替古人耽忧

tì gǔ rén dān yōu

to fret over the worries of long-departed people (idiom); to worry unnecessarily

crying over spilt milk; often used with negatives, e.g. no need to worry about past issues

to substitute for

ancient

rén

person; people

dān

variant of 耽[dan1]

yōu

to worry