Question
Can you tell me the origin and the history of the phrase: “The best laid plans of mice and men?”
Answer
It is a line from the poem “To a Mouse,” by Robert Burns, the 18th century Scottish poet. The full quote, however, is the two-line stanza: “The best laid schemes o’ mice an’ men/Gang aft a-gley.” (A free translation of the second line could be: Often go awry or become unraveled.)
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