2006-11-16 23:47:36 · 8 answers · asked by Barry M 1 in Education & Reference ➔ Quotations
Woe betide is an archaic phrase, loosely translating into modern-day English to mean 'Let woe rise up against', or "May despair come to" formerly used to decry a person's actions. Grammatically, it is a phrase in the subjunctive mood.
This phrase was joked about by comedian Billy Connolly, who joked that he once thought 'Woe betide' to refer to a person, named 'Wobie Tide'. He joked that he thought that he would get along with Wobie, hearing him described by his teachers as 'Wobie Tide, the boy who didn't do his homework' and the like, and said that he was disappointed that he never met Wobie Tide
2006-11-16 23:57:05 · answer #1 · answered by rgrahamh2o 3 · 2⤊ 1⤋
Woe Betide
2016-10-06 00:29:43 · answer #2 · answered by ? 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
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RE:
Where does the saying "Woe be Tide" come from?
2015-08-10 04:20:47 · answer #3 · answered by Alexia 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Woe will surely come to you just as the tide rises and falls. Woe is as certain as the tide.
2015-01-03 10:56:03 · answer #4 · answered by ted d 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
'Woe' is still used; the meaning is clear.
'Betide' is also clear, but not commonly used. It simply refers to the action of the tide, which can overwhelm, submerge or surround you .
'Benighted' (surrounded by darkness) is out of the same box.
2006-11-17 09:09:27 · answer #5 · answered by Fitology 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It's "Woe betide" and it means "woe will come to" anyone who does x, y or z.
2006-11-17 00:20:48 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Shakespearee. Shoot, aren't all quotes from the Bible or Shakespear? Word.
2006-11-17 00:05:51 · answer #7 · answered by CantBClever 2 · 0⤊ 1⤋
it's not be tide it's betide - it means 'will come to' or 'will happen'
2006-11-17 00:14:19 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋