give pause to, to
give pause to, to
To stop temporarily; to hesitate; to hold back in order to reflect. This term, too, comes from Shakespeare, from Hamlet’s famous soliloquy on death (3.1), “For in that sleep of death what dreams may come . . . must give us pause.” Eric Partridge said it has been a cliché since the mid-nineteenth century.
See also: give, pause
The Dictionary of Clichés by Christine Ammer
- hesitate over
- hesitate over (something)
- of the highest order
- of the highest/first order
- of the first order
- to the manner/manor born
- there you go
- Greek to me, it's/that's (all)
- here you are
- put (one) on hold