Apedia

Dragon's Teeth Goddess Seeds Conflict Experts Believed Invading

word dragon's teeth
definition Seeds of conflict.
eg_sentence Many experts believed that, in invading a Middle Eastern country that hadn't attacked us, we were sowing dragon's teeth.
explanation The Phoenician prince Cadmus once killed a dragon, and was instructed by the goddess Athena to plant its teeth in the ground. From the many teeth, there immediately sprang up an army of fierce armed men. The goddess then directed him to throw a precious stone into their midst, and they proceeded to slaughter each other until only the five greatest warriors were left; these became Cadmus's generals, with whom he constructed the great city-state of Thebes. When we “sow dragon's teeth,” we're creating the conditions for future trouble.
IPA ˈdrægənz tiθ

Tags: mwvb::unit:6, mwvb::unit:6:word, mwvb::word, mwvb::word-cloze, mwvb::word-reverse, obsidian_to_anki

Learn with these flashcards. Click next, previous, or up to navigate to more flashcards for this subject.

Next card: Lethargic dead drink lazily sluggish indifferent apathetic long

Previous card: Cede treaty requires sides small tracts land aberrant

Up to card list: Merriam-Webster Vocabulary Builder LITE (English)