19 Phrases Coined By William Shakespeare We Still Use Today
This month is the 400th anniversary of William Shakespeare.
The Bard gave us great works of literary excellence, yet you don’t have to be a fan to have felt their impact.
That’s because a number of phrases and sayings we still use today were buried within those texts.
Here are 19 phrases that were given to the English language by Shakespeare.
1. “With bated breath” - The Merchant Of Venice
2. “The be all and end all” - Macbeth
3. “Break the ice” - The Taming Of The Shrew
4. “Dead as a doornail” - Henry VI, Part II
5. “Faint-hearted” - Henry VI, Part I
6. “Wild-goose chase” - Romeo And Juliet
7. “Laugh yourself into stitches (in stitches)” - Twelfth Night
8. “Zany” - Love’s Labour’s Lost
9. “I will wear my heart upon my sleeve” - Othello
10. “What’s done, is done” - Macbeth
11. “At one fell swoop” - Macbeth
12. “Though this be madness, yet there is method in it (There’s method in my madness)” - Hamlet
13. “Spotless reputation” - Richard II
14. “Laughing-stock” - The Merry Wives Of Windsor
15. “Eaten out of house and home” - Henry IV, Part 2
16. “Fair play” - The Tempest/King John/Troilus And Cressida
17. “In a pickle” - The Tempest
18. “Send him packing” - Henry IV, Part 1
19. “Too much of a good thing” - As You Like It
(Pictures: Rex)
