.9
Act quickly to use a good chance
5
6.6
To use a good chance to get an advantage
3
4.7
Do something quickly to use a good chance before it ends
Use a good chance before it ends
To take a chance quickly before other people do
Take action now while things are good
Antonyms
How Much Advantage
214
5.6
76
4.9
- Informal
1
5.8
10
3.9
562
1.4
14
2.8
Surface Forms
Morphology
make + hay + while + the + sun + shine
The proverbial meaning is motivated by a transparent literal scene (you must make hay when the sun shines because drying requires good weather), so the relation between constituents and the idea of acting while conditions are favorable is inferable. However, this requires world knowledge and metaphorical mapping from a farming scenario to general opportunity-taking, which a B1 learner may not reliably perform without prior exposure, so the expression is only partially predictable.
Etymology
The saying make hay while the sun shines comes from farming. When the sun shines, farmers must quickly make hay by cutting and drying hay before it gets wet, so the phrase means 'to take advantage of an opportunity while it lasts'.