Tantalus
WordNet
noun
(1) (Greek mythology) a wicked king and son of Zeus; condemned in Hades to stand in water that receded when he tried to drink and beneath fruit that receded when he reached for it
WiktionaryText
Etymology
Latin Tantalus, from Greek Τανταλος ‘Tantalus’, a Phrygian king in Greek mythology who was condemned to stand in a pool of water which receded every time he tried to drink, and with overhanging branches of fruit which pulled back whever he tried to eat.
Noun
- A stork of the genus Mycteria (formerly Tantalus), especially the American wood ibis, Mycteria americana.
- A stand in which to lock up drink decanters while keeping them visible.
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- 1904: Yes, there was a tantalus containing brandy and whisky on the sea-chest. — Arthur Conan Doyle, ‘The Adventure of Black Peter’ (Norton 2005, p.984)
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- Something of an evasive or retreating nature, something consistently out of reach; a tantalising thing.
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- 1953: Over all, there brooded the shadow of his injuries and the tantalus of their slow healing. — Ian Fleming, Casino Royale (Penguin Classics 2004, p.149)
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