grail
Ultimate quest object
A grail is an object of prolonged quest or ultimate aspiration—something pursued with devotion despite difficulty: For decades, room-temperature superconductivity has been the grail of physics.
The word comes from the Holy Grail of medieval legend, the cup Christ used at the Last Supper, sought by knights as the supreme spiritual prize.
The lowercase form emphasizes the secular sense of any ardently pursued goal.
Preserved ancient object
- antiquityGreat age, ancient era
- vesselReceptacle for contents
- cupSmall drinking container
- gobletStemmed drinking vessel
treasure · archaeological · ancient · historical · heirloom · curio · precious · lost
Ideal of noble purity
- PercivalGrail-seeking knight
- CamelotLegendary British royal seat
- ArthurianOf Camelot's mythology
- knightHonored mounted soldier
Lancelot · Merlin · Excalibur · chivalry · crusade · seeker · journey · search
Ornate ritual drinking vessel
- holyDedicated to the divine
- blessedReceiving divine favor
- sanctifiedMade sacred through blessing
- divineOf or from gods
consecrated · relic · sacrament · Eucharist · Last Supper · Christ · veneration · reverence
Something hard to fathom
- secretsConcealed information
- arcaneUnderstood by few
- esotericAccessible to few
- occultConcealed from view
hidden · mystique · cryptic · veiled · unknown · alchemy · legend · lore
relic
Preserved ancient object
goblet · treasure · archaeological · ancient · historical · heirloom · curio · precious · lost · discovered
Galahad
Ideal of noble purity
Lancelot · knight · Merlin · Excalibur · chivalry · crusade · seeker · journey · search · epic
chalice
Ornate ritual drinking vessel
- holyDedicated to the divine
- blessedReceiving divine favor
- sanctifiedMade sacred through blessing
divine · consecrated · relic · sacrament · Eucharist · Last Supper · Christ · veneration · reverence · spiritual
enigma
Something hard to fathom
occult · hidden · mystique · cryptic · veiled · unknown · alchemy · legend · lore · shrouded
aspiration
Strong desire for achievement
dream · mission · vision · elusive · ultimate · unattainable · lifelong · obsession · culmination · ideal
- Arthurian LegendKing Arthur, Merlin, Excalibur, Camelot, Lancelot
- artifactspottery shards, knives, masks, pottery, antiquity
- medievalknights, castles, cathedral, kings, queens
- drinkwarewater glass, wine glass, wine glasses, mug, cup
- myth elementshero's journey, quest, dragon, phoenix, labyrinth
- things soughttreasure, gold, fortune, wealth, riches
graillow-hanging fruit
Readily attainable objectives
easy pickings · sure thing · gimme · cinch · foregone conclusion
grailcommon cup
Drinking vessel used collectively
trinket · junk · trash · plastic cup · paper cup
grailfool's gold
Iron sulfide mineral
fool's errand · wild goose chase · red herring · dead end · booby prize
- holy grailSupremely elusive objective
- The Holy GrailLegendary vessel of Christ
- gradual reduction
- gradual declineSlow downward trend
- gradual exposureSlow introduction to feared stimuli
- gradual changeSlow, steady transformation