Scylla
2
9.9
- proper noun
- /ˈsɪlə/
- Literature
:
Escila
- Thus, they sometimes felt caught in a Scylla-and-Charybdis-like dilemma, in which the additional responsibility of having to judge their students' work only made the dilemma more difficult to navigate.
- Scylla and Charybdis
Examples
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The Scylla and Charybdis that we oscillate between would be more accurately termed collectivism and individualism.
Blog text (24) -
Greek mythology warned ancient sailors to avoid the dangers of two monsters named Scylla and Charybdis.
Blog text (18) -
The term 'steering between Scylla and Charybdis' has long been used to encourage people to avoid the danger of extremes.
Blog text (18) -
Ulysses sailed between the whirlpool Charybdis... and the island monster, Scylla.
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The Republicans have found themselves between the Scylla of the spend-nothing libertarians and the Charybdis of the restrict-everything evangelicals.
Blog text (6) -
Finally, in Sonnet VI, the poet's plight becomes a voyage on a hostile sea, in this case through the dire straits between Scylla and Charybdis.
Academic text (2002) -
In Ovid, her victims include women, like the nymph Scylla, who is cursed with monstrous cursed heads sprouting from her waist.
Academic text (1997) -
In Greek mythology, Scylla is a monstrous sea nymph who devours sailors near the strait.
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The hero Ulysses had to navigate past Scylla to avoid the deadly whirlpool of Charybdis.
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Legend has it that Scylla lurked in the depths of the sea, waiting for unwary ships.
Synonyms
19
8.2
A female spirit of nature often shown as a young beautiful woman
1
9.9
A female spirit of the sea who helps sailors
1
9.9
A female spirit that lives in rivers, lakes, or springs
A sea nymph, a daughter of Oceanus and Tethys
Idioms
Surface Forms
Etymology
The word Scylla comes from a Greek myth about a sea woman who was turned into a terrible 'sea monster' that lived on one side of a narrow strait and ate sailors who tried to pass. That's why Scylla is used today for a clear danger or for a situation where you are 'between two dangers', as in the phrase 'between Scylla and Charybdis'.