wikipedia
was wotd|2006|July|14
English
Etymology
From the name of a legendary knot tied to a pole near the temple of Zeus in Gordium. It was prophesied that whoever loosed the knot would become ruler of all Asia. Alexander the Great solved the puzzle by slicing through the knot and took it as a sign of Zeus's favor. He then proceeded to conquer much of the known world.
Pronunciation
IPA|/�g��dɪ�n �n�t/ (RP)
IPA|/�go�ɹdɪ�n �n�t/ (US)
audio|en-us-Gordian knot.ogg|Audio (US)
Noun
en-noun|sg=Gordian knot
- The legendary knot tied to a pole near the temple of Zeus in Gordium.
- context|by extension Any intricate and complex problem.
Quotations
timeline|
1500s=1599|
1700s=1785|
1800s=1825 1881
1599 � w:William Shakespeare|William Shakespeare, s:The_Life_of_Henry_the_Fifth|Henry V, i 1
:List his discourse of war, and you shall hear<br/>A fearful battle rend'red you in music;<br/>Turn him to any cause of policy,<br/>The Gordian knot of it he will unloose.
1785 � w:Thomas Jefferson|Thomas Jefferson, s:Letter to Peter Carr - August 19, 1785|Letter to Peter Carr (August 19, 1785)
:The knot which you thought a Gordian one, will untie itself before you.
1825 � w:William Hazlitt|William Hazlitt, s:The Spirit of the Age|The Spirit of the Age, The Late Mr. Horne Tooke
:Mr. Tooke thought he had answered this question satisfactorily, and loosened the Gordian knot of grammarians...
1881 � w:James Greenwood|James Greenwood, s:Low-Life Deeps|Low-Life Deeps, Ch. 10
:The right hon. gentleman, who was doubtless aware of the popularity of the old English saying, "what is sauce for the goose should be sauce for the gander," shrewdly judged that he could not go far wrong if he cut the Gordian knot in which the publican's disagreement was bound, by declaring his conviction that what was good for the Crown and Cushion, in the Strand, was likewise good for the Three Jolly Tinkers, in Brick Lane; and that, to put an end to the vexed question, the shortest way would be to tar them all with the same brush.
Translations
trans-top|mythical knot
Finnish: Gordionin solmu
French: n�ud gordien m
German: Gordischer Knoten
Icelandic: GordÃans hnúturinn m
Polish: w�ze� gordyjski m
Italian: nodo di Gordio m
trans-mid
Russian: го�диев �зел
Slovene: gordijski vozel m
Spanish: nudo gordiano m
Swedish: gordisk knut c
trans-bottom
trans-top|intricate problem
Finnish: Gordionin solmu
French: n�ud gordien m
Icelandic: GordÃans hnúturinn m
Polish: w�ze� gordyjski m
trans-mid
Slovene: gordijski vozel m
Spanish: nudo gordiano m
Italian: nodo di Gordio m
trans-bottom
Category:Knots
hu:Gordian knot
ru:Gordian knot
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