A.Word.A.Day --Old Man of the Sea

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Today's Word

Yesterday's Word

Old Man of the Sea

PRONUNCIATION:

(old man ov the see)

MEANING:

noun: A tiresome burden, especially a person, difficult to free oneself from.

ETYMOLOGY:

After Old Man of the Sea, the sea-god, who forced Sinbad to carry him on his shoulders and refused to dismount. In this story from The Arabian Nights, Sinbad the Sailor eventually released himself from his burden by getting the Old Man drunk. Also see albatross.

USAGE:

"Deirdre has Ken the Cardie Wearer ever at her side, an Old Man of the Sea she can't ditch. He grows daily more brain-sapping as he takes up local causes like t'cobbles in Coronation Street."
Molly Blake: The Mail's First Lady of TV; Evening Mail (Birmingham, UK); Dec 6, 2000.

A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:

Cautious, careful people, always casting about to preserve their reputation and social standing, never can bring about a reform. Those who are really in earnest must be willing to be anything or nothing in the world's estimation. -Susan B. Anthony, reformer and suffragist (1820-1906)

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