/ˈiːvən ˈhəʊmə ˈnɒdz/
English idiom, literary. Even the most skilled people sometimes make mistakes.
Draft Not yet checked by a native English speaker.
How do people use Even Homer nods
?
Literary and a bit bookish, the kind of thing an editor or teacher says when a respected writer or expert slips up. It’s usually a quick, forgiving comment on someone else’s mistake, and journalists use “Homer nods” on its own when correcting their own errors. In casual talk most people would say “it happens to the best of us” instead.
Also said even Homer sometimes nods, Homer nods, even Jove nods
Even Homer nods
in real sentences
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Even Homer nods.
Tatoeba, sentence by Pacific, CC BY 2.0 FR
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Even Homer sometimes nods.
Tatoeba, sentence by CK, CC BY 2.0 FR
Where does Even Homer nods
come from?
This one has a clear paper trail. In his Ars Poetica (around 18 BC), the Roman poet Horace complained that he was annoyed whenever “good Homer dozes” (“quandoque bonus dormitat Homerus”), meaning even the greatest poet has weak lines. English Wiktionary credits John Dryden with the English “Homer nods” in 1677, and Alexander Pope’s Essay on Criticism (1711) made it standard.
Mistakes learners make with Even Homer nods
Learners read “nods” as nodding yes and think it means even Homer agrees. Here “nod” means to doze off for a moment, so the proverb is about a lapse in attention.
Other English idioms like Even Homer nods
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