Words at Play : Monster of the Day
Definition:
: a three-headed dog that in Greek mythology guards the entrance to Hades
About the Word:
Cerberus, the monstrous watchdog of the underworld devoured anyone who tried to escape the kingdom of Hades, the lord of the underworld, and he refused entrance to living humans.
This gave rise to the English phrase "a sop to Cerberus" meaning "a concession or bribe to conciliate a person otherwise liable to be troublesome." The reference is to a passage in Vergil's Aeneid, when Aeneas slips by Cerberus, after giving him a sop as distraction.
Photo credit: Tory Novikova
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