Idiom
best laid plans
Meaning
A proverbial expression used to signify the futility of making detailed plans when the ability to fully or even partially execute them is uncertain.
Meaning adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Examples
“The best laid plans often go wrong.”
“The best laid plans fail if you forget to check the opening hours.”
“Even the best laid plans fall apart when the train is late.”
“We wanted a beach picnic, but the best laid plans were ruined by a sudden thunderstorm.”
“I spent months organizing my sister's surprise party, but the best laid plans failed when she caught a cold and stayed home.”
“We intended to finish the renovation by Christmas, but the best laid plans changed once we discovered the leaking pipes.”
“Despite our meticulous preparation for the product launch, the best laid plans were ultimately thwarted by an unforeseen global supply chain crisis.”
Examples
simple
“The best laid plans often go wrong.”
“The best laid plans fail if you forget to check the opening hours.”
“Even the best laid plans fall apart when the train is late.”
contextual
“We wanted a beach picnic, but the best laid plans were ruined by a sudden thunderstorm.”
“I spent months organizing my sister's surprise party, but the best laid plans failed when she caught a cold and stayed home.”
“We intended to finish the renovation by Christmas, but the best laid plans changed once we discovered the leaking pipes.”
complex
“Despite our meticulous preparation for the product launch, the best laid plans were ultimately thwarted by an unforeseen global supply chain crisis.”
Origin
Shortened form of “the best laid plans of mice and men often go awry”, translated from Scots “The best laid schemes o' Mice an' Men, / Gang aft agley,” from To A Mouse, On Turning Her Up In Her Nest With The Plough by Robert Burns (text and reading of poem).
Key words
Related idioms
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