winter of discontent

winter of discontent
a phrase first used by some British newspapers and politicians to describe the winter of 1978–9 in Britain, when there were many strikes and economic problems. The phrase was taken from the opening lines of Shakespeare’s play Richard III: ‘Now is the winter of our discontent/Made glorious summer …’ It was used to suggest that people were not happy with the way the Labour government was running the country. The same phrase is now used to refer to any difficult political situation that occurs during the months of winter:

The problems in the power industry led to another winter of discontent.

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  • winter of discontent — [winter of discontent] a phrase first used by some British newspapers and politicians to describe the winter of 1978–9 in Britain, when there were many strikes and economic problems. The phrase was taken from the opening lines of Shakespeare s… …   Useful english dictionary

  • Winter of Discontent — The Winter of Discontent is a term used to describe the British winter of 1978 ndash;1979, during which there were widespread strikes by trade unions demanding larger pay raises for their members, and the government of James Callaghan struggled… …   Wikipedia

  • Winter of Discontent — Die Bezeichnung Winter of Discontent (englisch für Winter der Unzufriedenheit) für den Winter von 1978–79 im Vereinigten Königreich geht auf die Eingangszeilen von William Shakespeares Drama Richard III. zurück: “Now is the Winter of our… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Winter of Discontent —    Shakespeare’s metaphor (from Richard III) was used in the press to refer to the troubled state of British industrial relations during the winter of 1978–9, when a wave of strikes across a range of industries resulted in the loss of more… …   Encyclopedia of contemporary British culture

  • Winter of Discontent —    The label applied to the series of industrial stoppages that occurred between late 1978 and early 1979 as the Callaghan Government endeavoured to impose a strict pay policy. The scenes of rubbish piled in the streets, the stories of hospitals… …   Glossary of UK Government and Politics

  • The Winter of Discontent — Infobox Album Name = The Winter of Discontent Type = Album Artist = The Generators Released = August 08, 2006 Recorded = Genre = Punk rock Label = Sailor s Grave Records Producer = Rich Mouser Reviews = Last album = Excess, Betrayal...And Our… …   Wikipedia

  • discontent — meaning ‘lack of contentment’, is pronounced with the stress on the last syllable. Shakespeare s famous opening lines from Richard III, Now is the winter of our discontent Made glorious summer by this sun of York, have provided one of the most… …   Modern English usage

  • Discontent — Dis con*tent , n. 1. Want of content; uneasiness and inquietude of mind; dissatisfaction; disquiet. [1913 Webster] Now is the winter of our discontent Made glorious summer by this sun of York. Shak. [1913 Webster] The rapacity of his father s… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Discontent — (Roget s Thesaurus) < N PARAG:Discontent >N GRP: N 1 Sgm: N 1 discontent discontent discontentment Sgm: N 1 dissatisfaction dissatisfaction Sgm: N 1 dissent dissent &c. 489 GRP: N 2 Sgm: N 2 disappointment disappointment mor …   English dictionary for students

  • discontent — {{11}}discontent (adj.) mid 15c.; see DISCONTENT (Cf. discontent) (v.). The noun meaning state or condition of discontent is recorded from 1580s. Winter of our discontent is from Richard III. {{12}}discontent (v.) late 15c., from DIS (Cf. dis )… …   Etymology dictionary

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