the.com/monolith
one stone pretending to be an entire idea, and usually winning the argument.
means A single massive block of stone, or by extension any large, uniform, immovable thing — an organization, structure, or system that seems all of one piece.
from From the Greek 'monos' (single, alone) joined to 'lithos' (stone) — the same 'lithos' lurking in 'megalith' and 'lithography.' It entered English in the 19th century, first describing ancient standing stones and obelisks carved from one unbroken mass, before drifting toward anything imposingly singular.
- one rock
- Literally Greek for single stone, no seams allowed
- kubrick effect
- 2001's slab made silence terrifying without explaining a thing
- desert prank
- A 2020 Utah monolith vanished as mysteriously as it appeared
- big tech
- Now means corporations too large to fully comprehend
- carved whole
- Egypt's obelisks were single granite blocks weighing hundreds of tons
moai of easter island — 887 massive stone statues carved by rapa nui people on easter island, some weighing 82 tons
stonehenge — 5,000-year-old circle of standing stones on salisbury plain, england, each weighing up to 25 tons
great zimbabwe — 11th-century stone ruins in zimbabwe built without mortar, with walls up to 11 meters high