Vol. 08 · Shakespeare ·Henry IV, Part 2, Act II.i ·Mistress Quickly
"Eating me out of house and home."
Not quite the line.
How it's usually quoted
"Eating me out of house and home."
What Shakespeare actually wrote
"He hath eaten me out of house and home." Mistress Quickly — Henry IV, Part 2, Act II.i
Why it matters
Shakespeare coined the phrase here — past tense, about Falstaff. The idiom has since drifted to present continuous ("eating me out of house and home"), losing its specific origin.
More from the canon.
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