The Midas touch 1

[snuv]

I was asked yesterday if there was an antonym for "the Midas touch" and I couldnt think of one

Given some of the recent threads, does anyone else know of one?

Cheers
Snuv

"If it could have gone wrong earlier and it didn't, it ultimately would have been beneficial for it to have." : Murphy's Ultimate Corollary

 

[xlbo]

I guess the nearest one I can think of would be "Murphy's / Sod's Law" but it's not really an exact antonym.

Rgds, Geoff

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[columb]

It's not a true antonym but "to be a Jonah" implies that your presence is detrimental.

Columb Healy

 

[johnwm]

In gardening, 'Having green fingers' is the equivalent of the Midas Touch - everything goes right for you. Perhaps 'Brown fingers' would be the antonym

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[Thadeus]

Question:
What is it that you are looking for the antonym of?
The Midas touch is both a boon and a curse.
The antithesis would be a touch that does nothing...

~Thadeus

 

[PaulTEG]

It's not a true antonym but "to be a Jonah" implies that your presence is detrimental.

I was going to suggest something like that, but didn't think it would fit, because of it's biblical connotations, also, it's possibly more of a colloqualism local to Ireland.

Also in the same vein "A jinx"
In a Terry Pratchett type vein (Llamedos): "The 'Sidam' Touch"
Suggested by urbandictionary.com "Bull in a China Shop"

cigless ...

 

[MakeItSo]

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[xlbo]

Thadeus - I think it is a common misconception that the midas touch is a good thing - no-one actually reads the books anymore so they don't realise the sad ending...

Rgds, Geoff

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[CajunCenturion]

True xlbo and Thadeus. Most people don't know the whole story, and also miss the moral of the story that if turn something to gold, you lose the value of that something.

Then again, such is the nature of language evolution. I have heard "anti-Midas touch", "reverse Midas touch", and "inverse Midas touch".

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[Thadeus]

Another interesting thought that comes to mind, regards the nature of the touch itself. The touch could be described as "everything touched turns to gold"... so should we be "anti-naming" the "everything touched" part or the "turns to gold" part?

So if you warp both sides to the opposite, then I was wrong earlier... The anithesis of the Midas touch would obviously be "everything not touched doesn't turn into anything".

If you only choose half then it could be a word or phrase for either "everything not touched turns to gold" or "everything touched, but nothing happens".

~Thadeus

 

[AnotherHiggins]

The Midas touch is both a boon and a curse.
....
So if you warp both sides to the opposite, then I was wrong earlier... The anithesis of the Midas touch would obviously be "everything not touched doesn't turn into anything".

If you only choose half then it could be a word or phrase for either "everything not touched turns to gold" or "everything touched, but nothing happens".

That first point is excellent, but I think you're breaking down the phrase too literally. As xlbo and CC respectively point out, many people are ignorant of the whole story of Midas and the phrase has evolved to no longer indicate the curse part of the story.

I think the intent of snuv's post is to find the opposite of the modern usage of the phrase 'Midas touch' as defined on various online dictionaries as described on onelook dictionary search. The definitions all read something like : "The ability to make, manage, and keep huge amounts of money" (Dictionary.com)

I don't know of a direct opposite, but I have heard the following: "Everything he touches turns to s**t crap." The intent here seems to be to indicate the opposite of 'the Midas touch'.

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[snuv]

<quote>
I think the intent of snuv's post is to find the opposite of the modern usage of the phrase 'Midas touch' as defined on various online dictionaries
</quote>


the context was a report where everything someone is involved in goes horribly horribly wrong

thanks for your posts

"If it could have gone wrong earlier and it didn't, it ultimately would have been beneficial for it to have." : Murphy's Ultimate Corollary

 

[SantaMufasa]

I remember as a child, seeing an animated feature that paralleled the Midas scenario. It was the story of an Indian Raja that captured a unicorn that was capable of granting one wish. His wish was that each time unicorn's hooves touch the ground in his palace, that they would kick up gold coins.

The unicorn answered that she would grant his wish, but if he commanded her to stop, then all of the gold would turn to mud. Unable to imagine such a scenario, The Raja agreed and commanded the unicorn to proceed.

We can all foretell the ending: Although the Raja was delighted at first, the unicorn soon kicked up so much gold, that the treasure threatened to consume and crush the palace, the Raja, and the royal family. Finally, in desperation, the Raja commanded the unicorn to stop.

Instantly, the gold turned to mud, completely burying the palace and the Raja.

So, from this alegory, I truly believe that the antonym for "The Midas Touch" would be "The Mud-ass touch".

Mufasa
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[snuv]

I think I manked my last post
I will try again

I think the intent of snuv's post is to find the opposite of the modern usage of the phrase 'Midas touch' as defined on various online dictionaries

Yes that's what I was looking for

the context was a report where everything someone is involved in goes horribly horribly wrong

thanks for your posts

SantaMufasa
I really did laugh out loud
I will suggest it

"If it could have gone wrong earlier and it didn't, it ultimately would have been beneficial for it to have." : Murphy's Ultimate Corollary

 

[SilentAiche]

A favorite, from Mr. Robert Frost:

[green] Nature's first green is gold,
Her hardest hue to hold.
Her early leaf's a flower;
But only so an hour.
Then leaf subsides to leaf.
So Eden sank to grief,
So dawn goes down to day.
Nothing gold can stay.[/green]

Tim, a Frost fan from way back.

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[stackdump]

I was asked yesterday if there was an antonym for "the Midas touch" and I couldnt think of one

How about "kiss of death"?

 

[xlbo]

Similar to "the commentators curse" whereby a team / player doing well is subject to praise from a commentator. The team / player then fall apart and are woeful from that moment on... not quite the same but a similar expression

Rgds, Geoff

Three things are certain. Death, taxes and lost data. DPlank is to blame

Please read FAQ222-2244 before you ask a question