O! beware, my lord, of jealousy;

It is the green-eyed monster which doth mock

the meat it feeds on

That little piece of Shakespeare, spoken by Iago in Othello, is the origin of the phrase ‘green with envy.’ It is believed that Shakespeare is describing the green eyes of a black cat to make his metaphor.

Comparing envy to an animal is a particularly clever. It seems beyond our control. Someone has something, knows something, or does something you cannot. And you want. Continue reading →