idiom: to burn your bridges

Question

Is there a good way to say this idiom in Spanish? Literally this means "incendiar sus puentes" but I don't think that it is said in Spanish.

to burn one's bridges (behind one) = to make decisions that can't be changed in the future or to leave a relationship with a person or organization in such an unpleasant way that you will never be welcome to return

For example:

He burnt his bridges back to me when he broke up with me in a text message.

You shouldn't burn your bridges when you leave a job.

If you scream at your boss when you quit you will probably burn your bridges.

Thanks.

Answer 1

"Quemar los puentes", Alba, not "incendiar". Works the same way as in English, otherwise.

Really? I had 6 students tonight from MX & S. America who had never heard "Quemar los puentes" por eso pensé que tal vez "incendiar" fuera mejor. Gracias. Do you think that most Spanish speakers know what it means? - alba3, ABR 7, 2010

I would think so. I have also seen references to the expression indicated by Aeroplod: "quemar las naves". One of the two ought to work! - Gekkosan, ABR 8, 2010

Se dice " por eso no se te da la mano" o se te cierran las puertas - pat1829, SEP 6, 2017

Answer 2

I have seen....Quemar las naves to mean burn one's bridges. It literally means to burn one's boats but this too is an expression with identical meaning.