scheme (redirected from schemes)

best-laid plans of mice and men oft(en) go astray, and best-laid schemes o' mice an' men gang aft a-gley.

Prov. Things often go wrong even though you have carefully planned what you are going to do. (The gang aft a-gley version is Scots dialect, and comes from Robert Burns' poem "To a Mouse.") Jill: I reserved a hotel room for us three weeks ago, but now the clerk says he has no record of our reservation. So much for our fun weekend in the city. Jane: Well, these things happen. The best-laid plans of mice and men oft go astray. I had all the arrangements made for my party, and then the guest of honor got sick and I had to call the whole thing off. The best-laid schemes of mice and men gang aft a-gley. If a little rain can ruin the best-laid plans of mice and men, think what an earthquake might do!

See also: and, astray, men, mice, plan

scheme against someone or something

to plot or conspire against someone or something. A group of generals was plotting against the government. They schemed against the king until he caught them and put an end to it.

See also: against

scheme for something

to plot and plan for something, perhaps using deception. She is scheming for a raise. Ted is always scheming for a way to miss work.

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in the grand/great scheme of things

if you say that in the grand scheme of things something is not important, you mean that it is not important when compared to much more serious things In the grand scheme of things, whether another actress has her navel pierced is not really that significant.

See also: grand, thing

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in the scheme of things

in a general view of the situation She just got here and hasn't figured out where she belongs in the scheme of things.

Usage notes: often used with the adjectives grand, larger, or overall, usually to suggest that something is not very important: A two-week delay will not matter in the overall scheme of things.

See also: thing