a plague o' both your houses

phrase

Used to express displeasure at both sides of a pointless or long-running dispute.

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Meanings

phrase

alternative a plague on both your houses · alternative a pox on both your houses

  1. Used to express displeasure at both sides of a pointless or long-running dispute.

Origin

Uttered by Mercutio in the William Shakespeare play Romeo and Juliet.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

a plague o' both your houses. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/a%20plague%20o'%20both%20your%20houses

MLA

“a plague o' both your houses.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/a%20plague%20o'%20both%20your%20houses. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “a plague o' both your houses,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/a%20plague%20o'%20both%20your%20houses.

Source: a plague o' both your houses on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.