1. "more honored in the breach than the observance" is from Hamlet" Act 1, Scene 4. This line is said by Hamlet, speaking of his stepfather who liked to get drunk and carouse. Often taken to mean "a rule more often broken than kept", another interpretation is that Hamlet means that it is more honorable to break certain rules than to follow them.
2. "milk of human kindness" is from "Macbeth" Act 1, Scene 5. Said by Lady Macbeth about her husband who strives to be king. Lady Macbeth may be saying that he is too kind, not ruthless enough to become king. The phrase is generally used to express compassion or care for others.
3. "brave new world" is from "The Tempest" Act 5, Scene 1. Said by the young Miranda, who has led a sheltered life, upon meeting people from different lands. Aldous Huxley used the phrase ironically as the title for his 1931 dystopian novel.
4. "remembrance of things past" is from "Sonnet XXX". The opening lines are: "When to the sessions of sweet silent thought / I summon up remembrance of things past, / I sigh the lack of many a thing I sought, / And with old woes new wail my dear time's waste:"
5. "play fast and loose" is from "King John" Act 3, Scene 1. The contrasting definitions of "fast" as in "stuck" and "loose" as in "moving", symbolizes inconstancy, typically where one person cheats another by either applying or ignoring rules to their advantage.
6. "salad days" is from "Antony and Cleopatra" Act 1, Scene 5. Here Cleopatra, near the end of her complex life, is referring to her youth when she was innocent and fresh.
7. "(to go down) the primrose path" is from "Hamlet" Act 1, Scene 3. Still indicating an inviting path that leads to hidden troubles, this was the meaning when Ophelia warns her brother Laertes of such traps in life.
8. "the game (is) afoot" is from "King Henry IV, part 1" Act 1, Scene 3. Before the Battle of Agincourt, King Henry V rallies his troops with this and other phrases indicating the beginning of a challenging endeavor.
9. "full of sound and fury" is from "Macbeth" Act 5, Scene 5. Said by Macbeth after the death of his wife and when his castle is about to be besieged by enemy forces. The fuller phrase is "full of sound and fury, signifying nothing", expressing Macbeth's realization that all his ambitions and maneuvers have come to nothing.
10. "star-cross'd lovers" is from the Prologue to "Romeo and Juliet". The tragic young couple are introduced with this phrase, indicating that fate which is beyond their control will doom their love.
This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor looney_tunes before going online.
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