Speakur

Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

the lady doth protest too much

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.11 in modern English

Syllables
the la-dy -doth protest -too -much
IPA
45
Scrabble Score
25
Letters
5
Syllables
14
Unique Chars

Meaning

phrase

It is suspected that, because someone is insisting too much about something, the opposite of what they're saying must be true.

Example Sentences

Etymology

An allusion to Shakespeare's Hamlet, where the line is spoken by Queen Gertrude, Hamlet's mother. In the play, "protest" is used to mean "insist that what one is saying is true" (in this case, the Player Queen's protestations of love), not "insist that what another is saying is false."

Inflected Forms

the lady doth protest too much, methinks (alternative) methinks the lady doth protest too much (alternative) methinks thou dost protest too much (alternative)

Phrases

protest too much a hit dog will holler

Frequently Paired Words

a hit dog will holler

Questions

What does the lady doth protest too much mean?
It is suspected that, because someone is insisting too much about something, the opposite of what they're saying must be true.
Where does the lady doth protest too much come from?
An allusion to Shakespeare's Hamlet, where the line is spoken by Queen Gertrude, Hamlet's mother. In the play, "protest" is used to mean "insist that what one is saying is true" (in this case, the Player Queen's protestations of love), not "insist that what another is saying is false."

How to pronounce the lady doth protest too much

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