“Too Much of a Good Thing’ – 60 Everyday phrases from William Shakespeare

For all his brilliance, there are still some people who just can’t get on with The Bard, but it is impossible to refute the influence he has had on the English language. Literally hundreds of common sayings, words and phrases used by all of us every day without a second thought are traceable back to Shakespeare’s wondrous mind.

So the next time you  ‘All of a sudden’ ‘catch a cold‘ after an ‘obscene’ and ‘fancy free’ night where you’ve ‘not slept one wink’, ‘give the devil his due’.

– “Fancy-free” – A Midsummer Night’s Dream

– “Lie low” – Much Ado About Nothing

– “Send packing” – Henry IV

– “Foregone conclusion” – Othello

– “A sorry sight” – Macbeth

– “For goodness sake” – Henry VIII

– “Good riddance” – The Merchant of Venice

– “Neither here not there” – Othello

– “Mum’s the word” – Henry VI, Part II

– “What’s done is done” – Macbeth

– “Break the ice” – The Taming of the Shrew

– “Scuffle” – Antony and Cleopatra

– “Catch a cold” – Cymbeline

– “Uncomfortable” – Romeo and Juliet

– “Manager” – A Midsummer Night’s Dream

– “Devil incarnate” – Titus Andronicus

– “Dishearten” – Henry V

– “Eventful” – As You Like It

– “New-fangled” – Love’s Labour’s Lost

– “Hot-blooded” – King Lear

– “Eaten out of house and home” – Henry IV, Part II

– “Rant” – Hamlet

– “Knock knock! Who’s there?” – Macbeth

– “With bated breath” – The Merchant of Venice

– “Laughable” – The Merchant of Venice

– “Negotiate” – Much Ado About Nothing

– “Jaded” – King Henry VI

– “A wild goose chase” – Romeo and Juliet

– “Assassination” – Macbeth

– “Too much of a good thing” – As You Like It

– “A heart of gold” – Henry V

– “Such stuff as dreams are made on” – The Tempest

– “Fashionable” – Troilus and Cressida

– “Puking” – As You Like It

– “Dead as a doornail” – Henry VI, Part II

– “Not slept one wink” – Cymbeline

– “The world’s mine oyster” – The Merry Wives of Windsor

– “Obscene” – Love’s Labour’s Lost

– “Bedazzled” – The Taming of the Shrew

– “In stitches” – Twelfth Night

– “Addiction” – Othello

– “Faint-hearted” – Henry VI, Part I

– “One fell swoop” – Macbeth

– “Vanish into thin air” – Othello

– “Swagger” – Henry V

– “Own flesh and blood” – Hamlet

– “Zany” – Love’s Labour’s Lost

– “Give the devil his due” – Henry IV, Part I

– “There’s method in my madness” – Hamlet

– “Grovel” – Henry IV

– “Lonely” – Coriolanus

– “Unreal” – Macbeth

– “Salad days” – Antony and Cleopatra

– “Spotless reputation” – Richard II

– “Full circle” – King Lear

– “Epileptic” – King Lear

– “Arch-villain” – Timon of Athens

– “Bloodstained” – Titus Andronicus

– “All of a sudden” – The Taming of the Shrew

– “Come what, come may” – Macbeth