Piece of work

Posted by Matt on November 19, 2005

I can't find any consensus on how the current usage of referring to a person as a 'piece of work' came to be. The origin is listed as Shakespear's Hamlet, but one forum user implied that it is always a compliment, and at least where I'm from (midwestern US), this is definitely NOT the case. I hear it used exclusively as a mild insult... 'yeah, he's a real piece of work,' 'what a piece of work,' etc. Any input?

• Piece of work R. Berg 20/November/05
  • Piece of work James Briggs 20/November/05
    • Piece of work RRC 20/November/05
      • Piece of work Bill 25/November/05
        • Piece of work bill 25/November/05
          • Piece of work bill 25/November/05