common expressions ORIGINATING FROM shakespeare
"All of a sudden" — The Taming of the Shrew
“All our yesterdays” — Macbeth
“All that glitters is not gold” — The Merchant of Venice
“All’s one to me” — Henry VI Part 2
"All's well that ends well" — All's Well That Ends Well
“As luck would have it” — The Merry Wives of Windsor
“As merry as the day is long” — Much Ado About Nothing / King John
“Bag and baggage” — The Winter’s Tale, As You Like It
“Bated breath” — The Merchant of Venice
“Be-all and end-all” — Macbeth
"Bedazzled" — The Taming of the Shrew
“Blinking idiot” — The Merchant of Venice
“Bloody-minded” — Henry VI Part 2
“Brave new world” — The Tempest
“Break the ice” — The Taming of the Shrew
“Brevity is the soul of wit” — Hamlet
“Budge an inch” — Taming of the Shrew
“Burn daylight” — Merry Wives of Windsor / Romeo & Juliet / The Spanish Tragedy
“Cold comfort” — The Taming of the Shrew / King John
"Come what may" — Macbeth
“Conscience does make cowards of us all” — Hamlet
“Crack of doom” — Macbeth
“Danced attendance” — Henry VI Part 2
“Dead as a doornail” — Henry VI Part II
“Devil incarnate” — Titus Andronicus / Henry V
“Dish fit for the gods” — Julius Caesar
“Early days” — Troilus & Cressida
“Eaten me out of house and home” — Henry IV Part II
“Every dog has his day” — Hamlet
“Eyesore” — Taming of the Shrew
“Faint hearted” — Henry VI Part I
“Fancy-free” — A Midsummer Night’s Dream
“Fair is foul and foul is fair” — Macbeth
“Fair play” — Henry VIII, The Tempest, King John, Troilus & Cressida
“Foul play” — Love’s Labours Lost
“Fire with fire” — King John
“Forever and a day” — As You Like It
“For goodness’ sake” — Henry VIII
“Foregone conclusion” — Othello
“Full circle” — King Lear
“Give the devil his due” — Henry IV Part I
“Good riddance” — Troilus and Cressida
“Heart of gold” — Henry V
“Here, there and everywhere” — Othello
“Hoodwinked” — All’s Well That Ends Well, Cymbeline, Romeo & Juliet
“Hoist with his own petard” — Hamlet
“Ill wind blows” — Henry IV Part II
“In a fool’s paradise” — Romeo & Juliet
“In a pickle” — The Tempest
"In stitches" — Twelfth Night
“In my heart of hearts” — Hamlet
“In my mind’s eye” — Hamlet
“It’s Greek to me” — Julius Caesar
“It is high time” — Comedy of Errors
“Jealousy is the green-eyed monster” — Othello
“Kill with kindness” — The Taming of the Shrew
“Knitted your brows” — Henry VI Part 3
“Knock knock! Who’s there?” — Macbeth
“Laughing stock” — The Merry Wives of Windsor
“Laugh yourselves into stitches” — Twelfth Night
“Let slip the dogs of war” — Julius Caesar
"Lie low" — Much Ado About Nothing
“Live long day” — Julius Caesar
“Lord and Master” — All’s Well That Ends Well
“Love is blind” — The Merchant of Venice
“Make a virtue of necessity” — Two Gentlemen of Verona
“Milk of human kindness” — Macbeth
“More sinned against than sinning” — King Lear
“More in sorrow than anger” — Hamlet
“Mum's the word" — Henry VI, Part II
"Naked truth" — Love's Labour's Lost
“Neither a borrower nor a lender be” — Hamlet
"Neither here nor there" — Othello
"Not slept one wink" — Cymbeline
“Off with his head” — Richard III
“One fell swoop” — Macbeth
"Own flesh and blood" — Hamlet
“Out of the jaws of death” — Twelfth Night
“Play fast and loose” — King John
“Refuse to budge an inch” — Measure for Measure / The Taming of the Shrew
"Salad days" — Antony and Cleopatra
“Set my teeth on edge” — Henry IV Part I
“Seen better days” — As You Like It
"Send him packing" — Henry IV
“She be little but she is fierce” — A Midsummer Night’s Dream
“Short shrift” — Richard III
“So so” — As You Like It
“Sound and fury” — Macbeth
"Spotless reputation" — Richard II
“Stood on ceremony” — Julius Caesar
“Stony-hearted villain” — Henry IV Part 1
"Such stuff as dreams are made on" — The Tempest
“Swagger" — Henry V
“The game is afoot” — Henry V
“The game is up” — Cymbeline
“The more fool you” — Taming of the Shrew
“The world's my oyster" — The Merry Wives of Windsor
"There's method in my madness" — Hamlet
"There's the rub" — Hamlet
“This is the long and short of it” — The Merry Wives of Windsor
“Tongue-tied” — All’s Well That Ends Well
“Tongue in your head” — The Tempest
"Too much of a good thing" — As You Like It
“Tower of strength” — Richard III
"Truth will out" — The Merchant of Venice
“Tut, tut!” — Richard II, Richard III, Henry IV Part 1
"Vanish into thin air" — Othello
“Wear my heart upon my sleeve” — Othello
"What the dickens" — The Merry Wives of Windsor
“Wild-goose chase” — Romeo and Juliet
“Wish is father to the thought” — Henry IV Part 2
“Without rhyme or reason” — Comedy of Errors
“Zany" — Love's Labour's Lost