Idiom
feet of clay
Meaning
In someone apparently strong and without failings, a hidden weakness which could lead to downfall.
Meaning adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Examples
“I realized my hero had feet of clay.”
“The politician was seen as a perfect leader until his scandal revealed his feet of clay.”
“Though the public revered him as an untouchable icon, his private journals eventually exposed the feet of clay that would ultimately destroy his reputation.”
Examples
simple
“I realized my hero had feet of clay.”
contextual
“The politician was seen as a perfect leader until his scandal revealed his feet of clay.”
complex
“Though the public revered him as an untouchable icon, his private journals eventually exposed the feet of clay that would ultimately destroy his reputation.”
Origin
The image comes from Daniel 2:31-45, where King Nebuchadnezzar dreams of a colossal statue: a head of gold, chest and arms of silver, belly and thighs of bronze, legs of iron, and feet made partly of iron and partly of clay. A stone strikes the statue at its feet, the brittle mixture gives way, and the whole towering figure collapses. Daniel reads the dream as a succession of kingdoms, but the memorable detail is the flaw at the base: something magnificent brought down by weakness where it stands.
That contrast, imposing surface over fragile foundation, is what carried into English. A giant of gold is only as stable as the clay it rests on.
To have feet of clay is now to be admired but secretly flawed, a hero or institution with a hidden weakness that undermines everything above it. The phrase is used most often of people we once thought unshakeable.
Key words
Related idioms
Stories
Kings & Prophets · See all Biblical origin
The rise and fall of kings and the warnings of the prophets.
David and Goliath — A contest in which a much weaker underdog faces a far stronger opponent.
the writing on the wall — A clear sign that something, especially failure or disaster, is on its way.
a drop in the bucket — A quantity so small it is negligible next to what is actually needed.
a leopard cannot change its spots — People rarely change their fundamental nature, however much they may seem to.
how the mighty have fallen — A remark on the dramatic downfall of someone once powerful or admired.
a still small voice — A quiet inner prompting of conscience or intuition.
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