the lady doth protest too much
English
Alternative forms
Etymology
An allusion to Shakespeare's Hamlet,[1] 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."
Phrase
the lady doth protest too much
- It is suspected that, because someone is insisting too much about something, the opposite of what he or she is saying must be true; a hit dog will holler.
- 1897, Samuel Butler, The Authoress of the Odyssey:
- In all Penelope's devotion to her husband there is an ever present sense that the lady doth protest too much.
Derived terms
Translations
because someone is insisting too much about something, the opposite must be true
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See also
the lady doth protest too much on Wikipedia.Wikipedia - Excusatio non petita, accusatio manifesta on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
References
- c. 1599–1602 (date written), William Shakespeare, The Tragicall Historie of Hamlet, Prince of Denmarke: […] (Second Quarto), London: […] I[ames] R[oberts] for N[icholas] L[ing] […], published 1604, →OCLC, [Act III, scene ii]:
- The Lady doth proteſt too much methinks.
Further reading
- the lady doth protest too much on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
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