cut the Gordian knot
Solve by boldness
To cut the Gordian knot is to solve a seemingly impossible problem through bold, unconventional action rather than patient unraveling.
The phrase comes from the legend of Alexander the Great, who sliced through an intricate knot that others had tried fruitlessly to untie: Rather than negotiate endlessly, she cut the Gordian knot by resigning.
The expression implies decisive action that bypasses complexity entirely.
- work outExercise or solve
- solveFind the answer
- problem solvingAddressing challenges systematically
- knotTied rope fastening
- cutSeverance or reduction
sword · decisiveness · take action · unsnarl · clear · unravel · lateral thinking · mythology · Alexander the Great · untangle · boldness · get to the bottom of · audacity · prophecy · unconventionality · oracle · breakthrough · creative solution
cut the Gordian knotchip away at
overthink · dot the i's and cross the t's · leave no stone unturned · due diligence · play it safe
cut the Gordian knotdither
Nervous inability to choose
vacillate · hem and haw · kick the can down the road · sit on one's hands · procrastinate
cutting, cutter, cutters, Gordian, knotted, knotting, knotty