The story
Coined by the English playwright William Shakespeare (baptized 1564; died 1616) in his play Hamlet (written 1599–1601; first published 1604 in the second quarto), referring to fortune attacking a person, as if using slingshots and arrows: see the quotation.
First known use, by meaning
- from late 16th – early 17th c. Hardships or adverse circumstances.
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.