This thread of Shakespeare’s best (and strangest) insults is a proper treat

It was the 460th anniversary of Shakespeare’s birth this week and there was surely no better way of celebrating it than with this fabulous thread of 46 of his best (and strangest) insults.

It went wildly viral over on Twitter after it was posted by @culturaltutor (follow them here!) and we’re sticking a few of these away in our back pocket for future use.

1.

To celebrate William Shakespeare’s 460th birthday, here are his 46 best (and strangest) insults: pic.twitter.com/jLbx6cduxY

— The Cultural Tutor (@culturaltutor) April 23, 2024

2.

1) “Would thou wert clean enough to spit upon.”
~Timon of Athens

2) “You, minion, are too saucy.”
~The Two Gentleman of Verona

3) “Thou damned and luxurious mountain goat.”
~Henry V

— The Cultural Tutor (@culturaltutor) April 23, 2024

3.

4) “The rankest compound of villainous smell that ever offended nostril.”
~The Merry Wives of Windsor

5) “Thou hast no more brain than I have in mine elbows.”
~Troilus and Cressida

6) “Thou whoreson zed; thou unnecessary letter!”
~King Lear

— The Cultural Tutor (@culturaltutor) April 23, 2024

4.

7) “I do desire we may be better strangers.”
~As You Like It

8) “His wit’s as thick as a Tewkesbury mustard.”
~Henry IV, Part 2

9) “I am sick when I do look on thee.”
~A Midsummer Night’s Dream

— The Cultural Tutor (@culturaltutor) April 23, 2024

5.

10) “I’ll beat thee, but I would infect my hands.”
~Timon of Athens

11) “More of your conversation would infect my brain.”
~Coriolanus

12) “There’s no more faith in thee than in a stewed prune.”
~Henry IV, Part 1

— The Cultural Tutor (@culturaltutor) April 23, 2024

6.

13) “The tartness of his face sours ripe grapes.”
~Coriolanus

14) “Thou leathern-jerkin, crystal-button, knot-pated, agatering, puke-stocking, caddis-garter, smooth-tongue, Spanish pouch!”
~Henry IV, Part 1

15) “Thy tongue outvenoms all the worms of Nile.”
~Cymbeline

— The Cultural Tutor (@culturaltutor) April 23, 2024

7.

16) “Thou art a Castilian King urinal!”
~The Merry Wives of Windsor

17) “You have such a February face, So full of frost, of storm, and cloudiness.”
~Much Ado

18) “This sanguine coward, this bed-presser, this horseback-breaker, this huge hill of flesh!”
~Henry IV, Part 1

— The Cultural Tutor (@culturaltutor) April 23, 2024