Definitions
from The Century Dictionary.
- Relating to Damocles, a flatterer, who, having extolled the happiness of Dionysius, tyrant of Syracuse, was placed by the latter at a magnificent banquet, with a sword suspended over his head by a single hair, to show him the perilous nature of that happiness: hence applied to any condition, especially one of eminence, threatened with extreme danger.
Etymologies
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Examples
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We handed them a damoclean sword to hang over our head in the middle east.
Power out Steven Barnes 2007
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We handed them a damoclean sword to hang over our head in the middle east.
Power out Steven Barnes 2007
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The damoclean sword of use and abuse forever swung perilously over the collective head of mankind.
the ship who sang McCaffrey, Anne, 1926- 1969
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The damoclean sword of use and abuse forever swung perilously over the collective head of mankind.
The Ship Who Sang McCaffrey, Anne, 1926- 1969
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