November 2006

The Puzzle Corner

The talk about Guy Fawkes in Just Foolin' Around puts us in mind of his contemporary William Shakespeare, who had a profound influence on our language, even its clichés. Think you know your Shakespeare well? Try out this quiz, and see how you do.

Following the death of Elizabeth I of Scotland in 1603, James the VI of Scotland came to the throne as James I of England. The clichés that follow come from Shakespeare's later plays, thought to have been written during the reign of James I. Match the cliché to the play. (Find the answers here.)

1.  "milk of human kindness"
2.  "more sinned against than sinning"
3.  "salad days"
4.  "strange bedfellows"
5.  "loved not wisely but too well"

  

a.  Antony and Cleopatra
b.  Macbeth
c.  The Tempest
d.  Othello
e.  King Lear

Extra Credit: Name the speaker of each of the above clichés.

Note: This and two dozen other entertaining quizzes can be found in Merriam-Webster's Coined by Shakespeare: Words and Meanings First Penned by the Bard, by Jeffrey McQuain and Stanley Malless.


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