Liliputin-4306

Success is almost within our grasp, but almost doesn't count, which makes it particularly painful ... "
Tantalus


Liliputins. What, the heck, is this?
http://stihi.ru/2021/11/24/7101


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within grasp
obtainable or almost won
Within our grasp means that something is obtainable or almost won. The phrase can be used both literally and metaphorically. In the literal sense, it means that the object is held tightly in the hand. In the metaphorical sense, it means that something is held securely in some other way. The phrase can also be used with a possessive adjective between "within" and "grasp".

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able to be found or gotten
She felt the solution was within her grasp.
Success is almost within our grasp.
“Within someone's grasp.”

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almost doesn't count
Nearly doing something is not the same as actually doing it.

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Tantalus (Ancient Greek: Tantalos) was a Greek mythological figure, most famous for his punishment in Tartarus: he was made to stand in a pool of water beneath a fruit tree with low branches, with the fruit ever eluding his grasp, and the water always receding before he could take a drink. He was also called Atys.

He was the father of Pelops, Niobe and Broteas, and was a son of Zeus[1] and the nymph Plouto. Thus, like other heroes in Greek mythology such as Theseus (his great-great-grandson) and the Dioskouroi, Tantalus had both a hidden, divine parent and a mortal one.

The Greeks used the proverb "Tantalean punishment" in reference to those who have good things but are not permitted to enjoy them.[2] His name and punishment are also the source of the English word tantalize, meaning to torment with the sight of something desired but out of reach; tease by arousing expectations that are repeatedly disappointed.[3]