sword of Damocles

n.
Constant threat; imminent peril: "the Latin American debt, overhanging American banks like the sword of Damocles" (Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr.).

[After DAMOCLES.]

(sord uhv DAM-uh-kleez)

noun
An ever-present threat; an impending disaster.

Etymology
After Damocles of Greek legend. Damocles was a courtier who flattered the ruler Dionysius, tyrant of Syracuse, to excess. The fulsome praise so annoyed the king that he decided to teach him a lesson. He held a banquet in honor of Damocles but when Damocles saw the sword hanging by a single horse-hair over his head, he lost all taste for the lavish feast. He realized that even those who appear to enjoy great fortune face fears and worries. By the way, the word impending literally means hanging over

The Sword of Damocles, an oil painting by Richard Westall



[Photo: Ackland Art Museum]

Usage
"Roth said, 'The threat of an audit ... looms like the sword of Damocles over the heads of taxpayers.'" — IRS Chief Wants to Balance Service, Enforcement; The Advocate (Stamford, Connecticut); Feb 13, 2009.

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noun

One regarded as an imminent danger: menace, threat. Idioms: clear and present danger. See safety/danger.

Also, Damocles' sword. Impending disaster, as in The likelihood of lay-offs has been a sword of Damocles over the department for months. This expression alludes to the legend of Damocles, a servile courtier to King Dionysius I of Syracuse. The king, weary of Damocles' obsequious flattery, invited him to a banquet and seated him under a sword hung by a single hair, so as to point out to him the precariousness of his position. The idiom was first recorded in 1747. The same story gave rise to the expression hang by a thread.

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(dam-uh-kleez)

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.