Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun An infallible means of attack or defense.
- noun A simple remedy for a difficult or intractable problem.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun A bullet made of silver, usually with reference to the
folkloric belief that such bullets are the only weapons which can kill awerewolf . - noun idiomatic Any
straightforward solution perceived to have greateffectiveness or bringmiraculous results. - noun A
cocktail somewhat like amartini .
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun a simple guaranteed solution for a difficult problem
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
[From the belief that werewolves could be killed with silver bullets.]
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Examples
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treeseed commented on the word silver bullet
The metaphor of the silver bullet applies to any straightforward solution perceived to have extreme effectiveness. The phrase typically appears with an expectation that some new technology or practice will easily cure a major prevailing problem.
The term originates from folklore. Traditionally, the silver bullet is the only kind of bullet for firearms that is effective against a witch, vampire, monster, or a person living a charmed life.
The best known magical creature which is vulnerable to a silver bullet is a werewolf. The werewolf's vulnerability to silver actually dates back to the legend of The Beast of Gévaudan in which a gigantic Wolf is killed by a person wielding a gun loaded with silver bullets.
In different traditions, silver is thought to be the metal associated with the moon and with the human soul. It is likely that these associations have contributed to the legend of the silver bullet.
_Wikipedia
February 9, 2008