Greek

Posted by ESC on May 14, 2000

In Reply to: "Its all greek to me" origin posted by joe on May 14, 2000

: where did the cliche "it's all Greek to me" come from?
: greatly appreciated if you know this
: Joe

"ALL GREEK TO ME - Goes back to Shakespeare. The line was first spoken by Casca, one of the conspirators against Caesar in the first act of 'Julius Caesar.' He was speaking of the comments made by Cicero after Caesar three times refused the crown of emperor. Cicero actually did speak in Greek, using that language as a device to make sure that casual passers-by did not understand his remarks. Today the expression 'It's all Greek to me' simply means that what has been said is beyond the speaker's understanding." From Morris Dictionary of Word and Phrase Origins by William and Mary Morris (HarperCollins, New York, 1977, 1988).