Cry Havoc Was an Order to Start Looting
Havoc is widespread destruction. The phrase cry havoc was once a formal military command releasing soldiers to plunder.
Havoc is widespread destruction and confusion. *Cry havoc* was not a figure of speech but a real order: in medieval warfare it signalled that soldiers were free to plunder without restraint, and English military ordinances made crying it without authority punishable by death. Shakespeare's "Cry havoc, and let slip the dogs of war" is quoting a command, not inventing an image. Today the word survives mainly in *wreak havoc* and *play havoc with*.
- Widespread destruction. *The storm caused havoc.*
- Wreak havoc — to cause chaos. *Wreaking havoc.*
- Play havoc with — to disrupt. *Played havoc with the schedule.*
- Cry havoc — the old order to plunder. *Cry havoc.*
- Chaos — the near-synonym. *Total chaos.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Noun | havoc | Sheer havoc. |
| Phrase | wreak havoc | Wreak havoc. |
| Phrase | play havoc | Play havoc with. |
| Old French | havot | Plunder. |
| Synonym | chaos | Chaos. |
- The floods wreaked havoc on the railways.Destruction.
- The strike played havoc with deliveries.Disruption.
- Crying havoc without orders was a capital offence.History.
Words that survive only in phrases
- Havoc — almost only in wreak havoc and play havoc
- Wreak — used with havoc, vengeance and little else
- Fro — only in to and fro
- Kith — only in kith and kin
- Amok — only in run amok
Old French *havot*, plunder, of uncertain origin. English recorded the military cry from the 1300s.
What did cry havoc originally mean?
It was a military command releasing soldiers to plunder freely. Issuing it without authority could be punished by death.
Is wreak the past tense of wrought?
No. Wrought is an old past form of work. Wreak is a separate verb meaning to inflict.