Millstone (around one’s neck), to bear/carry a 🪵🔗
Definition:
Millstone (around one’s neck), to bear/carry a: To bear a heavy burden, be it literal or figurative. This phrase has heavy biblical roots, even predating the time when people could say things like “We’ve been grinding grains for centuries!” The Gospel of Matthew (18:6) talks about hanging a millstone around an offender’s neck and tossing them into the sea—yikes! That’s some hardcore ancient justice! By the Renaissance, however, people were seeing millstones behind every stress, trauma, or existential ennui.
Related & Similar Terms:
- Heavy load (to carry): It’s not just in construction work!
- Ball and chain: Less romantic, more drudgery.
- Cross to bear: A smidgen more morbid.
- Albatross around one’s neck: Birds, the original millstones of the mariners.
Synonyms:
- Burden
- Encumbrance
- Weight
- Drag
Antonyms:
- Breeze
- Ease
- Joy
- Blessing
Humor-Filled Quotes:
“Life is partly what we make it, and partly what it is made by the friends we choose. If your friend is a millstone, choose another, preferably one that feels more like a feather!” — Anonymous Wisdom Whisperer
Proverbs:
“A burden shared is a burden halved.” Unless, of course, it’s a literal millstone, in which case: don’t ask your bestie to help you haul it.
References:
- Jeremy Bentham’s Treatise on Usury (1787): Discusses economic ‘vermin’ and millstones—and no, it wasn’t rodents with tiny stone quarries.
- Biblical Text, Gospel of Matthew (18:6): Where heavy punishment was, quite literally, an anchor to one’s crimes.
Literature, Books, Songs, Poetry, and Movies to Suggest:
- Books: Notes from Underground by Fyodor Dostoevsky—because if anyone knows burdens, it’s Fyodor.
- Songs: “He Ain’t Heavy, He’s My Brother” by The Hollies—a song about carrying burdens with love.
- Movies: The Shawshank Redemption—discovering freedom from literal and figurative millstones.
- Poetry: “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner” by Samuel Taylor Coleridge—the poem that popularized the idea of symbolic burdens.
Intriguing Title:
“🥵 Millstone Madness: The Weird and Weighty World of Figurative Burdens 😂”
🌟 Farewell from Imogen Quickwit 🌟
Remember, life’s burdens can often feel as heavy as a millstone—but with humor, wit, and maybe a touch of practicality, you’ll find a way to hoist that weight and keep on dancing! Lift with your knees and not your back, whether it’s millstones or metaphors. Until next time, lighten your load with laughter!
Imogen Quickwit ❤️
