Shakespeare and Slang — "Fie! Beat it hence!"

1916

Later Day Phrases That Were Used by the Immortal Bard.

"Good night," a terse ejaculation that has taken ranking position among the slang of the day, had its source in no less authority than Will Shakespeare. It took a Hamilton college student to discover that the magic words were frequently used in Shakespeare's plays and with as much variety of meaning as we have been giving to them.

"The idea that 'good night' has the mark of modernity," declares this student, "is a sad mistake. In act 1, scene 3, of the first part of 'King Henry IV,' Worcester says he will disclose a matter of Hotspur which is as full of peril 'as to o'erwalk a current roaring loud on the unsteadfast footing of a spear.' To which Hotspur replies, 'If he fall in, good night.' "

Many other bits of modern vernacular are from Shakespeare, the student says, among them "Go to it!" "You cheese!" "I am for you," "Dead drunk" and plenty of others.

And regarding that once very favorite phrase "Beat it" the student says this: "Every one from a former president to a newsboy has made use of these two words. Yet in act 2, scene 1, of 'The Comedy of Errors' Luciana exclaims: 'Fie! Beat it hence!' " — Hartford Courant.