The common idiom, ‘steal my thunder’, has been used for years to refer to someone who has stolen someone else’s message or upstaged another’s event.

But have you ever wondered where the phrase came from?

Well, according to the Daily Mail, it can be traced back to 1709 and a play that ran at London’s Theater Royal on Drury Lane. The location has been the home of Theatre Royal since the first building was constructed at the site in the 1660s.

Written by John Dennis, the play itself was a huge flop and lasted only four days. According to reviews, it was boring.

But the play featured a never-before-heard machine that produced the sound of thunder and lighting.

But that is not where the phrase came from.

It actually comes from an incident that happened, when the infamous thunder machine was used in the production of Shakespeare’s Macbeth in the same theater without the permission of its inventor, John Dennis.

According to reports Dennis attended the play and during one performance actually stood up and shouted:

‘They will not let my play run… but they steal my thunder!‘ 

READ: People are only just realizing where the phrase ‘to steal someone’s thunder’ comes from – and it’s blowing their minds