life...





April 08, 2005

dragon's teeth (DRAG-uhns teeth) noun

Seeds of discord. Usually used in the form "to sow dragon's teeth": to take an action that leads to future conflict.
[In Greek mythology, the Phoenician prince Cadmus killed a dragon and sowed its teeth. From those teeth sprang an army of men who fought each other until only five were left.]
"As some would tell it, the Court of Appeals sowed dragon's teeth five years ago in its landmark holding that a cable television provider's late fees were too high." Peter Geier; Despite Negative Image, Class-Action Lawyers Perform Important Job For Clients; The Daily Record (Baltimore, Maryland); Dec 10, 2004.

This week's theme: words derived from the names of mythical creatures.

PronunciationRealAudio

Permalink:
http://wordsmith.org/words/dragons_teeth.html

Posted by Keya at April 8, 2005 07:41 PM
Comments
Post a comment