2006-10-08 08:59:00 · 10 answers · asked by Anonymous in Education & Reference ➔ Quotations
to find the easiest way to solve a problem........
2006-10-08 09:00:55 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 5⤊ 1⤋
Once in some kingdom long ago the king died with no heir. So the wise men tied the big knot and said "Whoever can remove this knot will be king."
Heaps of people tried to undo the knot but nobody could, so it remained tied for years and years.
Then Alexander the Great came along and saw the rope... he wanted the kingdom but he saw a way to take it without a war... He took his sword and sliced the knot off. People never realised that the wise men had said "Whoever REMOVES (not unties) the knot will be king."
So ever since then when sombody finds an easy solution to a supposedly difficult problem, they say that the person "Cut the Gordian knot."
2006-10-08 09:10:54 · answer #2 · answered by Impavidus 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
In legend the Gordian knot was a complex knot not man could untie. Many man tried and failed, one hero, simply cut the knot with a sword and won the prize. It's a classic example of thinking outside the box or using an unconventional method to achieve the desired goal
2006-10-08 09:02:39 · answer #3 · answered by roamin70 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
cutting the gordian knot means to find the easiest but wrong way out of a problem.
2006-10-08 13:04:49 · answer #4 · answered by x plug in baby xo 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
"The Gordian Knot is a legend associated with Alexander the Great. It is often used as a metaphor for an intractable problem, solved by a bold stroke."
Aloha
2006-10-08 09:02:30 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 7⤊ 0⤋
The knot was a puzzle that only Alexander the Great solved. So to cut the knot was to cheat.
http://www.gordiansolutions.com/TheKnot.htm
2006-10-08 09:05:58 · answer #6 · answered by Tedi 5 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Google knows everything. Read the story of Alexander the Great. Super story.
2006-10-08 09:08:59 · answer #7 · answered by Donald W 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I have never heard it used as a saying, but the Gordian Knot was supposedly a huge knot that they would challenge people to untie. Achilles when asked to untie it, usheathed his sword, and cut it down the middle, thusly untying it permanently.
2006-10-08 09:01:14 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 6⤋
to deal with a difficult problem in a strong, simple and effective way.
2006-10-08 09:11:31 · answer #9 · answered by LMJ 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
so circumcise a lady, it comes from old english/latin
2006-10-08 09:00:34 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 9⤋