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beware

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beware the ides of March

A phrase used to foreshadow something bad. "Ides" refers to the 15th day of the month. In the Shakespeare play Julius Caesar, a prophet tells Caesar to "beware the ides of March"—and Caesar is subsequently killed on that day. You have History next period? Well, beware the ides of March—Mr. Smith is in a bad mood today and gave us extra homework.

See also: beware, march, of

Beware of Greeks bearing gifts.

Prov. Do not trust an opponent who offers to do something nice for you. (A line from the story of the Trojan horse, as told in Vergil's Aeneid.) Jill: I can't believe Melanie brought me cookies today, when we've been fighting for weeks. Jane: Beware of Greeks bearing gifts. She probably has ulterior motives. When the rival company invited all his employees to a Christmas party, Tom's first impulse was to beware of Greeks bearing gifts, but then he upbraided himself for being paranoid.

See also: bearing, beware, gift, Greek, of

beware of someone or something

to be cautious and watchful about someone or something. Beware of Ted. He's acting irrational. You should beware of the dog.

See also: beware, of

Let the buyer beware.

Prov. Cliché When you buy something, you must take precautions against being cheated, because you cannot trust merchants to be honest about what they sell. Let the buyer beware when shopping for a used car. Several of the lamps among those Max offered for sale were broken. "If a customer isn't smart enough to try a lamp before he buys it, that's his problem," Max argued. "Let the buyer beware."

See also: beware, let