character
Greek
Icarus
The boy who flew too close to the sun.
Origin
Imprisoned with his inventor father Daedalus, Icarus escaped on wings of wax and feathers. Warned not to fly too high, he ignored his father, the sun melted the wax, and he fell into the sea.
Modern usage
Shorthand for ambition that outruns its own limits โ the cautionary tale of every overreaching founder, athlete, or empire.
In the wild
He had an Icarus year โ went huge, flew too close, came down hard.โ common usage
Tags
ambition
youth
father-son