What does the phrase of mice and men mean? and where does it come from?

Question

what does the phrase 'of mice and men' mean and where does it come from? thank you for your help...

Answer 1

You are probably referring to the book "of mice and men" by John Steinbeck.

Without getting into full details (in case you read the book) One of the characters (Lennie) likes to stroke soft materials, including the head of mice.

You can find more info here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Of_Mice_and_Men

Answer 2

Of Mice And Men Origin

Answer 3

The phrase is the best laid plans of mice and men often go awry.
It means just that.

Answer 4

It means are you going to be a man about it or not?

It comes from the book:

Of Mice or Men

Answer 5

no it's not from the book, it's something to do with the ambitions of mice & men, I can't remember the exact phrase but it's how whether great or small we all have ambitions

Answer 6

"Of Mice and Men" is a book by John Steinbeck. I actually just finished eading it again today. It's about two men in Depression Era (?) times that work together whereever they can. One of them, Lennie, is very "slow" mentally, and he really likes to touch soft things. In the beginning of the book, he carries a mouse around in his pocket because he loves to stroke the very very soft fur. He kills it, accidentally, because he was stroking it so much that he eventually crushed it. Later on, events unfold around his strong desire to touch soft things.

It's a pretty good book. It's definitely a classic piece of literature, and it's actually on the top 100 list of most commonly banned books of the past decade. There is use of the "N" word, which is probably the main reason why many schools ban it.

Answer 7

http://www.quotationspage.com/search.php3homesearch=of+mice+and+men

Answer 8

The phrase which was used as the title of Steinbeck's 1937 novel comes from the 1785 poem "To a Mouse" by Robert Burns. Near the end is the statement: "The Best Laid Schemes O' Mice and Men/Gang Aft Agley" (Meaning "The best plans we have for the future, whether we are mice or men, often go astray" - they are ruined).

To a Mouse
On Turning up in Her Nest with the Plough, November, 1785

By Robert Burns

Wee, sleeket, cowran, tim'rous beastie,
O, what panic's in thy breastie!
Thou need na start awa sae hasty,
Wi' bickering brattle!
I wad be laith to rin an' chase thee,
Wi' murd'ring pattle!

I'm truly sorry Man's dominion
Has broken Nature's social union,
An' justifies that ill opinion,
Which makes thee startle,
At me, thy poor, earth-born companion,
An' fellow-mortal!

I doubt na, whyles, but thou may thieve;
What then? poor beastie, thou maun live!
A daimen-icker in a thrave 'S a sma' request:
I'll get a blessin wi' the lave,
An' never miss't!

Thy wee-bit housie, too, in ruin!
It's silly wa's the win's are strewin!
An' naething, now, to big a new ane,
O' foggage green!
An' bleak December's winds ensuin,
Baith snell an' keen!

Thou saw the fields laid bare an' wast,
An' weary Winter comin fast,
An' cozie here, beneath the blast,
Thou thought to dwell,
Till crash! the cruel coulter past
Out thro' thy cell.

That wee-bit heap o' leaves an' stibble,
Has cost thee monie a weary nibble!
Now thou's turn'd out, for a' thy trouble,
But house or hald.
To thole the Winter's sleety dribble,
An' cranreuch cauld!

But Mousie, thou are no thy-lane,
In proving foresight may be vain:
The best laid schemes o' Mice an' Men,
Gang aft agley,
An' lea'e us nought but grief an' pain,
For promis'd joy!

Still, thou art blest, compar'd wi' me!
The present only toucheth thee:
But Och! I backward cast my e'e,
On prospects drear!
An' forward, tho' I canna see,
I guess an' fear!

Answer 9

if you take this metaphorically it means cowards an heroes mice are scared and most men are fearless simple verses complex