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Chambers (1908)

Tantalise

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[Tantalus, in Gr. mythology, who stood in Tartarus up to his chin in water, with branches of fruit over his head, the water receding when he wished to drink, and the fruit when he wished to eat.]

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Tantalise, tan′ta-līz, v.t. to torment by presenting something to excite desire, but keeping it out of reach.—ns. Tantalisā′tion, the act of tantalising: state of being tantalised; Tan′taliser, one who, or that which, tantalises.—adv. Tan′talisingly.—ns. Tan′talism, the punishment of Tantalus: a tormenting; Tan′talus, a spirit-case that locks; Tan′talus-cup, a philosophical toy, having a siphon within the figure of a man whose chin is on a level with its bend. [Tantalus, in Gr. mythology, who stood in Tartarus up to his chin in water, with branches of fruit over his head, the water receding when he wished to drink, and the fruit when he wished to eat.]

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Chambers’s Twentieth Century Dictionary of the English Language
Thomas Davidson (editor)
1908

Public-domain-US ↗ · United States

Publisher marks these historical texts public domain in the USA. Transformed book text excludes Gutenberg branding; source attribution is a bibliographic acknowledgment. No non-US public-domain determination is made.

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