Meanings
- alternativeAlternative form of something is rotten in the state of Denmark.
When he compared the French army and its total expenditure with ours he was perfectly frightened. But when he came upon items such as that to which he had referred he could well understand that there was something rotten in the state of Denmark.
1861 May 10, Sir Morton Peto, “Supply—Army Estimates”, in parliamentary debates (Commons Chamber), volume 162, column 1899
Cite this entry
there is something rotten in the state of Denmark. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/there%20is%20something%20rotten%20in%20the%20state%20of%20Denmark
“there is something rotten in the state of Denmark.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/there%20is%20something%20rotten%20in%20the%20state%20of%20Denmark. Accessed November 5, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “there is something rotten in the state of Denmark,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/there%20is%20something%20rotten%20in%20the%20state%20of%20Denmark.
Source: there is something rotten in the state of Denmark on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.