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
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bing gives a few similar sites.
I knew the rest were from Shakespeare, but I was surprised by “swagger” (I thought that it had been in the English language much longer) and especially “puke” (which I thought was a very recent slang).
You can comment on color in pressed but the best response is “Honey, why do you ask me when you know I prefer you in nothing at all?”
Along with “pound of flesh” and “sound and fury.”
Also “band of brothers” and “neither a borrower nor a lender be.”
Among others ...
Lol. Good line.
Dude!!
In the age of internet trolls...
“And then is heard no more: it is a tale
Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,
Signifying nothing.”
I’m sorry, Ms. Eugeste is out of the office today.
Found this one inspiring at times.
This Shakespeare guy is pretty good.
He would never make it in Hollywood though...
#13 “Cheese it”
Heard it on the tv show “Happy Days”.
Makes no sense to me. Those 50’s guy were odd what with thou duckbill greasy hair.
Ditto.
This topic was posted , thanks blam.
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