the world is someone's oyster

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• Received-Pronunciation: /ðə ˈwɜːld‿ɪz ˌsʌmwʌnz ˈɔɪstə/
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• General-American: /ðə ˈwɜɹld‿ɪz ˌsʌmwʌnz ˈɔɪstəɹ/
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• General-American: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
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• rhymes with -ɔɪstə(ɹ)
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From the version of the play The Merry Wives of Windsor published in the First Folio (1623) of the works of the English playwright William Shakespeare (baptized 1564; died 1616): see the quotation. The original context was that Ancient Pistol would use force to obtain a loan from Sir John Falstaff, like prising open an oyster with a sword to obtain a pearl.

7 source translations are retained for this English entry.

• Dutch: de wereld ligt aan iemands voeten — all opportunities are open to someone
• Finnish: maailma on avoin — all opportunities are open to someone
• German: die Welt liegt einem zu Füßen — all opportunities are open to someone
• Hebrew: העולם פרוש לרגליך — all opportunities are open to someone
• Japanese: この世は思いのまま (kono yo wa omoi no mama) — all opportunities are open to someone
• Polish: świat stoi przed kimś otworem — all opportunities are open to someone
• Spanish: el mundo es tuyo, te vas a comer el mundo — all opportunities are open to someone