strike when the iron is hot. (14th century)
Proposed by a contributor, not yet supported by evidence.
Meaning · English
Take action when the opportunity is best
Literally: hit metal when it's hot
Examples
We should strike when the iron is hot and invest in the stock market now
AI-drafted example auto-approved by rule (illustrative, not a corpus attestation)
Sources & notes
Listed on English Wikiquote “English proverbs” (CC BY-SA 4.0, retrieved 2026-07-31). Definition drafted by AI (@cf/meta/llama-3.3-70b-instruct-fp8-fast) and auto-approved by rule on 2026-08-01; pending editor spot-check.
Common questions
What does “strike when the iron is hot. (14th century)” mean?
Take action when the opportunity is best Literally: hit metal when it's hot
Is “strike when the iron is hot. (14th century)” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.