Note to Much Ado About Nothing, 1.2 14: "he meant to take the present time by the top"


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Much Ado About Nothing,
Act 1, Scene 2, line 14.
he meant to take the present time by the top: i.e., he intended to take the immediate opportunity. —A common idea of the time was that opportunity needed to be seized "by the top"; that is, by the forelock, as it is coming towards you, rather than trying to seize it by the tail, as it is already going away from you.