One idea · 3 languages

“Cut the Gordian knot”in other languages

Solve a tangled problem with one bold, simple move.

  • English
  • French
  • Italian
English
cut the Gordian knot
French
Trancher le nœud gordien literally To cut the Gordian knot
Italian
Tagliare la testa al toro literally To cut the bull's head off
Behind the words

Same idea, different pictures

English and French share the legend. At Gordium, a knot so complicated nobody could untie it was said to promise Asia to whoever undid it. In 333 BC Alexander the Great simply cut it with his sword.

Italian cuts the bull's head off, tagliare la testa al toro: one clean blow that settles the matter for good.

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