22 November

I think Shakespeare is like the Bradman of human thought, something remarkably above and beyond all others. At school you get thrown straight into the plays, which means many find it a torture. But Shakespeare did something that maybe we should teach kids first - he *invented* many of the ways to actually be human that we take for granted. Ways of thinking and seeing the world that are now part of us. One piece of evidence of this is the number of phrases he either invented or popularised. We use these still today and they still shape how we think and see things. Some examples: The game is afoot As good luck would have it Bated breath Be-all and the end-all Brave new world Break the ice Refuse to budge an inch Cold comfort Dead as a doornail Devil incarnate Eaten me out of house and home Faint hearted Fancy-free Forever and a day For goodness’ sake Foregone conclusion Full circle Good riddance Jealousy is the green-eyed monster Hoist with his own petard Heart of gold In my heart of hearts In my mind’s eye Kill with kindness Knock, knock. Who’s there? Love is kind Milk of human kindness Wear my heart upon my sleeve Wild-goose chase