Shakespeare Phrases

“Wild-goose chase” comes from Romeo and Juliet.

We use this phrase today to mean:

• a goose hunt

• a useless search

• a competitive sport

• a fun enterprise

“Set my teeth on edge” comes from Henry IV Part I.

We use this phrase today to mean:

• a toothache

• to bite hard on something

• to really irritate

• be firm and unyielding

“One fell swoop” comes from Macbeth

We use this phrase today to mean:

• all at once

• a type of hair style

• quickly downhill

• someone sweeping

“Laughing stock” comes from The Merry Wives of Windsor.

We use this phrase today to mean:

• a compilation of jokes

• a comedian

• an audience at a comedian's show

• someone who is mocked

"Eaten out of house and home" comes from Henry IV.

We use this phrase today to mean:

• to buy someone's home

• use up all of someone’s food and resources

• to have an infestation of pests

• eat until you are full

"Too much of a good thing" comes from As You Like It.

We use this phrase today to mean:

• an excessive amount of something that is otherwise good

• having presents showered on you

• having enough money in the bank and not knowing what to do with it

• not knowing what to do with all you have

"A heart of gold" comes from Henry V.

We use this phrase today to mean:

• a locket

• the richest man in town

• a kind-hearted, genuinely good person

• a person who is a shining example of pride

"Lie low" comes from Much Ado About Nothing.

We use this phrase today to mean:

• take the lowest bunk

• tell horrible lies; deceive

• speak softly

• stay out of sight; avoid attention

"Not slept one wink" comes from Cymbeline.

We use this phrase today to mean:

• stayed awake all night

• slept with one eye open

• won a staring contest

• slept with both eyes open

"Foregone conclusion" comes from Othello.

We use this phrase today to mean:

• a decision that one made in the past

• an obvious or inevitable result

• a decision one will make in the future

• a badly written conclusion