Lay on, Macduff

Cultural  

1. A line from the play Macbeth, by William Shakespeare. Macbeth speaks these words as he attacks his enemy Macduff at the end of the play; Macbeth is killed in the fight.

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Example Sentences

You are indeed a very acute reader to have divined the real attitude of my mind; and I can only conclude, not without closed eyes and shrinking shoulders, in the well-worn words Lay on, Macduff!

From Letters of Robert Louis Stevenson — Volume 1 by Stevenson, Robert Louis

Lay on, Macduff, And damn'd be him that first cries, "Hold, enough!"

From Familiar Quotations A Collection of Passages, Phrases, and Proverbs Traced to Their Sources in Ancient and Modern Literature by Bartlett, John

Lay on, Macduff; And damned be him that first cries, Hold, enough!

From Familiar Quotations by Bartlett, John

With him I shouted, "Lay on, Macduff; and damn'd be he that first cries, Hold, enough."

From Punch, or the London Charivari, Vol. 146, April 15, 1914 by Seaman, Owen, Sir

Jack I think that's awkward,–looks as if she were going to cry "Lay on, Macduff!"

From The Sweet Girl Graduates by Woodman, Rea