put the toothpaste back in the tube

English

Verb

put the toothpaste back in the tube (third-person singular simple present puts the toothpaste back in the tube, present participle putting the toothpaste back in the tube, simple past and past participle put the toothpaste back in the tube)

1. (idiomatic, chiefly in the negative) To revert a situation; to put things back as they were before something (usually an unwelcome thing) became a reality.

Synonyms

• put the cork back in the bottle
• put the genie back in the bottle