seem like a good idea at the time

seem like a good idea at the time (third-person singular simple present seems like a good idea at the time, present participle seeming like a good idea at the time, simple past and past participle seemed like a good idea at the time)

1. Used to express regret for a foolish impromptu or impulsive past action.
   • 2002, Joseph Tragert, The Complete Idiot's Guide to Understanding Iraq‎, →ISBN, page 187:

     File Under "It Seemed Like a Good Idea at the Time" ¶ Why take Kuwait? The main answer, of course, has to do with control of oil resources.

   • 2008, March 27, “Thomas Sowell”, in Bipartisan primary blues‎:

     Do we want the magic words of "universal health care" to end up in a similar tangled mess — as it has already in some other countries — while we end up saying, "it seemed like a good idea at the time"?

   • 2008, June 8, “Joanna Weiss”, in A zany cartoon debut for an animated pair‎:

     "This could be one of those things where we slap our foreheads and say, 'It seemed like a good idea at the time'," he said.

• Almost exclusively in a past tense in its idiomatic use. Some exceptions preserve the past occurrence of the seeming:
  1. As a frequentative: "It always seems like a good idea at the time."
  2. Future perfect: "It will have seemed like a good idea at the time."
  3. Emphatic past with do: "It did seem like a good idea at the time."