July 29, 2025 - Good Morning! It’s Tuesday, July 29.
I watched a documentary on the History Channel last week about William Shakespeare. One interesting feature focused on the hundreds of common phrases we use today that come from his plays. Just to give you a taste, here’s a top ten list.
* A wild goose chase (Romeo and Juliet)
* Dead as a door nail (Henry VI)
* Wear your heart on your sleeve (Othello)
* There’s method in my madness (Hamlet)
* A heart of gold (Henry V)
* The world’s my oyster (Merry Wives of Windsor)
* Come full circle (King Lear)
* Break the ice (Taming of the Shrew)
* Come what may (Macbeth)
* All that glitters isn’t gold (Merchant of Venice)
Pretty impressive. In fact, the only source for common phrases that exceeds Shakespeare is - you guessed it - the Bible. Here’s a “baker’s dozen” (a phrase not from the Bible OR Shakespeare!)
* The apple of my eye (Psalm 17:8)
* A drop in the bucket (Isaiah 40:15)
* The powers that be (Romans 13:1)
* A labor of love (I Thessalonians 1:3)
* The handwriting on the wall (Daniel 5:5)
* An eye for an eye (Exodus 21:23)
* Put words in my mouth (2 Samuel 14:3)
* By the skin of my teeth (Job 19:20)
* Bite the dust (Psalm 72:9)
* No rest for the wicked (Isaiah 57:21)
* At my wit’s end (Psalm 107:27)
* Go the extra mile (Matthew 5:41)
* Rise and shine (Isaiah 60:1)
Whenever you hear someone use one of the Bible’s “common” phrases, you could start a spiritual conversation by asking them if they know where it comes from. When they ask you how you knew that, just say... “a little bird told me” (Ecclesiastes 10:20!)
Meet you back here tomorrow,
David
cindertex50@yahoo.com
