the sword of Damocles
Meaning: A constant threat of disaster hanging over someone.
Language: English
Literally: (Already vivid in English)
Example: “The court case hung over the company like the sword of Damocles.”
Category: Daily Life
Origin: Cicero tells how Damocles, a courtier who envied the tyrant Dionysius of Syracuse (4th century BC), was invited to sit on the throne under a sword hanging by a single horsehair, to show how precarious power is.
Equivalents in other languages
- French: Une épée de Damoclès — literally: A sword of Damocles
More idioms — Daily Life
- the deck is stacked — The situation is unfairly arranged so that someone will lose.
- after me, the deluge — I don't care what happens after I am gone.
- slow on the uptake — Slow to understand.
- kiss something goodbye — To accept that one has lost something or will never get it.
- set one's sights on — To decide to try to get or achieve something.
- God forbid — Used to say that one hopes something bad will not happen.
More English idioms
- lie through one's teeth — To lie openly and shamelessly.
- kill them all and let God sort them out — A grim or joking call to act ruthlessly without distinguishing innocent from guilty.
- a little bird told me — I learned it from a secret source I won't name.
- put one's feet up — To relax and rest.
- blow a gasket — To lose one's temper completely.
- hearts and flowers — Excessive sentimentality.
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