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Strike while the iron is hot. When shaping steel, it's red hot, that's when a hammer will shape it. After it's cooled down, iron is fixed into it's last form. You want to reshape it, it must be re-heated, red hot. To harden it, dip it quickly into water, now it's brittle and will break like glass...so you temper it, exposing it to white or red hot stones until blue colors work their way all along the metal...then "figure 8" the project slowly into water...now it's tempered.

"Strike while the iron is hot" is an old saying, meaning "hit the enemy while you're on a roll!" Or, "Strike the enemy, while all your men are "worked up" (excited, incensed, physically and mentally crazy enough to do it/to get the job done)."

Retreat, is yes; fall back, re-group (re-organize, get your act back together again) and try it again next time (live to fight another day).

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15y ago

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