Happy 450th birthday William Shakespeare!

Today 23rd April is widely regarded as William Shakespeare’s birthday. Shakespeare is one of the most well known and influential playwrights of our time, yet little is known about his childhood. Discover how Shakespeare became the bard the world knows today:

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Though little is known about William Shakespeare’s personal life, his works such as “Hamlet,” “Romeo and Juliet,” and “King Lear,” have influenced literature and theater for over 400 years.

Most of us will have quoted the playwright thousands of times without knowing it. Ever been “in a pickle” or had “too much of a good thing”? Perhaps friends have “eaten (you) out of house and home” or had you “in stitches” over a joke. These are just a handful of well-used sayings that come courtesy of Shakespeare (see more below).

Words and phrases coined by Shakespeare

– “For goodness sake” – Henry VIII

– “Neither here not there” – Othello

– “Mum’s the word” – Henry VI, Part II

– “Eaten out of house and home” – Henry IV, Part II

– “Rant” – Hamlet

– “Knock knock! Who’s there?” – Macbeth

– “All’s well that ends well” – All’s Well That Ends Well

– “With bated breath” – The Merchant of Venice

– “A wild goose chase” – Romeo and Juliet

– “Assassination” – Macbeth

– “Too much of a good thing” – As You Like It

– “A heart of gold” – Henry V

– “Such stuff as dreams are made on” – The Tempest

– “Fashionable” – Troilus and Cressida

– “What the dickens” – The Merry Wives of Windsor

– “Puking” – As You Like It

– “Lie low” – Much Ado About Nothing

– “Dead as a doornail” – Henry VI, Part II

– “Not slept one wink” – Cymbeline

– “Foregone conclusion” – Othello

– “The world’s mine oyster” – The Merry Wives of Windsor

– “Obscene” – Love’s Labour’s Lost

– “Bedazzled” – The Taming of the Shrew

– “In stitches” – Twelfth Night

– “Addiction” – Othello

– “Naked truth” – Love’s Labour’s Lost

– “Faint-hearted” – Henry VI, Part I

– “Send him packing” – Henry IV

– “Vanish into thin air” – Othello

– “Swagger” – Henry V

– “Own flesh and blood” – Hamlet

– “Truth will out” – The Merchant of Venice

– “Zany” – Love’s Labour’s Lost

– “Give the devil his due” – Henry IV, Part I

– “There’s method in my madness” – Hamlet

– “Salad days” – Antony and Cleopatra

– “Wear your heart on your sleeve” – Othello

– “Spotless reputation” – Richard II

– “Full circle” – King Lear

– “There’s the rub” – Hamlet

– “All of a sudden” – The Taming of the Shrew

– “Come what, come may” – Macbeth