{"id":12677,"date":"2024-09-16T19:00:08","date_gmt":"2024-09-16T23:00:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dianaderringer.com\/?p=12677"},"modified":"2024-08-20T16:10:19","modified_gmt":"2024-08-20T20:10:19","slug":"burn-boats","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dianaderringer.com\/burn-boats\/","title":{"rendered":"Burn Boats"},"content":{"rendered":"<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/dianaderringer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Burn-Boats.jpg\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-12678\" src=\"https:\/\/dianaderringer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Burn-Boats.jpg\" alt=\"Burn Boats--a burning ship at night\" width=\"450\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/dianaderringer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Burn-Boats.jpg 450w, https:\/\/dianaderringer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Burn-Boats-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/dianaderringer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Burn-Boats-405x270.jpg 405w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 450px) 100vw, 450px\" \/><\/a>Burn boats is another expression more common among the British. In America, we usually refer to burning bridges or <a href=\"https:\/\/dianaderringer.com\/burn-our-bridges-behind-us\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">burning our bridges behind us<\/a>. The two expressions have the same meaning.<\/p>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: left;\"><strong>Burn boats (or burn the ships) means to destroy all means of retreat.<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><strong>\u00a0<\/strong>We leave no way to return to our previous situation. According to <a href=\"https:\/\/usdictionary.com\/idioms\/burn-boats\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">U.S. Dictionary<\/a>, this idiom comes from \u201cthe story of Hern\u00e1n Cort\u00e9s, who, upon arriving in Mexico in 1519, ordered his men to burn their boats, making it clear that there was no turning back.\u201d<\/p>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: left;\"><strong>When we burn boats in our lives, our commitment forces us to go forward.<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">We can only move toward the goal or battle before us. As with Cortez and his men, our decision is both brave and risky.<\/p>\n<ul style=\"text-align: left;\">\n<li>It is difficult or impossible to reverse.<\/li>\n<li>Yet, we strive harder to achieve our purpose.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">The song, \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=pOVrOuKVBuY\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Burn the Ships<\/a>,\u201d by for King and Country is based on this expression. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=6M1jtGsyYe4\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Learn the reason for their song choice here.<\/a><\/p>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: left;\"><strong>Sometimes we must turn away from our past in order to follow the right road ahead.<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">Rather than look back, we pursue the good God offers before us.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><strong>\u00a0<\/strong>\u201cForgetting what is behind\u00a0and straining toward what is ahead,\u00a0I press on\u00a0toward the goal to win the prize\u00a0for which God has called\u00a0me heavenward in Christ Jesus\u201d (Philippians 3:13-14 NIV).<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">Thanks to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.jjlevan.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Jonna J. LeVan<\/a> for the suggestion. Photo by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pexels.com\/photo\/a-burning-ship-at-night-9129534\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Klub Boks on Pexels<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">Do you have an expression you want explained or a thought about this one? If so, please comment below.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/dianaderringer.us5.list-manage.com\/subscribe?u=11983df7ac45be83499003741&amp;id=1797662da7\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Subscribe to receive my weekly posts by email<\/a>\u00a0and receive a free copy of \u201cWords of Hope for Days that Hurt.\u201d<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">If you enjoyed this post, please share it with your friends.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Burn boats is another expression more common among the British. In America, we usually refer to burning bridges or burning our bridges behind us. The two expressions have the same meaning. Burn boats (or burn the ships) means to destroy all means of retreat. \u00a0We leave no way to return to our previous situation. According to U.S. Dictionary, this idiom comes from \u201cthe story of Hern\u00e1n Cort\u00e9s, who, upon arriving in Mexico in 1519, ordered his men to burn their&#8230;<\/p>\n<p class=\"read-more\"><a class=\"btn btn-default\" href=\"https:\/\/dianaderringer.com\/burn-boats\/\"> Read More<span class=\"screen-reader-text\">  Read More<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[3148,3149,46,677,923,3150,443,3154,470,3153,561,889,182,925,3152,3151,120,486,924],"class_list":["post-12677","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-wisdom","tag-burn-boats","tag-burn-the-ships","tag-choices","tag-devotion","tag-diana-derringer","tag-dont-look-back","tag-encouragement","tag-for-king-and-country","tag-god","tag-hernan-cortes","tag-idiom","tag-idioms","tag-jesus","tag-life-lessons-from-english-expressions","tag-look-forward","tag-no-retreat","tag-opportunity","tag-wisdom","tag-words-wit-and-wisdom"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v24.6 - 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