Kaitlyn from Rye, New York, is puzzled by people referring to their youth as their salad days. It’s drawn from a metaphor employed at the end of Act One of Antony and Cleopatra by William Shakespeare. Cleopatra recalls a past dalliance with Julius Caesar, and says it occurred when she was “green in judgment, cold in blood,” much like a salad would be fresh and green. This is part of a complete episode.
Yvonne from Rock Hill, South Carolina, learned the phrase honor bright as a way of assuring that one was telling the truth, much like cross my heart or I swear to God. It’s common in the UK, and Shakespeare used honour bright in Troilus and...
The phrase Lead on, Macduff, meaning “Let’s go!” or “You go on ahead and I’ll follow,” is an alteration of the famous phrase from the final scene of combat in Shakespeare’s Macbeth (Bookshop|Amazon), where...
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