I was telling my brother a story about my sister and brother-in-laws experience watching Mel Gibson's version of Hamlet at the theater. Apparently, they were sitting behind two teenaged boys. About halfway through the film, one leaned over to the other and sayed, "Wow! This movie is full of clichés!"

We were laughing about this, and one thing led to another, as it usually does in our conversations, and we thought about taking famous quotes from Shakespeare and putting them together to create a whole new story. Yeah, we're weird like that. We're both medicated night-owls, so that's not even the worst thing we've ever thought of.

Anyhoo, I thought that might be an interesting thread....or not....we'll see I guess. Take any famous quotes (not necessarily Shakespeare), sayings, phrases and such...put them together with another and make it into something different.

The first one I thought if in our late night conversation was this one and seemed fitting for Shakespeare week.


Let slip the dogs of war!
Out damn Spot!






Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 1651 Apr 25 2012 by Janaru.

Call it Hamlet, The Great Dane.

And see if you can work in some references to the Olympic Games and the sinking of the Titanic. We're not hearing enough about these things from the BBC.

We'll work on that. Love the title! Nice!


This thread doesn't have to be Shakespeare ya' know.

Early To Bed, Early To Rise
Make Ye Merry Gentlemen

I've been thinking that it happens every hundred years; bringing up the Titanic affair. I know that it was an horrific event, but I do think that there was somewhat of an overkill.

Escape From Alcatraz
You were only supposed to blow the bloody doors off!

. Ivor



The original and real cat with the swishy tail.
Accept no imitations.

If music be the food of love
Yon Cassius hath a lean and hungry look

But should we not be telling a continuous story here, in which case I will follow Jan's with


> Early To Bed, Early To Rise
> Make Ye Merry
Gentlemen of England now abed
will arise now and go to Inisfree

And how the silence surged softly backward,
When the plunging hoofs were gone.

And what rough beast, its hour come round at last,
Slouches towards Bethlehem to be born?

I'm NOT paranoid......thats just what THEY want you to think!!!

Once more unto the breach, dear friends, once more -
Football's a game of two halves!

Our Revels now are ended -
They melt in your mouth, not in your hands!

Alas, poor Yorick! I knew him, Horatio:
A fellow of infinite jest, of most excellent fancy:
He always gave it 110%

(Not sure I'm getting the hang of this yet!)

tepeethetroll Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> And how the silence surged softly backward,
> When the plunging hoofs were gone.
>
> And what rough beast, its hour come round at
> last,
> Slouches towards Bethlehem to be born?

I'm a Gnu, how do you do
The gnicest piece of gnature in the zoo

Please referee can we have a ruling! We seem to be playing different rules.

Has it all to be qotes or can we make our own up.? And should we eachstart afresh or should we pick up from another as I did above

Teepee: OK firs is Walter de la Mere - the Listeners, but I give up on the second - source please.

If you can keep your head when all around are losing theirs and blaming it on you
You lack a true appreciation of the seriousness of the situation.

I don't know about the rules. All that I have noticed is that 'it says on the tin' "Cliché" and much of what has been used are Quotes. I suppose that it's understandable that Shakespeare should feature so prominently as It's the anniversary of his birth and death.

. Ivor



The original and real cat with the swishy tail.
Accept no imitations.

Hamlet is probably the most quoted of the plays. Try to go through a whole day and not hear a quotation from the depressed Dane. And I am reminded yet again I no longer have a copy of Branagh's interview on NPR (Fresh Air, I think it was) where he spent the entire hour talking about the play itself when he was supposed to be promoting the film he directed and starred in. What a Shakespeare enthusiast that man is.

You're gettin' the hang of it just fine, Mat. There's some great ones from all of you! I was laughin' anyway. It never ceases to amaze me how clever folks on this board are.

As for the rules I'm not too big on 'em myself. I think these things are more fun when they're sort of organic and do what they do.

I think if you stick with things that most folks have heard that'll work fine. Things like, but not limited to, sayings, quotes, song/movie/TV titles those types of things. And if a previous post inspires you to continue along that line, have at it! If not and you come up with a stand-alone that tickles you, well then do that too!

Biggest rule....have fun!





We shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds
You Gotta Fight, Fight For Your Right, To Party!

Eye of newt, and toe of frog
Everybody Eats When They Come To My House

Back to my trust Pocket Oxford Dictionary. A cliche is a "hackneyed literary phrase" and I think I heard somewhere that 50% of cliches in the English lanaguage come from the Bible or Shakespeare., I am suprised no one has picked up yet on the wealth of cliche that has come from modern jargon.

The Battle of Waterloo was won on the playing fields of Eton]-
It isnt a level playing field.

and advertising:

The play's the thing
to make a drama out of a crisis.

Janaru Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Eye of newt, and toe of frog
> Everybody Eats When They Come To My House
But is there honey still for tea?

> Eye of newt, and toe of frog
> Everybody Eats When They Come To My House
>But is there honey still for tea?

All politicians have their noses in the trough
Everybody's on the gravy train

. Ivor



The original and real cat with the swishy tail.
Accept no imitations.

For there is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so
We've lost our moral compass, yet we're going around in circles

IvorThirst Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> > Eye of newt, and toe of frog
> > Everybody Eats When They Come To My House
> >But is there honey still for tea?
>
> All politicians have their noses in the trough
> Everybody's on the gravy train

Do'st thou think because thou are virtuous that there shall be no more cakes and ale?


(Well "Twelfth Night" is currently on R3)

A viruous woman................ her price is above rubies
But
Diamonds are a girl's best friend.

Lady Penelope Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> A viruous woman................ her price is
> above rubies
> But
> Diamonds are a girl's best friend.
And Pearl's a singer

(not a cliche, but couldn't resist)

Time is a great healer
But you'll have to go privately

Teepee: OK firs is Walter de la Mere - the Listeners, but I give up on the second - source please.

"The Second Coming" by W B Yeates



How about:

"Now is the winter of our discontent......." (Dicky 3)

"Crisis - what crisis?" James Callaghan 1979 (or thereabouts)

I'm NOT paranoid......thats just what THEY want you to think!!!



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2013 Apr 26 2012 by tepeethetroll.

... Made glorious summer by this sun of York.
Whew, what a scorcher!

"I love that smell of the emissions!" --Sarah Palin, at a motorcycle rally in Washington, D.C.,


"For the female of the species is more deadly than the male". Kipling

I'm NOT paranoid......thats just what THEY want you to think!!!

Ha! All good!



What would you do for a Klondike Bar?
I Won't Do That.