Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

something is rotten in the state of denmark

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.60 in modern English

Syllables: some-thing is rot-ten in the s-tate of -den-mark
IPA

55

Scrabble Score

36

Letters

6

Syllables

14

Unique Chars

Meaning

phrase

Something is not right, seriously amiss, especially when leading to suspicion of motive.

Example Sentences

"If the authorities knew about the problems and chose not to prevent them, then clearly something is rotten in the state of Denmark."
"Something is rotten in the ſtate of Denmarke."
"If divided roughly, two-thirds of them work in desk jobs while one-third are involved in field work. When one gets that sort of proportion one begins to think, “Something is rotten in the state of Denmark”."
"My belief that something is rotten in the State of Denmark is bred by recent developments, both political and cultural. I feel that the feminist movement is now more on the defensive than the offensive, […]"

Etymology

A line spoken by Marcellus in William Shakespeare's Hamlet, Act I, scene iv.

Inflected Forms

something is rotten in Denmark (alternative) there is something rotten in the state of Denmark (alternative)

Questions

What does something is rotten in the state of denmark mean?: Something is not right, seriously amiss, especially when leading to suspicion of motive.
Where does something is rotten in the state of denmark come from?: A line spoken by Marcellus in William Shakespeare's Hamlet, Act I, scene iv.

How to pronounce something is rotten in the state of denmark

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