38 Phrases coined by Shakespeare that you never knew

Some writers are just timeless. Shakespeare is probably one of the most timeless of them all. Don’t believe me? Following are common phrases that we ALL use, even today – that came from the Bard himself.

For goodness sake

Neither here not there

Mum’s the word

Eaten out of house and home

Knock knock! Who’s there?

All’s well that ends well

With bated breath

A wild goose chase

Too much of a good thing

A heart of gold

Such stuff as dreams are made on

Fashionable

What the dickens

Lie low

Dead as a doornail

Not slept one wink

Foregone conclusion

The world’s mine oyster

In stitches

Naked truth

Send him packing

Vanish into thin air

in a pickle

Own flesh and blood

too much of a good thing

Truth will out

Eaten (you) out of house and home

Had you in stitches over a joke.

Give the devil his due

A sorry sight

There’s method in my madness

Salad days

Wear your heart on your sleeve

Spotless reputation

Full circle

There’s the rub

All of a sudden

Come what may

So, the next time you utter one of these phrases, be sure to thank the Bard for it. 😉

It’s all in the translation – British to American Terms Cheat Sheet

I thought it would be fun to do a cheat sheet that takes British terms/slang and converts to its American counterpart.  I think I got a little carried away because the list turned out to be huge.  And not too pretty.  Anyway, for lovers of trivia, and maybe even a few Brit writers here you go.  Annie

FOOD / FOOD RELATED
British	American
Chips	fries
Crisps	chips
Bangers	sausage
Biscuit	cookie
Courgette	zucchini
Aubergine	eggplant
Jacket potato	baked potato
Sweets	candy
Ice lolly	popsicle
Treacle	molasses
Spud	potato
Pudding	dessert (pudding is one of many desserts in America, maybe you call it custard?)
Peckish	hungry
Takeaway	take-out or carry-out (or by its name “Chinese” “Italian” “Thai”)
Tin	can
Cooker	stove, cooktop, range
Eating Irons	Cutlery, flatware, silverware, silver, table ware
LOCATIONS
Lounge	Living room, great room
Garden	Yard (although we often have gardens in our yards)
Pub	bar, watering hole (if it’s bad it might be called a dive)
Flat	apartment
High street	main street
Loo	bathroom / restroom / washroom/ head/john
Underground	subway
Pitch	field
Car park	parking lot, parking structure
Motorway	highway / freeway / expressway / interstate
Pavement	sidewalk
Zebra crossing	crosswalk
Snail Home	Motor home,  trailer, RV, camper
Railway	railroad
Cinema	(at the) or (go to the) movies
Supermarket	grocery store
Shop	store
Lift	Elevator
Phone box	phone booth (although these are pretty rare in the U.S. these days)
CLOTHES AND ACCESSORIES
Trainers	sneakers, kicks
Jumper	sweater
Waistcoat	vest
Braces	suspenders
Nappy	diaper
Dummy	pacifier / binkie
Kit	uniform
Bum bag	fanny pack
Trousers	pants, slacks
Pants	men’s underwear/briefs /boxers / shorts
Knickers	ladie’s underwear/panties/briefs/ thong
VEHICLES / VEHICLE RELATED
Bonnet	hood
Windscreen	windshield
Indicator	blinker/ signal
Boot	trunk
Road surface	pavement /blacktop/ road
Diversion	detour
Lorry	truck
Petrol	gas
Flyover	overpass / freeway bridge
Number plate	license plate / tags
Artic	semi truck, 18-wheeler,  big rig
FURNITURE / FURNITURE RELATED
Telly	TV / television / boob tube
Settee	couch or sofa
Hoover	vacuum cleaner /  vac
Wardrobe	closet
Secretray	desk
Bin	trash can / garbage can
PEOPLE
Justices of the Supreme Court	Judge (only Justices of the Supreme Court are called Justices)
My Lord	Your Honor
Mum	mom, mommy, mama, ma
Dustman	garbage collector / garbage man
Barrister	attorney / lawyer
Copper	cop / police / law enforcement
Postman	mail carrier / mailman / mail person
Mate	friend, buddy, girlfriend, boyfriend, bud, pal, gal pal
PHRASES / OCCASIONS
Holiday	vacation
Brilliant	great, cool, awesome, wonderful
Cheeky	smartass, wiseguy / smarting off
Mad	crazy / nuts / insane
Right	OK
Kip	Sleep, snooze, nap
Nick	steal, lift, swipe
Arse/bum	ass, butt, behind
Ta	thanks
Taking the biscuit	takes the cake
Uni/University	College, Grad School
Wanker	jerk, asshole, son of a bitch
Yonks	ages, long time, month of Sundays
Rubbish	Bullshit, BS
Pear-shaped	disaster, a wreck, trainwreck, fubar (fucked up beyond all recognition)
Pissed	drunk, hammered, wasted
Wag off	To waste time, dick around, fuck off, screw off
Bollocks	Bullshit, BS
Brassed off	pissed off, angry, mad
Cock up	screw up, mess up, make a mistake
Dodgy	suspicious, questionable, not to be trusted
Knackered	tired, beat, worn out, done in, exhausted
Posh	high class, pricey, expensive, classy
Fortnight	two weeks, couple of weeks
Skint	broke, tapped, penniless, flat broke
MISCELLANEOUS
Timetable	schedule
Rubber	eraser
Post	mail
Queue	line
Torch	flashlight
Mobile	cell
Football	soccer
Zed	zee
Full stop	period
Postal code	zip code
Fag	smoke / ciggie / cigarette
Protectives	condoms / rubbers
Rubbish	trash, garbage

Feel free to add to the list…