achilles heel?

Question

when someone says your their achilles heel, what exactly do they mean?

Answer 1

This comes from Homer's iIliad. A Greek hero named Achilles was the son of a god and his mother dipped him in the river Styx to make him invincible but she was holding him by his heel and it did not get wet. Meaning that he had a weak spot. So today when someone says Achilles heel they mean the object or person is their weak spot.

Answer 2

There is a tendon located in that area named the Achilles Tendon. On occasion it will rupture causing great pain and incapacitation to the person no matter how big or strong he or she is.

The term is often used to refer something that will take a person down. The sorted past of a politician could well be his Achilles Heel.

Answer 3

In Laymens's terms, it's your weakness.


from wikipedia;
According to a myth arising later, his mother, Thetis, had dipped the infant Achilles in the river Styx, holding onto him by his heel, and he became invulnerable where the waters touched him -- that is, everywhere but the areas covered by her thumb and forefinger -- implying that only a heel wound could have been his downfall. Another version of Achilles becoming close to immortal involves Thetis' attempt to make him a god. She would rub his whole body with ambrosia and then hold him over a fire every night. One day, Achilles' father, Peleus came in the home and caught Thetis holding Achilles over the fire. Peleus did not know that Thetis was trying to immortalize Achiles. Thetis was scared and fleed out of fear. This possibility coincides with the fact that Thetis left Achilles at a very young age.

The use of “Achilles’ heel” as an English expression for “area of weakness, vulnerable spot” dates only to 1855 (Merriam-Webster).

Answer 4

Achilles was the Son of a mortal man and his mother was a goddess. Achilles weakest place on his body was the tendon at the back of his ankle. ( Its the tendon that attaches your calf muscles to your heel.) So if someone calls you their Achilles heel, they are most likey meaning that they think you are weak.

Answer 5

Everybody above me is correct. I had a co-worker once who thought an Achilles heel was something that could be cured by Dr. Scholl's. TALK about someone in need of a little more reading!!

Answer 6

It is a weakness compared to the Greek warrior Achilles' heel, which was his only weak spot, that and the Briseis chick he was in love with.

Answer 7

This refers to the only place on Achilles that was vunerable to injury. He could not be hurt any othe place on his body.

Hence today if someone refers to "your Achilles heal" it is refering to your weakest spot or largest vunerablity.

Answer 8

Basically, their weakness.

It's mythological origin refers to Trojan war hero, Achilles, who died from a heel wound as the result of a poisoned arrow.

Answer 9

It is like a weakness.

Answer 10

youre their weakspot girlfraand