Damocles

Definitions

Greek courtier to Dionysius the Elder, tyrant of Syracuse, who according to legend was forced to sit at a banquet table under a sword suspended by a single hair to demonstrate the precariousness of a king's fortunes.

noun the Greek courtier to Dionysius the Elder who (according to legend) was condemned to sit under a naked sword that was suspended by a hair in order to demonstrate to him that being a king was not the happy state Damocles had said it was (4th century BC)

Sorry, no etymologies found.

Help support Wordnik (and make this page ad-free) by adopting the word Damocles.

I think it was called Damocles and involved B52 raids against Baghdad and Tehran.

Cheeseburger Gothic » Post Wave economies. 2009
The picture, by the way, is from a source aptly called Damocles, which processes data on Arctic melting.

Archive 2007-03-01 2007
The picture, by the way, is from a source aptly called Damocles, which processes data on Arctic melting.

Melting Ice 2007
The model, called Damocles as in “sword of”, is an early-warning signal.

~ Angry Bear 2003
The model, called Damocles as in “sword of”, is an early-warning signal.

October 2003 ~ Angry Bear 2003
The model, called Damocles as in “sword of”, is an early-warning signal.

September 2003 ~ Angry Bear 2003
The model, called Damocles as in “sword of”, is an early-warning signal.

September 2003 ~ Angry Bear 2003
BJP accused the government of using CBI as a 'Damocles' sword 'against vulnerable opposition leaders ahead of the cut motions, a charge also levelled by Sharad Yadav of the JD-U.

rediff.com 2010
Under such sword, the conviction being that Humanity is as 'Damocles'?

CounterPunch 2009
"The risks to the eurozone are plain to see, starting with the Greek default, which hangs like the sword of Damocles over Europe."

Item Club scales back growth forecasts saying UK at 'critical juncture' 2011