Idiom
change horses in midstream
Meaning
To change one's plan or approach when an effort is already underway or at another inopportune time.
Meaning adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Examples
“It is too late to change horses in midstream now.”
“We are halfway through the project, so it is a bad time to change horses in midstream.”
“Although the current strategy shows few results, the board fears that to change horses in midstream would only invite further chaos.”
Examples
simple
“It is too late to change horses in midstream now.”
contextual
“We are halfway through the project, so it is a bad time to change horses in midstream.”
complex
“Although the current strategy shows few results, the board fears that to change horses in midstream would only invite further chaos.”
Origin
Popularized by Abraham Lincoln.
Key words
Related idioms
- Updated