best laid plans

noun

A proverbial expression used to signify the futility of making detailed plans when the ability to fully or even partially execute them is uncertain.

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Meanings

nounbest laid plans (singular best laid plan)

singular best laid plan

  1. idiomaticA proverbial expression used to signify the futility of making detailed plans when the ability to fully or even partially execute them is uncertain.

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).

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Cite this entry
APA

best laid plans. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/best%20laid%20plans

MLA

“best laid plans.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/best%20laid%20plans. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “best laid plans,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/best%20laid%20plans.

Source: best laid plans on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.