honi soit qui mal y pense

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English

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Alternative forms

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Etymology

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Borrowed from Middle French honi soit qui mal y pense (literally shamed be whoever thinks bad of it” or “shame be to him who thinks evil of it).

Pronunciation

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Phrase

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honi soit qui mal y pense

  1. The motto of the British chivalric Order of the Garter, still used in the royal coat of arms of the United Kingdom.
    Synonyms: evil be to him who evil thinks, evil to him that evil thinks, shame be to him who thinks evil of it, shame to him who thinks ill of it
    • 1821 September–October, [Thomas De Quincey], “[Part II.] Introduction to the Pains of Opium.”, in Confessions of an English Opium-Eater, 2nd edition, London: [] [J. Moyes] for Taylor and Hessey, [], published 1823, →OCLC, page 119:
      I am at this period, viz. in 1812, living in a cottage; and with a single female servant (honi soit qui mal y pense), who, amongst my neighbours, passes by the name of my "housekeeper."

Translations

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Further reading

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