The Playwright Who Was RobbedA failed theater production birthed a common phrase

From the show

History of Phrases

In 1704, playwright John Dennis invented a new method to simulate thunder sounds for his play 'Appius and Virginia'. The play flopped, but the sound effect was a hit. Weeks later, Dennis attended a production of Macbeth and heard his specific sound invention being used without credit. He stood up and shouted the line that gave us the idiom.