BESTLAID PLANS OF MICE AND MEN OFT(EN) GO ASTRAY.

best-laid plans of mice and men oft(en) go astray.: translation

The best-laid plans of mice and men oft(en) go astray. & The best-laid schemes o' mice an' men gang aft a-gley.

Prov. Things often go wrong even though you have carefully planned what you are going to do. (The

gang aft a-gley

version is Scots dialect, and comes from Robert Burns' poem “To a Mouse.”) •

Jill: I reserved a hotel room for us three weeks ago, but now the clerk says he has no record of our reservation. So much for our fun weekend in the city. Jane: Well, these things happen. The best-laid plans of mice and men oft go astray.

•

I had all the arrangements made for my party, and then the guest of honor got sick and I had to call the whole thing off. The bestlaid schemes of mice and men gang aft a-gley.

•

If a little rain can ruin the best-laid plans of mice and men, think what an earthquake might do!