A.Word.A.Day--Achilles' heel

Wordsmith.org

The Magic of Words

May 20, 2010

This week's theme
Whose what?

This week's words
Ockham's razor
Morton's fork
Hobson's choice
Achilles' heel

Dying Achilles, a sculpture in the Greek island of Corfu, 1884

Sculptor: Ernst Herter (1846-1917)

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A.Word.A.Day

with Anu Garg

Achilles' heel

PRONUNCIATION:

(uh-KIL-eez heel)

MEANING:

noun: A seemingly small but critical weakness in an otherwise strong position.

ETYMOLOGY:

After Achilles, a hero in the Greek mythology. When Achilles was a baby, his mother Thetis dipped him into the magical river Styx to make him immortal. She held him by the heel which remained untouched by the water and became his weak point. He was killed when the Trojan king Paris shot an arrow that pierced his one vulnerable spot: his heel. After him, the tendon in the lower back of the ankle is also known as the Achilles tendon.

USAGE:

"Economics, once the Coalition's strength, is in danger of becoming its achilles heel."
Laurie Oakes; Coalition Weak on Economics; Herald Sun (Melbourne City, Australia); Apr 3, 2010.

Explore "Achilles' heel" in the Visual Thesaurus.

A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:

Though I have been trained as a soldier, and participated in many battles, there never was a time when, in my opinion, some way could not be found to prevent the drawing of the sword. I look forward to an epoch when a court, recognized by all nations, will settle international differences. -Ulysses S. Grant, military commander, 18th US President (1822-1885)

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