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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.


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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 .

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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.

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