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something is rotten in the state of Denmark

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary

English

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Alternative forms

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Etymology

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A line spoken by Marcellus in William Shakespeare's Hamlet, Act I, scene iv.

Pronunciation

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Phrase

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something is rotten in the state of Denmark

  1. (idiomatic) Something is not right, seriously amiss, especially when leading to suspicion of motive.
    If the authorities knew about the problems and chose not to prevent them, then clearly something is rotten in the state of Denmark.

Translations

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