achilles' heel
Preserved but no longer current.
Meaning · English
See ACHILLES. Heel 448 Helios Down, or out at heels. In a sad plight, in decayed circumstances, like a beggar whose boots are worn out at the heels.
Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)
Examples
Everyone has an Achilles' heel.Ai trong chúng ta cũng có gót chân A-sin.
Tatoeba sentence #13613122 (CC BY 2.0 FR, tatoeba.org, retrieved 2026-07-31)
Sources & notes
Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “achilles' heel” mean?
See ACHILLES. Heel 448 Helios Down, or out at heels. In a sad plight, in decayed circumstances, like a beggar whose boots are worn out at the heels.
Is “achilles' heel” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.