gordian knot
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diBased on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Gordian knot (ˈɡɔːdɪən) ![[Click for IPA pronunciation guide]](http://static.sfdict.com/dictstatic/g/d/dictionary_questionbutton_default.gif) | |
| —n | |
| 1. | (in Greek legend) a complicated knot, tied by King Gordius of Phrygia, that Alexander the Great cut with a sword |
| 2. | a complicated and intricate problem (esp in the phrase cut the Gordian knot) |
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| a printed punctuation mark (‽), available only in some typefaces, designed to combine the question mark (?) and the exclamation point (!), indicating a mixture of query and interjection, as after a rhetorical question. |
| a fool or simpleton; ninny. |
Gordian knot
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Gordian knot definition
A complex knot tied by a Greek king. According to legend, whoever loosed it would rule all Asia. Alexander the Great, according to some accounts, undid the Gordian knot by cutting through it with his sword.
Note: By extension, to “cut the Gordian knot” is to solve quickly any very complex problem or to get to the heart of a problem.
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gordian knot
knot that gave its name to a proverbial term for a problem solvable only by bold action. In 333 BC, Alexander the Great, on his march through Anatolia, reached Gordium, the capital of Phrygia. There he was shown the chariot of the ancient founder of the city, Gordius, with its yoke lashed to the pole by means of an intricate knot with its end hidden. According to tradition, this knot was to be untied only by the future conqueror of Asia. In the popular account, probably invented as appropriate to an impetuous warrior, Alexander sliced through the knot with his sword, but, in earlier versions, he found the ends either by cutting into the knot or by drawing out the pole. The phrase "cutting the Gordian knot" has thus come to denote a bold solution to a complicated problem.
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