the lady doth protest too much

English

Alternative forms

• the lady doth protest too much, methinks
• methinks the lady doth protest too much
• methinks thou dost protest too much

Etymology

An allusion to Shakespeare's Hamlet, where the line is spoken by Queen Gertrude, Hamlet's mother. In the play, "protest" is used to mean "insist that what one is saying is true" (in this case, the Player Queen's protestations of love), not "insist that what another is saying is false."

Phrase

the lady doth protest too much

1. It is suspected that, because someone is insisting too much about something, the opposite of what he or she is saying must be true; a hit dog will holler.
   • 1897, Samuel Butler, The Authoress of the Odyssey:

     In all Penelope's devotion to her husband there is an ever present sense that the lady doth protest too much.

Derived terms

• protest too much

Translations

because someone is insisting too much about something, the opposite must be true

• Arabic: السَّيِّدَة تَعْتَرِضُ أَكْثَر مِن اللَّازِم (as-sayyida(t) taʕtariḍu ʔakṯar min al-lāzim)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 此地無銀三百兩／此地无银三百两 (zh) (cǐdì wú yín sān bǎi liǎng)

• Finnish: hän vakuutteli mielestäni liiaksi, se koira älähtää, johon kalikka kalahtaa
• French: la dame proteste un peu trop
• Galician: rosmas moito culpa tes
• Italian: gallina che canta ha fatto l'uovo
• Portuguese: a senhora protesta muito
• Russian: леди действительно слишком много выступает. (ledi dejstvitelʹno sliškom mnogo vystupajet.)
• Serbo-Croatian: please add this translation if you can
• Spanish: la dama protesta mucho
• Ukrainian: please add this translation if you can
• Welsh: yr euog a ffy heb neb yn ei erlid

See also

• the lady doth protest too much on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
• Excusatio non petita, accusatio manifesta on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

Further reading

• the lady doth protest too much on Wikipedia.Wikipedia