Achilles heel, weakness; Pyrrhic victory, costly win; Catch-22, a trap of contradictory rules; open Pandora's box, start trouble; Midas touch, a knack for making money.
Classical idioms of weakness and cost
Not "His lack of attention to detail is his Achilles foot." — say "His lack of attention to detail is his Achilles heel.". The idiom is fixed: Achilles heel, never another body part.
Try it: Lani: The firm won the contract, but delivery costs doubled and wiped out the profit. Sofia: Then the win was ___. Choose the words for the blank. (a Pyrrhic victory / an Achilles heel / a Catch-22) Answer: a Pyrrhic victory — A win whose cost cancels out the reward is a Pyrrhic victory.
Word
Pronunciation
Example
achilles heel
/əˈkɪliz hil/
For all its speed, weak security remains the system's Achilles heel.
pyrrhic victory
/ˈpɪrɪk ˈvɪktəri/
The lawsuit was a Pyrrhic victory, since the legal fees far exceeded the damages awarded.
open Pandora's box
/ˈoʊpən pænˈdɔrəz bɑks/
Questioning one figure opened Pandora's box, and the whole audit was reopened.
the Midas touch
/ðə ˈmaɪdəs tʌtʃ/
Every venture she backs turns a profit — she has the Midas touch.
a Catch-22
/ə ˌkætʃ ˌtwɛnti ˈtu/
You need experience to be hired and hiring to gain experience: a Catch-22.
Idioms for argument and analysis
In debate, a red herring distracts, a straw man distorts, a devil's advocate argues the other side, and the elephant in the room goes unnamed.
Try it: Lani: At the budget debate, he kept telling stories about the snacks to distract us from the actual figures. Sofia: That anecdote was ___. Choose the words for the blank. (a red herring / a straw man argument / the elephant in the room) Answer: a red herring — A distraction that pulls attention from the real issue is a red herring.
Try it: Lani: In the strategy meeting, everyone could see morale had collapsed, but nobody said so. Sofia: That unspoken problem is ___. Choose the words for the blank. (the elephant in the room / a red herring / an Achilles heel) Answer: the elephant in the room — An obvious problem that people avoid naming is the elephant in the room.
Word
Pronunciation
Example
red herring
/ˌrɛd ˈhɛrɪŋ/
The minister's comment about uniforms was a red herring that dodged the funding question.
play devil's advocate
/pleɪ ˈdɛvəlz ˈædvəkɪt/
Let me play devil's advocate and ask what happens if the funding never arrives.
elephant in the room
/ˈɛləfənt ɪn ðə rum/
Cost was the elephant in the room throughout the expansion talks, and nobody named it.
a straw man argument
/ə ˈstrɔ mæn ˈɑrɡjəmənt/
Saying she wants no rules at all is a straw man argument; she asked for fewer.
Idioms for shifting rules and mixed blessings
To move the goalposts is to change the criteria midway, and a double-edged sword has a strength that also harms.
Try it: Lani: The grant panel asked for two years of data, then three, then a new reporting format. Sofia: The applicants complained that the panel was ___. Choose the words for the blank. (moving the goalposts / opening Pandora's box / playing devil's advocate) Answer: moving the goalposts — Criteria that keep changing after the process has begun is moving the goalposts.
Try it: Lani: Automation lets the factory produce far more per shift, but that same speed spreads errors through a whole batch. Sofia: So automation is ___. Choose the words for the blank. (a double-edged sword / a Pyrrhic victory / an Achilles heel) Answer: a double-edged sword — One property that brings both the benefit and the harm makes it a double-edged sword.
Word
Pronunciation
Example
move the goalposts
/muv ðə ˈɡoʊlˌpoʊsts/
They moved the goalposts twice after the deadline had already passed.
a double-edged sword
/ə ˌdʌbəl ˈɛdʒd sɔrd/
The speed that spreads good news spreads rumors too — a double-edged sword.