cut the Gordian knot en · VERB
Pronunciation
- (US) audio
Meanings
-
(intransitive) To solve a seemingly intractable problem by using a simple solution that is unconstrained by the assumptions that underpin the usual attempts to solve that problem.
Yet there were so many difficulties in assigning a natural explanation, that, to the day of her death, she remained in great doubt on the subject, and much disposed to cut the Gordian knot by admitting the existence of supernatural agency.
1828, Walter Scott, chapter II, in My Aunt Margaret's Mirror:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| cut the Gordian knot | Tense=Past, VerbForm=Part | lexicographic | |
| cut the Gordian knot | Tense=Past | lexicographic | |
| cuts the Gordian knot | Number=Sing, Person=3, Tense=Pres | lexicographic | |
| cutting the Gordian knot | Tense=Pres, VerbForm=Part | lexicographic |
Translations (5)
cs rozetnout gordický uzel (Translations) · fi avata Gordionin solmu (Translations) · pl przecinać węzeł gordyjski (Translations) · pl przeciąć węzeł gordyjski (Translations) · fr trancher le nœud gordien (Translations)