Have you ever heard someone say “it's high time,” “what's done is done,” or that they need a little “elbow room?”
All those phrases, and many more, were printed in—and made popular by—Shakespeare’s plays.
Explore Shakespeare's language, and you may be surprised by how closely it resembles our own! Click on the links in the caption to see where each phrase is used in the texts.
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Neither rhyme nor reason – from As You Like It, Act 3, scene 2, line 405. Read the line in Shakespeare's First Folio, or in Folger Digital Texts.
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Break the ice -- from Taming of the Shrew Act 1 Scene 2 Line 271. Read the line in Shakespeare's First Folio, or in Folger Digital Texts
Break the ice – from The Taming of the Shrew, Act 1, scene 2, line 271. Read the line in Shakespeare's First Folio, or in Folger Digital Texts.
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‘Tis high time – from The Comedy of Errors, Act 3, scene 2, line 172. Read the line in Shakespeare's First Folio, or in Folger Digital Texts.
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Eyesore – from The Taming of the Shrew, Act 3, scene 2, line 98. Read the line in Shakespeare's First Folio, or in Folger Digital Texts.
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Not slept one wink – from Cymbeline, Act 3, scene 4, line 107. Read the line in Shakespeare's First Folio, or in Folger Digital Texts.
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What’s done is done – from Macbeth, Act 3, scene 2, line 6. Read the line in Shakespeare's First Folio, or in Folger Digital Texts.
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For goodness’ sake – from Henry VIII, Prologue. Read the line in Shakespeare's First Folio, or in Folger Digital Texts.
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Puking – from As You Like It, Act 2, scene 7, line 146. Read the line in Shakespeare's First Folio, or in Folger Digital Texts.
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Elbow room – from King John, Act 5, scene 7, line 29. Read the line in Shakespeare's First Folio, or in Folger Digital Texts.
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Too much of a good thing – from As You Like It, Act, scene 1, line 125. Read the line in Shakespeare's First Folio, or in Folger Digital Texts.