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So, to sum up, the phrase ‘‘the best laid plans of mice and men’, is a partial idiom derived from a poem by Robert Burns in the 1700s. The phrase refers to how, no matter how well you plan and prepare for something, something can go wrong unexpectedly at any point in time.
But Mousie, thou art no thy-lane, In proving foresight may be vain: The best laid schemes o’ Mice an’ Men Gang aft agley, An’ lea’e us nought but grief an’ pain,
‘The best-laid schemes of mice and men’ is one of those literary quotations which have slipped free of their origins and taken on a whole new, proverbial meaning.
In the last verse, the poem itself tells us that the mouse cannot experience anything more than the current moment.
When their plans fail they lament that "the best laid plans of mice" don't always work out. The Monty Python sketch 'Word Association' references the first line of the poem, and replaces the simple word "We" with "Wee sleekit cowerin' timorous beastie".
In proving foresight may be vain: The best-laid schemes o' mice an' men, Gang aft a-gley, An' lea'e us nought but grief an' pain, For promis'd joy. Still thou are blest, compared wi' me! The present only toucheth thee: But Och! I backward cast my e'e, On prospects drear! An' forward, tho' I canna see, I guess an' fear! This poem is in the ...
To a Mouse - A Poem by Robert Burns written after he had turned over the nest of a tiny field mouse with his plough.