Meaning

Some men are born mediocre, some men achieve mediocrity, and some men, have mediocrity thrust upon them

Categorised in: Quotations

What's the meaning of the phrase 'Some men are born mediocre, some men achieve mediocrity, and some men, have mediocrity thrust upon them'?

Literal meaning.

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What’s the origin of the phrase ‘Some men are born mediocre, some men achieve mediocrity, and some men, have mediocrity thrust upon them’?

From Joseph Heller’s Catch-22. Paraphrase of the original ‘some men are born great…’ from Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night, 1602.

Historical trend

“mediocre” in printed material over time

Source: Google Books Ngrams (1800–2020).

180018201840186018801900192019401960198020002020
  • mediocre