Damocles, sword of

Cultural  

1. An object that figures in a legend about an actual Greek nobleman, Damocles. According to the story, Damocles frequently expressed his awe at the power and apparent happiness of his king. The king, tired of such flattery, held a banquet and seated Damocles under a sword that was suspended from the ceiling by a single hair — thus demonstrating that kingship brought with it fears and worries as well as pleasures.

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Example Sentences

As long as the Damocles sword of Trump tariffs hangs above the eurozone, companies will be hesitant to buy new machinery or expand operations.

From New York Times

Add to that the Damocles' sword of a Standard and Poor's rating downgrade hanging over euro states, which would also likely prompt a downgrade of the EFSF's credit worthiness, and the available funds could well fall short of needs again.

From Reuters

The Damocles sword of how this crisis will be solved is the much higher burden.”

From BusinessWeek

Then began a very bad year for Salvina, even though the Damocles sword of Kitty's dismissal never fell, and Lily's migration to the Cape with Moss M. Rosenstein left Kitty still in power as companion to Mabel, to judge at least by Kitty's not seeking the parental roof, even as visitor.

From Project Gutenberg

Walter Ulbricht told a collective-farm fair near Leipzig that debates could not take place under the "Damocles sword" of the special safe-conduct law that was enacted�in response to Ulbricht's own requests�by the West German Parliament two weeks ago in order to permit Communist speakers to attend the second debate in West Germany without fear of arrest.

From Time Magazine Archive