Proverbs and Idioms Flashcards
“The best-laid plans of mice and men often go awry” is adapted from a line in this poem
“To a Mouse,” by Robert BURNs: “The best laid schemes o’ mice an’ men / Gang aft a-gley”
(poem published in 1785)
no matter how carefully a project is planned, something may still go wrong with it.
“Brevity is the soul of wit” is a proverb that comes from this play
Hamlet by William Shakespeare.
President Harry Truman kept a sign on his desk with this proverb
“The buck stops here”
It means I am the ultimately responsible person in this organization. Other people can pass the buck to me, but I can’t pass the buck to anyone else. 
“The course of true love never did run smooth” is a proverb that comes from this play
A Midsummer Night’s Dream, by William Shakespeare
“The devil can cite scripture for his purpose” comes from this play
The Merchant of Venice, by William Shakespeare
Even things that are good in themselves (such as the Bible)can be twisted to serve bad purposes 
The saying “don’t fire until you see the whites of their eyes“ comes from an order allegedly given by American officer William Prescott in this battle
The Battle of Bunker Hill in the American Revolutionary War 
As a saying, it means don’t react to a situation too early 
A favorite motto of the United States Navy is the dying words of Commander James Lawrence during a battle in the war of 1812
Don’t give up the ship 
The saying “a foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds“ is a saying from this essay
“Self-Reliance” by Ralph Waldo Emerson
Published in 1841
It means a great person does not have to think consistently from one day to the next 
The Proverbs “hell hath no fury like a woman, scorned” and “music has charms to soothe the savage beast” both come from this play
The Mourning Bride, by William Congreve
The Mourning Bride is a tragedy written by English playwright William Congreve. It premiered in 1697. The play centers on Zara, a queen held captive by Manuel, King of Granada, and a web of love and deception which results in the mistaken murder of Manuel who is in disguise, and Zara’s also mistaken suicide in response.
“Old soldiers, never die; they only fade away” was famously, said, by this general, after being relieved of his command in the Korean War
General Douglas MacArthur
The proverb is a line from a song popular among soldiers in Britain in world war I
This saying is a version of the Latin proverb “de gustibus non est disputandum”
 There is no accounting for taste
It means personal preferences are not debatable
Where does the phrase “win this one for the Gipper” come from?
attributed to Knute Rockne coach of Notre Dame football team during a halftime peptalk at the 1928 Army-Notre Dame football game. Rockne told his team that a former player, George Gipp had said on his deathbed “Rock, someday when things look real tough for Notre Dame ask the boys to go out there and win for me“ the incident was made famous in a movie in which Ronald Reagan played George Gipp
Used in conversation, it can mean, Do this in memory of somebody you revere
A saying involving an invertebrate that means: one’s luck or fortune changes
The worms turns
This English scientist wrote: “If I have seen further, it is by standing on the shoulders of giants”
Sir Isaac Newton
Meaning of “according to Hoyle”
With strict adherence to a set of rules: fairly and honorably: “ we don’t want to lose this case over any legal technicality; everything must be done strictly according to Hoyle“ Hoyle was the author of a book on the game of whist in the 18th century; his name since been used in the title of many books of rules for card games 
The phrase “ an albatross around one’s neck”, meaning an annoying burden, alludes to this poem
“The rime of the ancient mariner“ by Samuel Taylor Coleridge 
A sailor who shoots a friendly albatross is forced to wear its carcass around his neck as punishment
“And thereby hangs a tale” comes from this Shakespeare play
As You Like It
That means roughly “there’s a real story behind this“. It’s currently used by someone who’s about to give a background of an interesting object, incident or idea. 
The meaning of annus mirabilis
A Latin expression meaning “miraculous year“
The reverse is an annus horribilus or “terrible year”. Queen Elizabeth II used the term in 1992, referring to a major fire at Windsor Castle and the widely publicized marital problems of her family members. 
Meaning of “buy a pig in a poke”
To buy some thing sight unseen (a poke is a bag)
A saying meaning to do something that is obviously superfluous: carry coals to ________
Newcastle
Newcastle is a city in northeast England where coal is mined