Cliché: you can't put the toothpaste back in the tube

(entered for 02.08.06)

Meaning: once something is “out” you can’t contain it. Use examples.
Rewrite 1: you can’t un-squeeze the toothpaste
Rewrite 2: toothpaste – once it’s out^adj it’s out!
Rewrite 3: you can never get the toy back in the box the way it came
Rewrite 4: you can’t force the ointment back in the tubeⁿ²

Comment: Here we pretty much talk about toothpaste, but they apply to other gooey substances like space food and ointment.

More reading about clichés
What I found when I googled “clichés”:
• The Good Web Guide Website Review: “The Movies Cliché List.”

Check out the new alphabetical list of all my cliché rewrites available in the archive list at the right. To search the page using Internet Explorer, just go to “Edit” in the top menu bar, select “Find”, then enter the cliché or a word from it.