Everyone had heard that phrase, “Beware the Ides of March” but my question is, Why? And what the heck is an “Ide”?
I’ve heard that some think it’s “Beware the Eyes of March” and it refers to the “eyes” of young men and that women should be wary of them so they don’t get pregnant. Who knows…
Anyone have a clue?
Uncle C.?
From Dictionary.com:
My dear departed kitty Miss Dinah Prunella was born on the ides of March…
The ancient Roman calender was divided into 12 months, and each month had three reference points, if you could call it that, the Nones (at the beginning of the month), the Ides (in the middle of the month), and the Kalends (at the end of the month). So, to set a date, you’d count from one of those reference points. You’d talk about two days after the Nones of February, or, if I wanted to state today’s date, one day after the ides of October. Now, Gaius Julius Caesar was assassinated on the Ides of March, and after his death, the story started getting spread that a soothsayer had forseen his death, telling him to “Beware the Ides of March”, but he ignored her. This tradition got carried down through the years, and Shakespeare put it in his play, Julius Caesar, where, in Act I, scene two, a soothsayer warns Caesar to “Beware the Ides of March”, but is dismissed by him as “a dreamer”
Also, this thread should probably go in “General Questions”
As a previous poster has amazingly pointed out, this thread would probably be better suited to the «General Questions» forum. Please read the descriptions of our fora on the Straight Dope Message Board home page.
Since the question seems to have been adequately answered, instead of moving the thread, I will just close it.
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