midstream



Don't change horses at midstream.

1. Proverb Do not try to choose or back a different political figure for an election after the decision has already been made or the position filled. Many people are dissatisfied with the senator's performance but will likely carry his party's support through to the next election—don't change horses in midstream, as the saying goes.
2. Proverb By extension, do not make major changes to a situation or course of action that is already underway. I'm really not confident in the strength of my essay, but I guess I just have to see this one through at this point. Like they say, don't change horses at midstream.
See also: change, horse

Don't swap horses at midstream.

1. Proverb Do not try to choose or back a different political figure for an election after the decision has already been made or the position filled. Many people are dissatisfied with the senator's performance but will likely carry his party's support through to the next election—don't swap horses at midstream, as the saying goes.
2. Proverb By extension, do not make major changes to a situation or course of action that is already underway. I'm really not confident in the strength of my essay, but I guess I just have to see this one through at this point. Like they say, don't swap horses at midstream.
See also: horse, swap

swap horses in midstream

1. To choose a new leader during a period of upheaval or uncertainty. The prime minister has been at the helm throughout the crisis. I just don't think we should swap horses in midstream.
2. To make major changes to a situation or course of action that is already underway. We're about to close on the house, and my husband suddenly wants to swap horses in midstream and look at another property!
See also: horse, midstream, swap

change horses in midstream

 and change horses in the middle of the stream
Fig. to make major changes in an activity that has already begun; to choose someone or something else after it is too late. (Alludes to someone trying to move from one horse to another while crossing a stream.) I'm already baking a cherry pie. I can't bake an apple pie. It's too late to change horses in the middle of the stream. The house is half-built. It's too late to hire a different architect. You can't change horses in midstream. Jane: I've written a rough draft of my research paper, but the topic doesn't interest me as much as I thought. Maybe I ought to pick a different one. Jill: Don't change horses in midstream.
See also: change, horse, midstream

change horses in midstream, don't

Also, don't swap horses in midstream. It's unwise to alter methods or choose new leaders during a crisis, as in I don't hold with getting a new manager right now-let's not swap horses in midstream. This expression was popularized (although not originated) by Abraham Lincoln in a speech in 1864 when he discovered that the National Union League was supporting him for a second term as President.
See also: change, horse

Common Names:

NameGenderPronouncedUsage
Cholpon-Kyrgyz
Flurry-Irish
Mirandamə-RAN-də (English)English, Dutch
Teague-Irish
Maximinomahk-see-MEE-no (Spanish)Spanish, Portuguese
Grozdan-Bulgarian, Macedonian