Achilles' heel

Achilles' heel
Achilles' heel
Fig. a weak point or fault in someone or something otherwise perfect or excellent. (From the legend of Greek hero Achilles, who had only one vulnerable part of his body, his heel; as an infant his mother had held him by one heel to dip him in the River Styx to make him invulnerable.) •

He was very brave, but fear of spiders was his Achilles' heel.

* * *
{n. phr.}, {literary} A physical or psychological weakness named after the Greek hero Achilles who was invulnerable except for a spot on his heel. * /John's Achilles' heel is his lack of talent with numbers and math./

Dictionary of American idioms. 2013.

Игры ⚽ Поможем написать реферат

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Achilles' heel — {n. phr.}, {literary} A physical or psychological weakness named after the Greek hero Achilles who was invulnerable except for a spot on his heel. * /John s Achilles heel is his lack of talent with numbers and math./ …   Dictionary of American idioms

  • Achilles Heel — may refer to:* Achilles heel, a metaphor for a fatal weakness in spite of overall strength * Achilles Heel (band), a band from New York state * Achilles Heel (album), an album by Pedro the Lion * Achilles tendon …   Wikipedia

  • achilles' heel — A person s weak spot is their Achilles heel …   The small dictionary of idiomes

  • Achilles heel — ► NOUN ▪ a weakness or vulnerable point. ORIGIN from the mythological Greek hero Achilles, whose mother plunged him into the River Styx when he was a baby, thus making his body invulnerable except for the heel by which she held him …   English terms dictionary

  • Achilles' heel — Achilles heel, Achilles tendon Use an apostrophe in both expressions for consistency, even though the connection with Achilles is remote in the second …   Modern English usage

  • Achilles' heel — n. (one s) vulnerable or susceptible spot * * * …   Universalium

  • Achilles’ heel — [n] vulnerability chink in the armor*, deficiency, frailty, handicap, soft underbelly*, susceptibility, weakness; concepts 101,230,411,580 …   New thesaurus

  • Achilles' heel — n. (one s) vulnerable or susceptible spot …   English World dictionary

  • Achilles' heel — This article deals with the phrase. For other uses, see Achilles Heel. An Achilles’ heel is a fatal weakness in spite of overall strength, actually or potentially leading to downfall. While the mythological origin refers to a physical… …   Wikipedia

  • Achilles' heel — n. a person s weak or vulnerable point. Etymology: L Achilles f. Gk Akhilleus, a hero in the Iliad, invulnerable except in the heel * * * noun a seemingly small but actual mortal weakness • Hypernyms: ↑weak part, ↑weak spot, ↑soft spot * * * n… …   Useful english dictionary

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”