salad days

"Salad days" is an idiomatic expression, referring to a youthful time, accompanied by the inexperience, enthusiasm, idealism, innocence, or indiscretion that one associates with a young person. More modern use, especially in the United States, refers to a person's heyday when somebody was at the peak of his/her abilities—not necessarily in that person's youth.

The phrase was coined in Shakespeare's Antony and Cleopatra in 1606. In the speech at the end of Act One in which Cleopatra is regretting her youthful dalliances with Julius Caesar she says:

"...My salad days, / When I was green in judgment, cold in blood..."

The phrase became popular only from the middle of the 19th century, coming to mean “a period of youthful inexperience or indiscretion". The metaphor comes from Cleopatra's use of the word 'green'—meaning someone youthful, inexperienced, or immature.

In Popular Culture

Name of a Minor Threat song with lyrics describing punk's early hey days and how the scene had changed, mostly for the worse.

It was used in the lyrics to the intro to '80s pop group Spandau Ballet's 1983 song Gold: "These are my salad days, Slowly being eaten away, Just another play for today"

In the Coen brothers' film Raising Arizona, the character H.I., played by Nicolas Cage, uses the phrase when describing the earlier part of his marriage to Ed (Edwina).

In episode "Simpson and Delilah" of The Simpsons, Mr. Burns uses this expression to describe the days in high school before he went bald.

In Green Day's song "¡Viva La Gloria!" from the 21st Century Breakdown album: "You made your bed in salad days amongst the ruins"

Title of a song by Brittish band Procol Harum: Salad Days (are here again).

See also

• Halcyon days

References

• Dictionary.com entry
• World Wide Words discussion of 'Salad Days' usage, original and modern