Slings and arrows are bad things that happen to you and that are not your fault. She seemed generally unable to cope with the slings and arrows of life. He endured the usual slings and arrows of a life lived in the media spotlight. Note: This expression comes from the line the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, in Shakespeare's play `Hamlet'. People sometimes use this line in full. Ah well, we all have to bear the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune. Note: This is a quotation from a speech in Shakespeare's play `Hamlet', where Hamlet is considering whether or not to kill himself: `To be, or not to be - that is the question; Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, Or to take arms against a sea of troubles, And by opposing end them?' (Act 3, Scene 1)