great wits jump

Preserved but no longer current.

Meaning · English

Great minds think alike, tally. Shakespeare says, "It jumps with my humour" (1 Henry IV, iv, 2).

Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)

Sources & notes

Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.

Common questions

What does “great wits jump” mean?

Great minds think alike, tally. Shakespeare says, "It jumps with my humour" (1 Henry IV, iv, 2).

Is “great wits jump” formal or informal?

No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.