Damocles

[dam-uh-kleez]

noun

1. a flatterer who, having extolled the happiness of Dionysius, tyrant of Syracuse, was seated at a banquet with a sword suspended over his head by a single hair to show him the perilous nature of that happiness.

Damocles

/ ˈdæməˌkliːz /

noun

1. classical myth a sycophant forced by Dionysius, tyrant of Syracuse, to sit under a sword suspended by a hair to demonstrate that being a king was not the happy state Damocles had said it was See also Sword of Damocles

Other Word Forms

• Damoclean adjective

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. sword of Damocles, any situation threatening imminent harm or disaster.

Example Sentences

"And now there is a real Sword of Damocles hanging over the head of Perrier."

From BBC

After more than a year, the Maryland bar dismissed the charges; the D.C. bar charges remained a Sword of Damocles over my head for another eight years, rendering me both unemployed and unemployable.

From Salon

He said many veterans now effectively had a "sword of Damocles hanging over them again".

From BBC

Hackford recalls feeling the sword of Damocles hanging over his head when he phoned King, who replied, “I wish I’d thought of that.”

From Salon

Bar charges remained a Sword of Damocles over my head for ten years before they were also dismissed.

From Salon