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CLICHES/APHORISMS 1ST (Mike Hoeft) “A rose by any other name would smell as sweet.” This oft-quoted Shakespeare line comes from Juliet herself, of the tragic Romeo and Juliet. In Act 2, Scene 2, Juliet claims that the names of things don’t matter; rather, what matters is “what” things are. “Namely,” it wouldn’t matter if an actual rose was called “junk,” for example. What matters is the essence and unmistakable beauty of a “rose” that belies any name that is accorded to it. She specifically references the delightful fragrance of a “rose” here, which brings forth an overall positive feeling that is invoked by anyone being near this sweet-smelling crimson flower. The actual reference has to do with the long-standing acrimony between Juliet’s and Romeo’s respective families, and hence the distinction of their different surnames, eg Juliet being a member of the “Capulet” family and Romeo being a member of the “Montague” family. Juliet is saying that “who cares what his last name is. Does it take anything away from the fact that he is a terrific person and I love him?” She adds (and he agrees!) that they should just ignore their last names because their families have been in discord with one another for some time; Juliet is exclaiming that love knows no bounds, and that includes the last name of someone whose family is in contention with her own. Juliet: O Romeo, Romeo! wherefore art thou Romeo? Deny thy father and refuse thy name; Or, if thou wilt not, be but sworn my love, And I'll no longer be a Capulet. Romeo: [Aside] Shall I hear more, or shall I speak at this? Juliet: 'Tis but thy name that is my enemy; Thou art thyself, though not a Montague. What's Montague? it is nor hand, nor foot, Nor arm, nor face, nor any other part Belonging to a man. O, be some other name! What's in a name? that which we call a rose By any other name would smell as sweet; So Romeo would, were he not Romeo call'd, Retain that dear perfection which he owes Without that title. Romeo, doff thy name, And for that name which is no part of thee Take all myself. Romeo: I take thee at thy word: Call me but love, and I'll be new baptized; Henceforth I never will be Romeo. This colloquialism would be used in that context whereby someone is making a jestful remark about the name of someone (maybe it’s an ugly name or something like that), and he/she is saying that the “person” and not the “name” is what matters. This could be stated in a business setting, but more firmly belongs in a social, more light-hearted situation and venue. As it is very lofty language from “the Bard” himself, it could be used as sarcasm or as a dig on someone’s last name, first name, or even their (presumably lowly) occupation or the such. The speaker ought to be careful that this remark isn’t taken in a mean way and that it is received by an audience that would know something about Shakespeare and this famous line. Or the person can be talking to himself/herself in a snarky way or even a fun-loving way. “Abandon ship” This saying means exactly what most people would think it means: “Let’s get the heck out of here ASAP (as soon as possible).” Although it was probably used many times before, a famous origin of this saying was in the book Utopia, whereby Thomas More exclaims plainly: “You wouldn't abandon ship in a storm just because you couldn't control the winds.” Thomas More here focuses on support and encouragement of the person/persons in the specific situation, but people nowadays would use it in one of two ways: 1) Let’s NOT abandon ship (and let’s finish what we started), whether it’s a company or a relationship or a level of schooling, etc. or 2) Let’s abandon ship and END what we started (most often with good intentions). Most often, we’ve heard it spoken by a third party: “Don’t abandon ship just because…[this or that reason]” or “Maybe you guys should abandon ship at this point.” It can also be used in a comical way, with a speaker jovially calling out for his/her teammate/teammate to “abandon ship!” and all of them get the heck away from the activity they were previously engaged in.