slings and arrows

English

WOTD – 24 April 2024

Etymology

Coined by the English playwright William Shakespeare (baptized 1564; died 1616) in his play Hamlet (written 1599–1601; first published 1604 in the second quarto), referring to fortune attacking a person, as if using slingshots and arrows: see the quotation.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˌslɪŋz‿n̩ ˈæɹəʊz/
• (General American, Mary–marry–merry merger) IPA^(key): /ˌslɪŋz‿n̩ ˈɛ(ə)ɹoʊz/

• Audio (GA)

  (file)

• (US, Mary–marry–merry distinction) IPA^(key): /ˌslɪŋz‿n̩ ˈæɹoʊz/
• Hyphenation: slings and ar‧rows

Noun

slings and arrows pl (plural only) (idiomatic)

1. Hardships or adverse circumstances. [from late 16th – early 17th c.]

   Synonyms: misfortunes, setbacks

   • 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 i], signature G2, recto:

     To be, or not to be, that is the queſtion: / VVhether tis nobler in the minde to ſuffer / The ſlings and arrovves of outragious fortune, / Or to take Armes againſt a ſea of troubles, / And by oppoſing, end them, to die to ſleepe / No more, […]

   • 2010 December 17, Allison Arieff, “Opinion: Can airports be fun?”, in The New York Times‎^[1], New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2023-07-16:

     Now that we're entering the thick of the holiday travel season and we've been groped, scanned, forced to eat a Cinnabon and otherwise made to suffer the slings and arrows of air travel – here’s something rarely offered of late: a positive story about airports.

   • 2021 October 17, J[ames] Harvie Wilkinson III, “Opinion: Supreme Court term limits wouldn’t solve anything”, in The Washington Post‎^[2], Washington, D.C.: The Washington Post Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2021-11-20:

     It seems inevitable that an elite institution in a democratic republic will suffer the slings and arrows of populist discontent. The wonder of it all may be that the institution of lifetime tenure has persisted for so long. Proponents of changing that rule may take satisfaction in humbling the justices ever so slightly, or believe that instituting term limits would forestall more radical change, such as expanding the size of the court.

   • 2023 March 1, Julian Lucas, “Giancarlo Esposito Controls the Chaos”, in The New Yorker‎^[3], New York, N.Y.: Condé Nast Publications, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2023-06-05:

     In every role, he [Giancarlo Esposito] mesmerizes audiences with a coiled intensity that he credits to military school, the slings and arrows of a volatile profession, and a lifelong commitment to mindfulness. "My karmic journey is to be told what to do and accept that and do it the best I can,” he said. “I realize one of my strengths is to control the chaos."

2. Harsh criticism or personal attacks.

   Synonyms: barbs, broadsides

   • 1812, [Maria] Edgeworth, “The Absentee. Chapter III.”, in Tales of Fashionable Life (2nd series), volume V, London: […] [C. Wood] for J[oseph] Johnson and Co., […], →OCLC, pages 284–285:

     […] Mrs. Dareville, without any motives of interest, or good nature of sufficient power to restrain her talent and habit of ridicule, free from hope or fear, gave full scope to all the malice of mockery, and all the insolence of fashion. Her slings and arrows, numerous as they were and outrageous, were directed against such petty objects, and the mischief was so quick, in its aim and its operation, that, felt but not seen, it is scarcely possible to register the hits, or to describe the nature of the wounds.

   • 1962 June 15, “Politics: Passion, Pageantry & Platform”, in Time, volume LXXIX, number 24, New York, N.Y.: Time Inc., →ISSN, →OCLC, page 13, column 1:

     In Massachusetts, the Kennedy family, unafraid of the slings and arrows from lesser breeds, proudly ran its youngest son through a convention gauntlet, and saw him emerge the victor.

   • 2013 June 24, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Associate Justice, Supreme Court of the United States (dissenting judgment), “Vance v. Ball State University et al.”, in Christine Luchok Fallon, reporter, United States Reports: Cases Adjudged in the Supreme Court at October Term, 2012 […] (No. 11-556), volume 570, Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Publishing Office, published 2018, →ISBN, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 454:

     Exposed to a fellow employee's harassment, one can walk away or tell the offender to "buzz off." A supervisor's slings and arrows, however, are not so easily avoided. An employee who confronts her harassing supervisor risks, for example, receiving an undesirable or unsafe work assignment or an unwanted transfer.

   • 2015 October 14, Cara Buckley, “Steven Spielberg on the Cold War and other Hollywood front lines”, in The New York Times‎^[4], New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2023-07-03:

     [James Britt] Donovan could work in tremendous secrecy at a time when there was no social media. Today it'd be a lot harder to find a man that would stand up for his principles and suffer the slings and arrows of the haters on social media.

Translations

hardships or adverse circumstances — see also hardship

• Finnish: koettelemus (fi)
• Macedonian: please add this translation if you can

harsh criticism — see criticism

personal attacks — see personal attack

See also

• Appendix:Snowclones/to X or not to X
• Thesaurus:criticize

Further reading

• “slings and arrows”, in Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster, 1996–present.
• “slings and arrows” in Idioms and phrases, TheFreeDictionary.com, Huntingdon Valley, Pa.: Farlex, Inc., 2003–2024.
• “slings and arrows” in Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English, Longman.