Well attestedNamed from the place

road to Damascus

noun · first attested 19th century

One of the world's oldest cities is now shorthand for changing your mind.

A sudden and total reversal of conviction.

Another word

Damascus·Syria

33.5131°N 36.2919°E · Q3766

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Record

Relationship: Named from the place
Confidence: Well attestedThe place link is the standard scholarly account.
Attested: 19th century
Part of speech: noun
Sources: Wiktionary: road to Damascus Wikidata: Q3766

Explanations here are written for this atlas. Dictionary text is not copied; the sources are linked so the claim can be checked.

How it traveled

Step 1
Damascus
In English
road to Damascus

The entry

Acts describes Saul of Tarsus struck blind on the way to Damascus to arrest Christians and rising from the road as Paul, and English writers turned the journey into a stock phrase for any about-face. It attaches most often now to politicians reversing a position, which is rarely as sudden as the original.

Also pinned to Damascus

4 more from the same place

damaskThe cloth and the steel both remember Damascus.Damascus damsonThe plum is a damascene fruit in miniature.Damascus Damascus steelThe watered steel carries the city that traded it.Damascus Damascene conversionOne blinding flash on a Syrian trade road now describes any change of heart.Damascus

Syria

2 more words from Syria

All 7 entries

Aleppo soapThe laurel oil, not the olive oil, is what makes it Aleppo soap.Aleppo sorghumThe name may credit Syria for a crop that actually came out of Africa.Syria

Nearest pins

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