| Term | Definition |
|---|
| Achille's Heel | Greek Mythology/ a person's area of particular vunerability |
| Pound of Flesh | insistence on being repaid |
| Sacred Cow | something that cannot be interfered with or harmed in any way |
| Crossing the Rubicon | Julius Ceasar///irreversible step |
| Pearls Before Swine | offer something precious to someone unable to appreciate |
| Mrs. Grundy | an attitude of narrow-minded prudishness |
| Crocodile Tears | to show false sympathy for someone |
| Sirens | anything that tempts a person away from safety and toward a destructive path |
| Read the Riot Act | a stern warning that if unaceptable behacior does not cease, secere consequences will follow |
| Thirty Pieces of Silver/Betrayed with a Kiss | payment recieved for an act of treachery/ supposed friend's treachery. |
| Gordian Knot | extremely complex problem/ refers to solving such a problem in a quick, decisive manner. |
| Ivory Tower | secluded or protected from the real world/ out of touch with reality |
| All that Glitters is not Gold | appears valuable on the outside/apperances can be deceptive |
| Sound and Fury | a great tummultous and passionate uproar/ unimportant or meaningless |
| Icarus/Fly Too Close To The Sun | fail or be destroyed/lack of caution or excessive ambition |
| Bread and Circuses | prevent unrest by keeping people happy/deflecting concern |
| In Medias Res | begins abruptly, in the middle of action/ into the middle of things |
| Loaves and Fishes | miraculous abundance in the face of seeming scarcity |
| Magnum Opus | greatest work produced by a writer, composer, or other artist |
| Janus | positive or negative statement/two-faced, hypocritical/duality |
| A Chip On Ones Shoulder | inclined to be resentful/ looking for an excuse to fight |
| Noble Savage | one who has not been corrupted by society or civilization |
| Burning Bush | medium through which the voice of absolute authority speaks |
| Narcissus/Narcissism | obsessive focus on oneself, particularly one's physical appearance |
| Scheherazade | excellent storyteller/ able to keep an audience in suspense |
| Skeleton in theCcloset | unpleasant or embarrasing/ perfer to keep hidden from others |
Combine with other sets
Share on Facebook
Share on MySpace