Newsletter Lesson #07
Three phrases from Shakespeare
Hello, and welcome to a new newsletter lesson. I hope you all had a great Christmas and/or Hanukkah, and are getting ready for 2025.
In today’s lesson we will look at three English phrases that were first used (we think) in works by William Shakespeare. Any questions on this subject can be sent to jamie.wills@ab51.org, and more information is available on the AB51 English School website.
Now, on with the lesson:
it was all Greek to me
(from Julius Caesar)
meaning: I didn’t understand it at all
(because Julius Caesar was Roman, so did not understand Greek)
1. That lecture was all Greek to me.
2. I’m sorry, I know you’re trying to explain how an engine works, but it’s all Greek to me.
fight fire with fire
(from King John)
meaning: take strong action against strong action
(because if someone uses fire to hurt you, you should use fire to hurt them)
1. The military’s tactic is simple: fight fire with fire.
2. If he is going to try to steal your business, then you have to fight fire with fire: go out and start stealing his customers.
a fool's paradise
(from Romeo and Juliet)
meaning: a stupid situation; a situation in which a ‘fool’ is happy, but other people can see it is a mess.
(because foolish people would love this situation, but intelligent people would see it as ridiculous)
1. He lived in a fool’s paradise, believing she would fall in love with him.
2. This company is a fool’s paradise; everybody seems to love working here, but they don’t see how they are wasting their time.
I hope this short introduction to these phrases was useful. Remember, anyone who wants practice or lessons can get in touch at jamie.wills@ab51.org.
Also, do share and/or subscribe if you think more lessons would be useful to you or someone else.
That is all for now. Thank you once again for your attention, and good luck with your studies.