• chiliedogg@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    2
    ·
    1 day ago

    I’ve been seeing it a lot more recently, too. IRL even.

    Did it get used by sometime famous recently or something?

    • Naz@sh.itjust.works
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      2
      ·
      1 day ago

      There was a king once named Damocles that had a sword suspended over his throne that could come crashing down at any random moment and kill him, to remind himself of the fragility of his power, and human life.

      I have no idea how that anecdote might apply to people in power in this day and age, or why people would reference the anecdote.

      Glares at the fraying rope

      • chiliedogg@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        1
        ·
        21 hours ago

        I know the source and the idiom. I just don’t know why it’s picked up in popularity recently.

        I also don’t know why its use as an idiom doesn’t quite align with the story. It’s usually used to describe a situation where the threat of destruction isn’t random. For example, in the OP, the danger is the end of support for Win 10, not randomness.