oft

the best-laid plans of mice and men oft go astray

Said when something ends poorly or differently than expected, despite preparations for success. The phrase is likely an adaptation of a line from 18th-century Scottish poet Robert Burns. I always thought our business would last forever. I guess it's true what they say, though, the best-laid plans of mice and men oft go astray. A: "I've been working on this project for six months, and now, right before it's due, they tell me they want something completely different." B: "That's rough. The best-laid plans of mice and men oft go astray, I suppose."
See also: and, astray, go, men, mice, of, oft, plan
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

best-laid plans of mice and men oft(en) go astray,

 and 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 best-laid 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!
See also: and, astray, go, men, mice, of, oft, plan
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs.
See also:
  • best-laid plans of mice and men oft go astray
  • the best-laid plans of mice and men oft go astray
  • the best-laid schemes
  • the best-laid schemes of mice and men
  • the best-laid schemes o' mice an' men gang aft a-gley
  • gley
  • the best-laid plans
  • the best-laid plans go astray
  • the best-laid plans of mice and men
  • best-laid plans go astray, the
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Graham's The Family Dairy, Scotland's largest independent dairy company and the UK's seventh largest liquid milk producer, has been informed by the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) that it is to immediately close its investigation into alleged breaches of competition law within the milk sector in Scotland.
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UK construction companies in contract scandal