Sample Sentences for
Achilles
grouped by contextual meaning
(editor-reviewed)

Achilles in Greek mythology

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  • I hadn't witnessed such a tense greeting since Patroclus met Achilles's war prize, Briseis.  (source)
    Achilles = mythical Greek hero of the Iliad; central character and foremost Greek warrior at the siege of Troy
  • Marcus wished he felt as brave as Achilles!  (source)
  • She's the Achilles' heel of their marriage, and it's only noticeable if you've been watching it for sixteen years like I have.  (source)
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  • Now there was a wine that would clash with the stew as Achilles clashed with Hector.  (source)
    Achilles = mythical Greek hero of the Iliad; central character and foremost Greek warrior at the siege of Troy
  • Maybe find Raven's Achilles' heel Sneak up, get a drop, slip a mickey, pull a fast one.  (source)
  • Each one of us seemed to have an Achilles' heel—and the instructors excelled at finding it.  (source)
  • Dad said he was a greater hero than Hercules or Achilles that the Greeks were always bragging about and he could take on King Arthur and all his knights in a fair fight which, of course, you could never get with an Englishman anyway.  (source)
  • Sex is John Kennedy's Achilles' heel.  (source)
  • From all the stories and rumors, my little brother thinks you're Achilles reborn!  (source)
  • But my mouth soon became my Achilles' heel.  (source)
  • USAID concrete, Rockefeller funds, and a Greek contractor named Achilles had built a new one.  (source)
  • So let's assume that you do and put on the finest show since Achilles slew Hector and I pass you.  (source)
  • That's my Achilles' heel, and don't you forget it.  (source)
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meaning too common or too rare to warrant focus

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  • In a mass protest decades ago, thirty-one prisoners cut their Achilles tendons, lest they be sent again to work.  (source)
    Achilles = heel cord at the back of lower legs
  • Indeed, Oedipus's feet are damaged from the thong that was put through his Achilles tendons when, as an infant, he was sent away to die in the wilderness.  (source)
  • Examples are: RING THE CHANGES ON, TAKE UP THE CUDGELS FOR, TOE THE LINE, RIDE ROUGHSHOD OVER, STAND SHOULDER TO SHOULDER WITH, PLAY INTO THE HANDS OF, AN AXE TO GRIND, GRIST TO THE MILL, FISHING IN TROUBLED WATERS, ON THE ORDER OF THE DAY, ACHILLES' HEEL, SWAN SONG, HOTBED.  (source)
    ACHILLES = the heel cord at the back of the lower leg
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One cannot change this all in a moment, but one can at least change one's own habits, and from time to time one can even, if one jeers loudly enough, send some worn-out and useless phrase-some JACKBOOT, ACHILLES' HEEL, HOTBED, MELTING POT, ACID TEST, VERITABLE INFERNO or other lump of verbal refuse-into the dustbin where it belongs.  (source)
ACHILLES = the heel cord at the back of the lower leg
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