Idioms from Shakespeare

William Shakespeare was a poet and playwright who lived in the 16th century. He is regarded as one of the greatest writers in the history of the English language. You might know him as the author of the famous “Romeo and Juliet.” Many of the English idioms we use to this day were invented or popularized by Shakespeare – you’ll learn eight of them in this lesson!

Idiom "like piffy on a rock bun"

Idiom "penguin suit"

Pants are named after a clown...

Wordymology is a series in which the editors at The Free Dictionary explore the origins of the names of things.

Let’s undress all the weird ways your two-legged garments got their names.

Jeans, Dungarees, and Denim

The terms “jeans,” “dungarees,” and “denim” are all closely associated with

the ubiquitous blue-hued pants popular the world over, but their etymologies are literally all over the map.

Idiom "over the hills and far away"

Idioms that Start with Prepositions

Definition: Most idioms that start with prepositions are prepositional phrases and consist of a preposition followed by a noun or noun phrase. This type of prepositional idiom can be used adverbially or adjectivally and may come at the beginning, middle, or end of a sentence. Here are some of the most common prepositions found at the beginning of prepositional idioms:

• in
• on
• out of
• at
• for
• by
• from

Idiom "be (of) no use to man or beast"