# the world is someone's oyster
## English
### Etymology

From the version of the play The Merry Wives of Windsor published in the First Folio (1623) of the works of the English playwright William Shakespeare (baptized 1564; died 1616): see the quotation. The original context was that Ancient Pistol would use force to obtain a loan from Sir John Falstaff, like prising open an oyster with a sword to obtain a pearl.

### Pronunciation

* (Received Pronunciation) IPA: /ðə ˈwɜːld‿ɪz ˌsʌmwʌnz ˈɔɪstə/
* (General American) IPA: /ðə ˈwɜɹld‿ɪz ˌsʌmwʌnz ˈɔɪstəɹ/
* Audio (General American):(file)
* Rhymes: -ɔɪstə(ɹ)

### Proverb

the world is someone's oyster
* All opportunities are open to someone; the world is theirs.
** c. 1597 (date written), William Shakespeare, […] [T]he Merrie Wiues of Windsor. […] (First Quarto), London: […] T[homas] C[reede] for Arthur Ihonson, […], published 1602, →OCLC, [Act II, scene ii], signature C2, verso:Fal[staff]. I vvill not lend thee a penny. / Piſt[ol]. VVhy then the vvorld's mine Oyſter, vvhich I, vvith ſvvord vvill open.
** 1858, Anthony Trollope, “Dr. Thorne”, in Doctor Thorne. […], volume I, London: Chapman & Hall, […], →OCLC, page 58:But his wants were not at first great; and though his ambition was perhaps high, it was not of an impatient nature. The world was his oyster; but, circumstanced as he was, he knew it was not for him to open it with his lancet all at once.
** 1865, Thomas Carlyle, “Peace of Hubertsburg”, in History of Friedrich II. of Prussia, Called Frederick the Great, volume VI, London: Chapman and Hall, […], →OCLC, book XX, page 328:Irregular gentlemen, to whom the world's their oyster,—said oyster does suddenly snap-to on them, by a chance.
** 2008, Nick Clayton, “Introduction”, in The Guardian Guide to Working Abroad, London: A[dam] & C[harles] Black Publishers, →ISBN, page 15:The world may be your oyster, but that doesn't mean you've found the pearl.

#### Usage notes

* As the quotations show, the proverb is frequently used with different forms of the word be, and with different pronouns.

#### Derived terms

* the world is one's lobster

#### Translations

    The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

#### See also

* carpe diem
* seize the day
* take the bull by the horns

### References

* ↑ The line does not appear in the first quarto of the play published in 1602; in its place is the line “I vvill retort the ſum in equipage”: see William Shakespeare (c. 1597 [date written]) […] [T]he Merrie Wiues of Windsor. […] (First Quarto), London: […] T[homas] C[reede] for Arthur Ihonson, […], published 1602, →OCLC, Act II, scene ii, folio C2, verso.
* ↑ “the world is one’s oyster, phrase” under “oyster, n. and adj.”, in OED Online ⁠, Oxford: Oxford University Press, September 2023.

### Further reading

* “the world is your oyster, phrase”, in Collins English Dictionary; from Collins COBUILD Advanced Dictionary, 6th edition, Boston, Mass.: Heinle Cengage Learning; Glasgow: HarperCollins Publishers, 2009, →ISBN.
* “the world is someone’s oyster, idiom”, in Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster, 1996–present.