something is rotten in the state of Denmark
English
Etymology
A line spoken by Marcellus in Shakespeare's Hamlet, Act I.
Pronunciation
Audio (AU): (file)
Phrase
(deprecated template usage) something is rotten in the state of Denmark
- (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
Hamlet quotation, used in other contexts to mean "something is not right"