Quote, Unquote

It has been researched that there are 257 phrases used today in the English language which have been taken from the King James Version of the Bible. ‘At our wit’s end,’ ‘escape by the skin of your teeth,’ ‘eat, drink and be merry,’ ‘all things to all men,’ .I could go on , 253 still to go. At a recent church quiz each team was given 20 phrases and had to choose whether they came from Shakespeare or the Bible. Oh dear, I’ll only say that our team didn’t come top!

The first written words in the English language were created by the religious orders when the country converted to Christianity in the 6th century. The Bible is still the top of the best-selling list, though sadly some surveys choose not to include it in their lists.