While William Shakespeare is best known for his plays and poems, he was also a prolific creator of new words and expressions. He was a master of new word creation. Here are a few of the common words and expressions first used by William Shakespeare — words and expressions we now use every day:
Baited breath.
Be all, end all.
Brave new world.
Break the ice.
Breathed his last.
Come what may.
Dead as a door nail.
Faint hearted.
Fair play, foul play.
Fight fire with fire.
For goodness sake.
Full circle.
The game is up.
Good riddance.
Green-eyed monster.
Heart of gold.
Heart of hearts.
In a pickle.
Knock, knock, who’s there?
Laughingstock.
Lie low.
Love is blind.
Makes your hair stand on end.
Naked truth.
Not sleep one wink.
Off with his head.
Out of the jaws of death.
A piece of work.
Seen better days.
Send him packing.
Set your teeth on edge.
So-so.
A sorry sight.
Too much of a good thing.
Vanish into thin air.
Wear your heart.
What’s done is done.
Wild goose chase.
The world is my oyster.
