SHAKESPEARE'S PHRASES II

William Shakespeare (1564-1616) coined phrases that are so imbedded in modern day English that we don't realize how old they really are. Some examples and the works in which they first appeared:

1. The be-all and the end-all

    Macbeth

2. Jealousy is the green-eyed monster.

    Othello

3. What's done is done.

    Macbeth

4. Something wicked this way comes

    Macbeth

5. Foregone conclusion

    Othello

6. Wear my heart upon my sleeve

    Othello

7. All that glitters is not gold.*

    The Merchant of Venice

8. The world is my oyster.

    The Merry Wives of Windsor

9. Short shrift

    Richard III

10. A tower of strength

      Richard III 

 

*Shakespeare wrote, "All that glisters is not gold."