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21 Everyday Phrases That Come Straight From Shakespeare's Plays
Business Insider ^ | 12-30-2016 | Elena Holodny

Posted on 12/30/2016 10:16:58 AM PST by blam

Llena Holodny
December 30, 2016

William Shakespeare wrote a lot of great plays, but he also coined and popularized a lot of words and phrases that we still use to this day.

We put together a list of our 21 favorites. Check them out:

"Puking"

"The Seven Ages of Man: The Infant" by Robert Smirke, derived from a monologue in Shakespeare's "As You Like It."Wikimedia

"All the world's a stage,

And all the men and women merely players: They have their exits and their entrances; And one man in his time plays many parts, His acts being seven ages. At first the infant, Mewling and puking in the nurse's arms. ..."

How Shakespeare uses it: "Puking" was first recorded in Shakespeare's "As You Like It." It was likely an English imitation of the German word "spucken," which means to spit, according to Dictionary.com.

Modern definition: A synonym for the verb "to vomit."

Source: "As You Like It," Act 2, Scene 7

"Vanish into thin air"

Constantin Stanislavski as Othello.Wikimedia

"Then put up your pipes in your bag, for I'll away. Go; vanish into air; away!" (Othello)

How Shakespeare uses it: The Clown says this to the musicians in "Othello" to make them go away.

But some have also suggested that there is a darker underlying meaning. Act 3 in Othello is the final act that suggests that all of this might have a happy ending. It gets pretty dark starting in Act 4. So the Clown might be symbolically asking musicians and all happy things to "vanish into thin air" because there's no more room for them in the play.

A similar phrase is also found in "The Tempest."

Modern definition: To disappear without a trace.

Sources: "Othello," Act 3, Scene 1, "The Tempest," Act 4, Scene 1

(Excerpt) Read more at businessinsider.com ...


TOPICS: News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: epigraphyandlanguage; g42; godsgravesglyphs; history; language; literature; quotes; renaissance; shakespeare; shkesphere; williamshakespeare
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If Shakespheare were alive today, he surly would have said, - Roll Tide -
1 posted on 12/30/2016 10:16:58 AM PST by blam
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To: blam

>>If Shakespheare were alive today, he surly would have said, - Roll Tide -<<

What about “Wankel Rotary Engine?”


2 posted on 12/30/2016 10:21:59 AM PST by freedumb2003 (I have feeling '17 is gonna be a good year)
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To: blam

“There’s something rotten in the state of Denmark”

Hamlet...of course! :-)


3 posted on 12/30/2016 10:23:26 AM PST by left that other site (You shall know the Truth, and The Truth Shall Set You Free.)
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To: blam

“Brush Up Your Shakespeare”


4 posted on 12/30/2016 10:23:32 AM PST by BenLurkin (The above is not a statement of fact. It is either satire or opinion. Or both.)
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To: blam

Not all Alabama fans are surly.


5 posted on 12/30/2016 10:23:34 AM PST by Hugh the Scot ( Total War)
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To: blam
Why is it always "Thin Air"?

Why not "Fat Air" or "Chubby Air" or "Mostly Fit but could stand to lose a few pounds" Air?

6 posted on 12/30/2016 10:24:54 AM PST by Harmless Teddy Bear (Not a Romantic, not a hero worshiper and stop trying to tug my heartstrings. It tickles! (pink bow))
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To: blam

“The quality of mercy is not strain’d,
It droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven”

One of my favorites.


7 posted on 12/30/2016 10:26:27 AM PST by Huskrrrr
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To: blam

Would love to go to the source, but they apparently employ a moron as a web designer. The page gets whited out to display an ad that never gets delivered, or is somehow displayed off screen. Since they disable page up, page down, and arrows, I can’t get to the ad to display it nor get rid of it to read the content.

Damn script kiddies.


8 posted on 12/30/2016 10:30:14 AM PST by chrisser
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To: blam

Would love to go to the source, but they apparently employ a moron as a web designer. The page gets whited out to display an ad that never gets delivered, or is somehow displayed off screen. Since they disable page up, page down, and arrows, I can’t get to the ad to display it nor get rid of it to read the content.

Damn script kiddies.


9 posted on 12/30/2016 10:30:15 AM PST by chrisser
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To: Hugh the Scot
"Not all Alabama fans are surly."

Surely you jest?

10 posted on 12/30/2016 10:30:37 AM PST by blam
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To: blam
Bill was a smart guy.

 

Image result for first kill all the lawyers

 

 

11 posted on 12/30/2016 10:41:55 AM PST by Responsibility2nd
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To: blam

“Custom what they did begin Was with long use account no sin.”
Pericles, Prince of Tyre, Act I - Prologue

Not exactly an “everyday phrase”, but a wise note on human nature.


12 posted on 12/30/2016 10:42:24 AM PST by LouieFisk
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To: blam
Words that no longer mean what they mean.

On Christmas day my grand-daughter informed me that my beans were "dope" You can imagine my response until she explained that dope means they are really good.

I will never be able to understand this generation.

13 posted on 12/30/2016 10:48:13 AM PST by Spunky
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To: freedumb2003

Winkle, winkle little Wankel
How I wonder if your crank’ll
Torque enough to turn itself
Or will you wind up on the shelf

John Dinkel, Road & Track magazine


14 posted on 12/30/2016 10:49:10 AM PST by swhiteman
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To: Spunky
"Dope" was slang for "Excellent" 15-20 years ago. (Why? Because I know what it means, if it were any more recent, I'd be out of luck.... :-) )

Interesting how slang, like fashion, music, and all other pop culture, comes back around.

15 posted on 12/30/2016 10:56:47 AM PST by wbill
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To: Harmless Teddy Bear

Did you ever write for Monty Python?


16 posted on 12/30/2016 10:59:17 AM PST by Chaguito
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To: BenLurkin
“Brush Up Your Shakespeare”

"Aye, now there's a good wench! Come, Kiss Me Kate!"

One of the many musicals I was in many, many moons ago.

17 posted on 12/30/2016 11:00:06 AM PST by Bloody Sam Roberts (The future doesn't belong to the fainthearted. It belongs to the brave. - - Ronaldus Magnus Reagan)
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To: Chaguito

Nah, just an old grouch! :)


18 posted on 12/30/2016 11:10:06 AM PST by Harmless Teddy Bear (Not a Romantic, not a hero worshiper and stop trying to tug my heartstrings. It tickles! (pink bow))
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To: Harmless Teddy Bear

Okay Jerry... it is not nice to call anything fat. Including air. Thin not so much.

Btw I am at the Dept store with the wife. She is trying on clothes. ;)


19 posted on 12/30/2016 11:20:28 AM PST by dhs12345
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To: Spunky

Ya. Fag has a different meaning now and might get you banned.


20 posted on 12/30/2016 11:22:34 AM PST by dhs12345
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