giant


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Related to giant: red giant
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a dwarf standing on the shoulders of giants

A person whose insights, discoveries, or knowledge in general is not due to their own ingenuity, but rather due to the discoveries or previous work of great minds that have come before. Though this is indeed an exciting discovery toward curing cancer, I am but a dwarf standing on the shoulders of giants.
See also: giant, of, on, shoulder, standing

stand on the shoulders of giants

To make discoveries, insights, or progress due to the discoveries or previous work of great minds that have come before. Though this is indeed an exciting discovery toward curing cancer, we have stood on the shoulders of giants to reach this point today.
See also: giant, of, on, shoulder, stand

gentle giant

Someone who is very large and strong but has a quiet and gentle nature. At first, I was afraid of the big, burly man covered in tattoos, but when I saw him rescue that kitten from the tree, I realized he was just a gentle giant.
See also: gentle, giant

one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind

A phrase typically said in reference to a breakthrough or advancement of some kind. Astronaut Neil Armstrong famously said the phrase in 1969 when he became the first person to set foot on the moon. I think the self-driving car will be one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind. When we find a cure for this illness, it will be one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.
See also: giant, leap, mankind, one, small, step

battle of the giants

A clash of two powerful people or groups. Those are the two best teams in the league this year, so the championship game will really be a battle of the giants.
See also: battle, giant, of

sleeping giant

a great power that is still and waiting. The huge country to the south is a sleeping giant, waiting for its chance to become sufficiently industrialized to have real prosperity. The U.S. was a sleeping giant at the outbreak of both world wars.
See also: giant, sleep

battle of the giants

a contest between two pre-eminent parties.
This expression may be a reference to the battle between the giants and gods in Greek mythology.
See also: battle, giant, of

mental giant

n. a genius. I’m no mental giant, but I do know trouble when I see it.
See also: giant, mental
References in classic literature ?
You have killed the Giant Antaeus, our great brother, and the ally of our nation.
In those histories, perhaps, it stands recorded, that, a great many centuries ago, the valiant Pygmies avenged the death of the Giant Antaeus by scaring away the mighty Hercules.
Why, if Mother Earth had not been very kind to ourselves, we might all have been Giants too.
Upon my word," cried he, "I thought I had seen wonders before to-day--hydras with nine heads, stags with golden horns, six-legged men, three-headed dogs, giants with furnaces in their stomachs, and nobody knows what besides.
View in context
GRAN'S BIG DAY: | |Grandmother Giant takes a walk down Castle Street COLIN LANE
GIANTS OUR PICK OF THE PICTURES
Although the scientist spends most of his time analyzing fossils, or traces of ancient marine organisms, Landman studies the giant squid too.
One gigantic mystery: scientists use clues to reveal the secretive life of the giant squid
The legendary species routinely rears out of the depths in movies and literature, but until now, the only real giant squids that people have seen have been dead ones.
Baited camera snaps first live giant squid
Giant Petrels are large scavenger birds that feed on dead seals, whales, penguins, squid or just about any other creature that dies on Antarctica's Southern Ocean, which is why 19th Century sailors called them "Bone Shakers.
Elegant Scavengers
A lot of Yankee players were Texans, and that was one of the reasons I signed with the Giants.
Tom Landry: the man who gave us America's team
When measured in 1972, the Dyerville Giant stood 362 feet tall and had a circumference of 52 feet four inches and a crown spread of 74 feet.
The fall of the Dyerville giant
24, 2012, should read: The event, called "One Giant Pledge," is taking place on Tuesday at Vanderbilt Hall in Grand Central Terminal, from 11 a.
The Green Giant And Celebrity Mom Alison Sweeney Team Up for a Family Event in Augmented Reality at Grand Central Terminal
When you think back to some of what has transpired between the California rivals, Juan Marichal bashing John Roseboro over the head and all that, it's kind of revolting that a Giant has been allowed in for a job interview.
L.A.'S GM SEARCH HAS GIANT PROBLEM
Quinn, Mayer, and their colleagues recently revisited the standard model of planet formation, investigating whether giant planets could form quickly.
Planet formation on the fast track: growing up in a hurry
Roper has already tried to catch the giant squid twice--on videotape.
Stalking the giant squid: will we ever find the largest legend of the sea?
State and county emergency management officials made calls to 75 households within a 2 mile radius of the Giant facility, urging residents to take shelter indoors.
News From USW: Explosion at Giant Resource Recovery Facility
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