cross the Rubicon
- to cross a point of no return
Wiktionary
verb
Etymology: Refers to Julius Caesar's crossing of the Rubicon to wage civil war with Rome, on January 10, 49 BCE, in violation of law. Suetonius' use of the phrase the die is cast in describing this act popularized the use of that phrase, which was first attributed to the Greek dramatist Menander.
- To make an irreversible decision or to take an action with consequences.
“He knew that by coming out to his family he would be crossing the Rubicon, but he could not live a lie anymore.”
“Britain will cross a “legal and ethical Rubicon” if parliament votes to permit terminally ill patients to end their lives, said the archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, as leaders of all the UK’s major faith groups call on MPs to reject plans to allow assisted suicide.”