Words at Play : Top 10 Phrases from Shakespeare
What it means:
helpful but perceived as hurtful
How Shakespeare Used It:
"I must be cruel only to be kind; / Thus bad begins, and worse remains behind," says
the tormented Hamlet. He has just mistakenly killed Polonius, and it's clear that he doesn't know how bad things are
going to get. (Hamlet, Act 3, Scene 4)
Modern example:
"The government has portrayed the cull [of 400 kangaroos] as a necessary case of being
cruel to be kind, but the international focus has been mostly on the cruelty." Tim Johnston, New York
Times, Mar. 14, 2008
Plus: The Nick Lowe song of that title from 1979.