William Shakespeare Would Have Been 450 Years Old Today, April 23, 2014

Today, April 23rd is widely considered to be William Shakespeare’s birthday. Born in 1564, that would make him 450 years old. It's quite amazing that we still use a lot of phrases from his works. Listed below are a few and a couple of links to many more.

Studying his works may have been a pain back in school but he did coin phrases that we still use today.

"All's well that ends well." meaning the journey may have been a disaster but if at the end you succeed that's what matters.

“Bedazzle,” meaning you’re eyes are overwhelmed with stimulation, ie: sunlight.

“Cruel to be kind,” meaning it may hurt now but you’ll thank me later.

“Cold Blooded,” meaning heartless.

“Heart on my sleeve,” to say you don’t hold back on emotions or feelings.

“One fell swoop” back in Shakespeare’s time it meant to be taken by birds but today, it means all at once.

“Method in my madness” is another way of saying there is a motive or a reason for my actions.

Shakespeare started Knock Knock jokes with MacBeth.

These sayings and or phrases were all written 400 or so years ago and today we still use them in everyday speech. Very timeless.

My guess the reason they stick around is because reading Shakespeare in English Literature class is perpetually done year after year.