Etymology

best laid plans

Today it means: A proverbial expression used to signify the futility of making detailed plans when the ability to fully or even partially execute them is uncertain. Full definition →

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The story

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).

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.