Words and Phrases Attributed to Shakespeare

I just stumbled on this page, a collection of hundreds of words and phrases that first appeared in print with Shakespeare.

Words and Phrases Coined by Shakespeare

The author acknowledges the difference between first attestations rather than certain inventions. For example, “alligator” appeared for the first time in print as an English word in “Romeo and Juliet”, but it has Spanish antecedents, and only the terminal “-r” seems to be new with Shakespeare.

Even if one has to take the word inventions with a grain of salt, the hundreds of phrases that have passed into common usage is astounding. I’m sure my astute readers know Shakespeare’s genius with turns of phrase and the fact that we use them even today. I think it’s noteworthy that Pathguy has collected them all in one place, alphabetically, and with the attributions to the play they appear in.

A useful resource for anyone interested in Shakespeare.