judgment of Solomon
Splitting the baby
A judgment of Solomon is a wise ruling that cuts through a seemingly impossible dispute.
The phrase comes from the biblical story in which King Solomon, faced with two women claiming the same baby, ordered the child cut in half—knowing the true mother would rather give up her claim than see her child killed.
The term now describes any shrewd resolution that reveals the truth through the reactions it provokes: The manager's proposal was a judgment of Solomon—it forced both sides to show their real priorities.
- decisionSettled course of action
- rulingFormal legal determination
- verdictOfficial court decision
- final sayUltimate deciding authority
- sentenceComplete thought, grammatically
court case · legal dispute · justice · wisdom · divine wisdom · wise king · moral victory · discernment · stratagem · archetype · sagacity · mother · dispute · arbitration · sword · Old Testament · baby · adjudication
- Bible StoriesAdam and Eve, David and Goliath, Noah's Ark, Jonah and the whale, nativity
judgment of Solomonblind justice
Fair treatment regardless of status
hasty judgment · miscarriage of justice · snap judgment · rash decision
judgment of Solomonmiscarriage of justice
Legal system punishing the innocent
travesty of justice · Dred Scott decision · judicial murder · trial of Socrates
judgment, judgement, judge, judges, judged, judging, judgmental, judgemental, nonjudgmental