Re: A dish fit for the gods

Posted by Victoria S Dennis on April 13, 2005

In Reply to: Re: A dish fit for the gods posted by Bruce Kahl on April 12, 2005

: : What is the meaning of Caesar's phrase "a dish fit for the gods"?

: It means that the food was really, really good and out of this world.

: It's a quotation from Shakespeare's Julius Caesar. When planning to assassinate Caesar, Brutus says:

"Let's carve him as a dish fit for the gods,
Not hew him as a carcass fit for hounds."

He's referring to the Roman custom of sacrificing animals to the gods and examining their entrails for omens; he means that they should kill Caesar in a reverent ceremonious way. So in the original it's not a very appetising remark! But many people just use the tag to mean "lavish delicious food".

See A dish fit for the gods - meaning and origin.