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Phrase(s): The best-laid plans of mice and men oft(en) go astray. [and] The 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 bestlaid 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!
McGrawhill's American Idioms And Phrasal Verbs