Word of the Day: TANTALIZING

So tempting but just out of reach

tantalizing (adj) - arousing interest or desire, often painfully so by nature of being unobtainable or just out of reach [tan-tl-ahy-zing]

• tantalize means to attract, tease, or torment by presenting something desirable yet difficult or impossible to attain

BREAKDOWN: Tantalizing is a lovely and evocative eponym with a shocking origin entirely typical of words drawn from Greek mythology. Tantalus was a legendary bonehead who, though an earthly monarch and friend of the Greek gods who was welcome at their Olympian table, made some colossally bad decisions. First, he shared divine secrets and ambrosia with other mortals. Even worse, he inexplicably decided to test how perceptive the gods were by killing his son Pelops and serving him to them. Legendary crimes merit legendary punishments. In this case, Tantalus was condemned to eternal hunger and thirst in Hades standing in water that shrinks from him when he tries to drink it beneath hanging fruit that is always just out of reach.

"All of us need to be in touch with a mysterious, tantalizing source of inspiration that teases our sense of wonder and goads us on to life’s next adventure." --Rob Brezsny

[Our Wednesday Wildcards are fascinating and important words that are not derived from classical roots.]