Saturday, July 14, 2012

Words

  • tantalizing close



Tantalus (Greek Τάνταλος, Tántalos) was a Greek mythological figure, most famous for his eternal punishment in Tartarus: to stand in a pool of water beneath a fruit tree with low branches, with the fruit ever eluding his grasp, and the water always receding before he could take a drink. He was the father of Pelops, Niobe and Broteas, and was a son of Zeus[1] and the nymph Plouto. Thus, like other heroes in Greek mythology such as Theseus and the Dioskouroi, Tantalus had both a hidden, divine sire and a mortal one.


ex: It was tantalizing close that I could get laid.

  • sisyphean task

In Greek mythology Sisyphus (play /sɪsɪˈfʌs/;[1] GreekΣίσυφοςSísyphos) was a king punished by being compelled to roll an immense boulder up a hill, only to watch it roll back down, and to repeat this action forever.


ex: Memorizing GRE words is like a sisyphean task for me.

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