The best-laid plans of mice and men often go awry

Cultural  

1. No matter how carefully a project is planned, something may still go wrong with it. The saying is adapted from a line in “To a Mouse,” by Robert Burns: “The best laid schemes o' mice an' men / Gang aft a-gley.”

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Example Sentences

As the Scottish poet Robert Burns coined, “The best-laid plans of mice and men often go awry.”

From Golf Digest

Well, as the saying goes: the best-laid plans of mice and men often go awry.

From Seattle Times

“The best-laid plans of mice and men often go awry.”

From Washington Post

In sports, “the best-laid plans of mice and men often go awry.”

From Washington Post