"The die is cast" is roughly synonymous with "this is the point of no return," like "crossing the Rubicon." And I knew that's what it meant, but the imagery I used to get there was different.
I mentioned en Twittre that, until very recently - the last year maybe - I thought the phrase "The Die Is Cast" was referring to a manufacturing thing, like a shaping tool. The tool that will determine the shape of events is already made. I was overjoyed to learn I wasn't the only one who felt this way. But there were also a third group of people who thought it was referring to dye, that an indelible mark had been made and that was the shape of things. The reason nobody had their assumptions challenged for so long was because they were all using the term identically, with full compatibility, independent of the metaphor. This is the kind of thing I like. The end.
(CW)TB
