something is rotten in the state of Denmark
English
Alternative forms
- something is rotten in Denmark
- there is something rotten in the state of Denmark (common misquotation)
Etymology
A line spoken by Marcellus in William Shakespeare's Hamlet, Act I, scene iv.
Pronunciation
Audio (AU) (file)
Phrase
something is rotten in the state of Denmark
- (idiomatic) Something is not right, seriously amiss, especially when leading to suspicion of motive.
- If the authorities knew about the problems and chose not to prevent them, then clearly something is rotten in the state of Denmark.
- 1992 November 18, Lord Mackie of Benshie, “World Food Situation”, in parliamentary debates (Lords Chamber), volume 540, column 661:
- 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”.
- 2016, Robin Morgan, editor, Sisterhood Is Global […] , Open Road Media, →ISBN:
- 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, […]
Translations
Hamlet quotation, used in other contexts to mean "something is not right"
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