A collection of 150
everyday expressions
The old joke goes something like this: A guys walks out of
the theater after seeing Hamlet for the first time. “I don’t know why everybody thinks Hamlet
is such a well-written play,” he says.
“It is full of clichés.”
Well, here is a whole list of clichés, along with where they
originated.
A fool's paradise—Romeo and Juliet
A foregone conclusion—Othello
A horse! A horse! My kingdom
for a horse! —Richard III
A little pot and soon hot—The
Taming of the Shrew
A tower of strength—Richard
III
Alas, poor Yorick! I knew him—Hamlet
All the world's a stage—As
You Like It
An eye-sore—The Taming of
the Shrew
As flies to wanton boys are we
to the gods—King Lear
As white as driven snow—The
Winter's Tale
Ay, there’s the rub—Hamlet
Bag and baggage—As You Like
It
Bated breath—The Merchant
of Venice
Beware the Ides of March—Julius
Caesar
Blow, blow, thou winter wind—As
You Like It
Breathe one’s last—Henry
VI, part 3
Brevity is the soul of wit—Hamlet
Budge an inch—The Taming of
the Shrew
Cold comfort—King John
Come full circle—King Lear
Come what may—Macbeth
Conscience does make cowards
of us all—Hamlet
Cowards die many times before
their deaths—Julius Caesar
Crack of doom—Macbeth
Dead as a doornail—Henry
VI, part 2
Death by inches—Coriolanus
Devil incarnate—Henry V
Dish fit for the gods—Julius
Caesar
Dog will have its day—Hamlet
Done to death—Much Ado
About Nothing
Double, double, toil and
trouble; fire burn, and cauldron bubble—Macbeth
Eaten me out of house and
home—Henry IV, part 2
Elbow room— King John
Et tu, Brute! –Julius
Caesar
Every inch a king—King Lear
Fair is foul, and foul is
fair—Macbeth
Fatal vision—Macbeth
Flaming youth—Hamlet
For goodness sake—Henry
VIII
Foregone conclusion—Othello
Frailty, thy name is woman—Hamlet
Friends, Romans, countrymen,
lend me your ears—Julius Caesar
Full of sound and fury—Macbeth
Get thee to a nunnery—Hamlet
Give the devil his due—Henry IV
Good night, ladies—Hamlet
Good riddance—Troilus and
Cressida
Green-eyed monster—Othello
Halcyon days—Henry VI
****
Her infinite variety—Antony
and Cleopatra
Hoist with his own petard—Hamlet
Hold a candle to—The
Merchant of Venice
Household words—Henry V
I am fortune's fool—Romeo
and Juliet
I have immortal longings in
me—Antony and Cleopatra
I have not slept one wink—Cymbeline
In my heart of hearts—Hamlet
In my mind's eye—Hamlet
Into thin air—The Tempest
It smells to heaven—Hamlet
It was Greek to me—Julius
Caesar
It's a wise father that knows
his own child—The Merchant of Venice
Kill ... with kindness—The
Taming of the Shrew
Knock, knock! Who’s there? —Macbeth
Laughing-stock—The Merry
Wives of Windsor
Lean and hungry look—Julius
Caesar
Lend me your ears—Julius
Caesar
Let slip the dogs of war—Julius
Caesar
Lord, what fools these mortals
be!—A Midsummer Night's Dream
Love is blind—The Merchant
of Venice
Merry as the day is long—Much
Ado About Nothing
Milk of human kindness—Macbeth
More fool you—The Taming of
the Shrew
More in sorrow than in anger—Hamlet
More sinned against than
sinning—King Lear
Murder most foul—Hamlet
My own flesh and blood—The Merchant
of Venice
My salad days, when I was
green in judgment—Antony and Cleopatra
Neither a borrower nor a
lender be—Hamlet
Not a mouse stirring—Hamlet
Now gods stand up for
bastards—King Lear
Now is the winter of our
discontent—Richard III
O, Brave new world—The
Tempest
Once more unto the breach—Henry
V
One fell swoop—Macbeth
One that loved not wisely, but
too well—Othello
Out, damned spot!—Macbeth
Out, out, brief candle—Macbeth
Paint the lily—King John
Paint the lily—King John
Parting is such sweet sorrow—Romeo
and Juliet
Play fast and loose—Love's
Labour's Lost
Pomp and Circumstance—Othello
Primrose path—Hamlet
Put out the light—Othello
Sharper than a serpent’s
tooth—King Lear
Short and the Long of It—Merry
Wives of Windsor
Short shrift—Richard III
Smooth runs the water where
the brook is deep—Henry VI, Part II
Something in the wind—The
Comedy of Errors
Something is rotten in the
state of Denmark—Hamlet
Sorry sight—Macbeth
Spotless reputation—Richard
III
Star-crossed lovers—Romeo and
Juliet
Stony-hearted villains—Henry
IV, part 1
Stood on ceremonies—Julius
Caesar
Strange bedfellows—The
Tempest
Suit the action to the word—Hamlet
Sweets to the sweet—Hamlet
The be-all and the end-all—Macbeth
The better part of valour is
discretion—Henry IV, part 1
The course of true love never
did run smooth—A Midsummer Night's Dream
The devil can cite Scripture
for his purpose—The Merchant of Venice
The first thing we do, let's
kill all the lawyers—Henry VI, part 2
The game is afoot—Henry IV,
part 1
The game is up—Cymbeline
The naked truth—Love's
Labour's Lost
The play’s the thing—Hamlet
The quality of mercy is not
strained—The Merchant of Venice
The lady doth protest too
much, methinks—Hamlet
The readiness is all—Hamlet
The rest is silence—Hamlet
The time is out of joint—Hamlet
The working day world—As
You Like It
The world's mine oyster—The
Merry Wives of Windsor
There is a tide in the affairs
of men—Julius Caesar
There’s a divinity that shapes
our ends—Hamlet
They say an old man is twice a
child—Hamlet
This was the noblest Roman of
them all—Julius Caesar
Though this be madness, yet
there is method in't—Hamlet
Throw cold water on it—The
Merry Wives of Windsor
Till the crack of doom—Macbeth
'Tis neither here nor there—--Othello
To be, or not to be: that is
the question—Hamlet
To make a virtue of necessity—The
Two Gentlemen of Verona
To the manner born—Hamlet
To thine own self be true—Hamlet
Too much of a good thing—As
You Like It
Uneasy lies the head that
wears a crown—Henry IV, part 2
Unkindest cut of all—--Julius
Caesar
Unsex me here—Macbeth
We are such stuff as dreams
are made on--The Tempest
We have seen better days—As
You Like It
Wear my heart on my sleeve—Othello
What a piece of work is a man—Hamlet
What the dickens—The Merry
Wives of Windsor
What’s done is done—Macbeth
What's in a name?—Romeo and
Juliet
What's past is prologue—The
Tempest
When shall we three meet
again? –Macbeth
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