Who said.

[ABreaction]

'Cry Havoc and let slip the dogs of war'? was it answerbok?

[lisa74656]

And there was me thinking it was Chang in Star Trek 6 :)

[Quizmonster]

Dear Up, The early meaning of 'havoc' is 'pillage' - ie ransacking a city, say, that your army has just defeated and taking away all its treasures. The word 'Havoc!' was shouted out as an order by commanders to indicate that the fighting was over and the looting could begin. More recently, the word just means chaos and destruction, as in: 'The hurricane inflicted terrible havoc on the Flodida coast.'

The 'dogs' of war were the fighting men and - just as you 'let slip' your real hunting-dogs to catch prey - so you 'let loose' your soldiers to defeat the enemy.

[Quizmonster]

Thanks for your kind comment, Norman.

[druiaghtagh]

something from Shakespeare although i'm not sure what play

[druiaghtagh]

it was from 'Julius Caesar'

[JohnPPotts]

It is Shakespearean: Mark Antony says it at Julius Caesar's funeral (from the eponymous play).