Myths Mystery
What do you call a particular weakness in an otherwise strong person or system?
🦶 an Achilles’ heel
In Greek mythology, Achilles was invulnerable except for his heel.
💬 What fictional character has an obvious Achilles’ heel?
a Truman Show moment
📺 A moment when you feel as if your life is being watched or staged.
It comes from the 1998 film The Truman Show.
💬 If your life were a TV show, what would the title be?
🥊 throw in the towel
Admit defeat or give up.
In boxing, a trainer can throw a towel into the ring to stop the fight.
💬 In what situation is it actually sensible to throw in the towel?
💧🌊
a drop in the ocean
A very small amount compared with what is needed. It’s a metaphor comparing something tiny with the enormous size of an ocean.
Create your own sentence using the expression!
📈 move the needle
Make a noticeable difference or meaningful progress.
It comes from measuring instruments whose needles move when something changes.
💬 What kind of action can really move the needle for a team?
What do you call something that appears harmless or useful but secretly contains a threat or problem?
🐴 a Trojan horse
In the Trojan War, Greek soldiers hid inside a wooden horse.
💬 Can a good opportunity sometimes be a “Trojan horse”? How?
Orwellian
👁️ involving surveillance, propaganda or authoritarian control
From George Orwell, especially 1984.
💬 Why do you think such Orwellian societies still exist and find their followers?
🎯 call the shots
Be the person who is in charge and makes the important decisions.
🔫 Call the shots comes from shooting / military contexts, where someone literally decided when and where shots should be fired.
💬 In what situations is it useful to have one person calling the shots?
🐷👜
a pig in a poke
Something bought or accepted without knowing exactly what you’re getting. A “poke” was an old word for a bag.
Create your own sentence using the expression!
🥫 open a can of worms
Create a complicated situation with many new problems.
💬 What workplace topic could open a can of worms?
What do you call something that creates many unexpected problems once started?
📦 a Pandora’s box
In Greek mythology, Pandora opened a container releasing troubles into the world.
💬 What everyday technology can sometimes open a Pandora’s box of problems?
a Stepford wife
👗 a woman perceived as excessively submissive, conventional or conformist
🎬 The expression “Stepford wife” comes from Ira Levin’s 1972 novel The Stepford Wives, later adapted into films.
💬 Why do you think the “tradwife” lifestyle has become popular on social media?
🏇 on the home stretch
Be in the final stage of something.
It comes from horse racing — the final section before the finish.
💬 What are you currently on the home stretch with?
🕳️🐇
go down a rabbit holeTo become deeply involved in something, often spending much more time on it than planned.
It comes from Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, where Alice follows the White Rabbit down a hole.
Create your own sentence using the expression!
🪜 move the goalposts
Change the rules, requirements or expectations during a process, making success harder to achieve.
It comes from sports, where moving the goalposts changes where players need to score.
💬 If your manager moved the goalposts halfway through a project, how would you react?
What would you call a task that you have to repeat over and over, with no real progress or end in sight?
🪨 a Sisyphean task
Sisyphus was condemned to push a boulder uphill forever.
💬 What everyday task could be described as Sisyphean?
gaslighting
💡 manipulating someone into doubting their own memory or perception
From Gas Light (1938 play / 1944 film), where a husband manipulates his wife into doubting reality.
💬 What would be your reaction if you saw your friend being gaslighted by their partner?
🕵️ under the radar
To remain unnoticed or avoid attracting attention; not widely known or publicly discussed.
From radar technology: something that stays below the radar cannot be detected by it. The figurative use became common in the 20th century.
💬 What’s something you’d like to keep under the radar?
🔨💅👤🎯
hit the nail on the head
To say or do exactly the right thing; to identify something accurately.
It comes from the literal idea of hitting a nail exactly in the right place.
Create your own sentence using the expression!
🔥🌊 boil the ocean
Try to solve an impossibly broad problem.
💬 If you saw someone trying to boil the ocean at work, what would you do?
What do you call a clue, method, or guide that helps you find your way through a complicated situation?
🧵🐂
🧵🐂 Ariadne’s thread / follow Ariadne’s thread
In Greek mythology, Theseus enters the Labyrinth to kill the Minotaur, a monster that is half-man and half-bull. Ariadne, the daughter of King Minos, gives Theseus a ball of thread. He unwinds it as he enters the Labyrinth, kills the Minotaur, and then follows the thread back out.
💬 What has been your “Ariadne’s thread” lately?
Kafkaesque
🌀 strangely absurd, confusing, and oppressive, especially because of an impersonal bureaucracy or system that seems impossible to escape or understand.
This one comes from the works of Franz Kafka, especially The Trial (1925).
💬 What kind of situation could make you describe an experience as Kafkaesque?
🌧️ Take a rain check
To postpone or decline an invitation for now, with the idea of doing it later.
The expression comes from American baseball, where spectators could get a “rain check” for a cancelled game.
💬 When was the last time you took a rain check on plans, and why?
🔥🕯️↔️
exhaust yourself by doing too much, especially for long periods
A candle normally burns from one end, but if you light both ends at the same time, it burns down much faster. 📖 It has been used in English since at least the 18th century; an early recorded version appears in a 1736 work by Edward Ward.
💬 What usually makes people burn the candle at both ends?
🍎 low-hanging fruit
An easy opportunity or task that can be dealt with quickly.
It comes from literally picking fruit that is easiest to reach.
💬 What could be the low-hanging fruit when starting a new project?