tantalus

From Latin Tantalus, from Ancient Greek Τάνταλος (Tántalos, “Tantalus”), a Phrygian king in Greek mythology who was condemned to stand in a pool of water which receded every time he tried to drink, and with overhanging branches of fruit which pulled back whenever he tried to eat.

• IPA^(key): /ˈtæntələs/

tantalus (plural tantaluses)

1. A stork of the genus Mycteria (formerly Tantalus), especially the American wood stork, Mycteria americana.
2. A stand in which to lock up drink decanters while keeping them visible.
   • 1904, Arthur Conan Doyle, The Adventure of Black Peter, Norton, published 2005, page 984:

     Yes, there was a tantalus containing brandy and whisky on the sea-chest.

   • 1920, Herman Cyril McNeile, chapter 1, in Bulldog Drummond:

     “A small boy, sir. Said I was to be sure and see you got it most particular.” He unlocked a cupboard near the window and produced a tantalus. “Whisky, sir, or cocktail?”

   • 1960, John Betjeman, Summoned by Bells, John Murray, page 10:

     And stockrooms heavy with the Tantalus
     on which the family fortune has been made

3. Something of an evasive or retreating nature, something consistently out of reach; a tantalising thing.
   • 1953, Ian Fleming, Casino Royale, Penguin Classics, published 2004, page 149:

     Over all, there brooded the shadow of his injuries and the tantalus of their slow healing.

• Tantalus