الأحد، 3 يناير 2010

"The world is my oyster"

According to the Mail Online, this phrase has been routinely misinterpreted to mean "the world is at my feet."
[In] The Merry Wives Of Windsor, Sir John Falstaff says to the vainglorious idiot Pistol: 'I shall not lend thee a penny,' to which Pistol replies: 'Why then, the world's mine oyster, which I with sword shall open.'

An oyster is something that has to be prised open with a blade. The phrase means 'I will have to use force to get what I want'.

I wouldn't interpret it quite that way, but a quick Google doesn't turn up a definitive answer. There must be some (other) English majors out there who can speak with authority regarding what Edward deVere meant when he wrote this phrase.

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