the best laid plans of mice and men often go awry
the best laid plans of mice and men often go awry proverb: no matter how well a project is planned, accidents or misfortune can still occur.
Proverb
the best laid plans of mice and men often go awry
- No matter how well a project is planned, accidents or misfortune can still occur.
- But mouse, you are not alone,
In proving foresight may be vain;
The best laid schemes of mice and men go often askew
And leave us nothing but grief and pain,
For promised joy!1785, Robert Burns, To a Mouse - Knowing her supremely perfect being was completely mine […] I could conceive of no obstacle to my satisfaction, well, “the best laid plans of mice & men go astray” and my nemesis was her sister, the bitch.1971, Neal Cassady, “Letter to Jack Kerouac, March 7, 1947”, in The First Third, City Lights, page 125
- But mouse, you are not alone,
Synonyms of the best laid plans of mice and men often go awry
Forms of the best laid plans of mice and men often go awry
| alternative form | the best laid plans of mice and men go oft astray |
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Origin of the best laid plans of mice and men often go awry
From a Scots poem by Robert Burns, To a Mouse. In the original Scots, the lines are, “The best-laid schemes o’ mice an’ men / Gang aft agley”.
Questions about the best laid plans of mice and men often go awry
- What does the best laid plans of mice and men often go awry mean?
- The best laid plans of mice and men often go awry means no matter how well a project is planned, accidents or misfortune can still occur.
- What part of speech is the best laid plans of mice and men often go awry?
- The best laid plans of mice and men often go awry is a proverb.
Words near the best laid plans of mice and men often go awry in the dictionary
- the bejesus out of
- the best defence is attack
- the best defense is a good offense
- the best is the enemy of the good
- the best laid plans of mice and men go oft astray
- the best laid plans of mice and men often go awry
- the best things in life are free
- the best things in life aren't things
- the better is the enemy of the good
- The Bible
- the bigger they are, the harder they fall
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: the best laid plans of mice and men often go awry (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
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