the.com/precipice
the exact spot where caution makes its final, unconvincing argument.
means A steep cliff edge or the very brink of a dangerous drop — literally or, more often, figuratively as the verge of disaster.
from From Latin 'praecipitium,' a headlong fall, built from 'praeceps' meaning 'headfirst' — itself 'prae-' (before) plus 'caput' (head). So a precipice is, at root, the place where you go head-over-heels, the etymology already tumbling you forward before you've decided to step.
- origin
- From Latin praeceps, meaning headfirst or headlong
- physics
- Free fall begins the instant your foot disagrees
- metaphor wear
- Politicians love it because nothing actually has to happen
- vertigo
- The fear is your brain rehearsing the fall
cliffs of moher — 700-foot sea cliffs in county clare, ireland, where 1 million visitors annually walk along the edge
half dome — 3,000-foot vertical granite cliff face in yosemite national park where climbers scale nearly sheer rock
beachy head — 530-foot chalk cliff on england's sussex coast, one of the highest sea cliffs in britain