One word for Point of No Return? I thought Anti, or Ante was the Ancent Greek one word for it, but I couldn't confirm. Please advise?
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@JonMarkPerry Do you remember how many alphabets the word you have in mind had? I'll find it, else it'll bother me for days. – vickyace Apr 15 '17 at 23:50
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Similar to (but not the same as) english.stackexchange.com/q/371733/9368 – GEdgar Apr 16 '17 at 0:40
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1@vickyace - alphabets? English uses only one. :-) – Jim Apr 16 '17 at 1:26
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@Jim oops. Guilty. – vickyace Apr 16 '17 at 1:28
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2Now I have Kansas playing in my head... – Jim Apr 16 '17 at 4:26
See Rubicon, defined by Oxford dictionary as
Point of no return.
But this term isn't that common. You may wanna use climacteric, critical point, etc. for different situations.
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6To elaborate here somewhat, Rubicon: the muddy stream that Julius Caesar crossed with his army, violating Roman law. – Nick T Apr 16 '17 at 5:06
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2@Nick T: after that event, and on the subsequent sacks of the eternal city a general was committed to lay siege on Rome, when crossing the Rubicon. That is actually a great single word for the concept, even better than zenith which would have been my first choice – hlecuanda Apr 16 '17 at 7:59
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1
point of no return is a precise phrase with an arresting meaning: It
. . . comes from aviation, where it signifies the point where an aircraft does not have enough fuel to return to the starting point. [c. 1940 ] The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary
You might consider crossroad or crossroads as a single word--one definition being:
A point at which a vital decision must be made. (source - dictionary.com)
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1With all due respect, isn't your first suggestion the phrase he wants to replace in the first place. – vickyace Apr 15 '17 at 23:52
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@vickyace Yes, it is--I thought it worthwhile to nail down its source. BTW what am I doing wrong in the sources? I don't want to cause you to need to edit. – Xanne Apr 16 '17 at 0:17
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You haven't done anything wrong. Mentioning the source is preferred. It is just better if a link to the definition is provided in the answer itself (it helps for quick reference). But of course, you can always roll back on the edit and do it yourself. – vickyace Apr 16 '17 at 0:21
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I just visited your answers and saw that you didn't use the link attachment in most of it. FYI, it is the button that looks like a link in the chain, third from left of the screen when you're posting answers. – vickyace Apr 16 '17 at 0:28
How about brink? From Merriam-Webster:
- edge, especially the edge at the top of a steep place
- a bank, especially of a river
- the point of onset, e.g. on the brink of war
- the threshold of danger
event horizon.
NOUN.
Astronomy
1 A notional boundary around a black hole beyond which no light or other radiation can escape.
Example sentences.
1.1 A point of no return.
‘we're nearing the event horizon of the presidential election’.
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1Point of no return - you can't get all the way back. Event horizon - you can't get even part of the way back. – Phil Sweet Apr 17 '17 at 1:33
Climax (MWD)
a: the highest point: culmination the climax of a distinguished career
b: the point of highest dramatic tension or a major turning point in the action
Would that be, perchance
ze·nith
ˈzēnəTH/
noun
- The time at which something is most powerful or successful. "Under Justinian, the Byzantine Empire reached its zenith of influence" synonyms: highest point, high point, crowning point, height, top, acme, peak, pinnacle, apex, apogee, crown, crest, summit, climax, culmination, prime, meridian "at the zenith of his power"
- The point in the sky or celestial sphere directly above an observer.
It is etymologically a medieval Latin word:
... late 14c., from Old French cenith (Modern French zénith), from Medieval Latin cenit, senit, bungled scribal transliterations of Arabic samt "road, path,"...
It hasn’t entered common usage yet, but in a few years the word you are looking for will be:
Example of expected usage:
“I had reached my Brexit, so I made my exit”
[The Memoires of David Cameron, Eton College Press, 2025]
You read it first here.
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1As you said, it hasn't entered common usage yet. Also, consider adding a reference/definition and maybe an example of how you would use it. – 0xFEE1DEAD Apr 16 '17 at 21:47
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@0xFEE1DEAD — But language is in continual flux — people make things up. Anyway, I've done what you suggested. Perhaps you would like to vote my answer up now and encourage all your friends to do the same. – David Apr 16 '17 at 22:41
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@Sushila — not by me or most who use the word. In any case, in retrospect it will certainly be perceived as an event. – David Apr 17 '17 at 7:07
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Who's to say there couldn't be a reversal of Brexit? (Hope springs eternal!) – Kristina Lopez Apr 19 '17 at 22:41
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@KristinaLopez — If June 8th should see that I will happily withdraw my answer. Otherwise I doubt I shall live long enough to do so. – David Apr 20 '17 at 7:00