APAD: It will all come out in the wash
Meaning: Things will work out/We'll find out the truth sooner or later - and
there's no point worrying about it now.
Background: This expression alludes to the power of washing to restore the
appearance of clothes to their original state.
The earliest recorded use of this sentiment is in Don Quixote by Miguel de
Cervantes (1605): 'All will away in the bucking.'
To 'buck' cloth was to steep it in lye as a form of bleaching.
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I wondered where they found that meaning of 'buck.' Moreover, as Don Quixote
came first in Spanish, 'All will away in the bucking' must be from one
translation which could be so taken for granted that there was no need to
mention it.
I thought of three simiar phrases. "Whatever will be, will be" sounds resigned
or even defeated, and "Hakuna Matata" oblivious and carefree. "We will cross the
bridge when we come to it" implies anxiety and something at stake.
