chimera

<font size="-1" face="arial, helvetica"> <p> <strong> <font color="#000066">Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for November 15, 2023 is:</font> </strong> </p> <p> <strong>chimera</strong> &#149; \kye-MEER-uh\&nbsp; &#149; <em>noun</em><br /> <p>In Greek mythology, Chimera is a fire-breathing monster that has a lion’s head, a goat’s body, and a snake’s tail. In general contexts, <em>chimera</em> can refer to something (such as an aspiration) that exists only in the imagination and is not possible in reality. </p> <p>// The fantasy is a utopian <em>chimera</em>, but there are real improvements for the town that can be made.</p> <p><a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/chimera">See the entry ></a></p> </p> <p> <strong>Examples:</strong><br /> <p>“For years, consumer advocates maintained that giving subscribers a la carte options from cable menus instead of the one-size-fits-all model would save people money. Alas, this <a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/nirvana">nirvana</a> has proved to be a <em>chimera</em>. Streaming channels have peeled off from cable lineups and established their own individualized subscription services, with the result that what used to be bundled together in premium tiers are now separate charges.” — Michael Hiltzik, <em>The Los Angeles Times</em>, 17 Apr. 2023</p> </p> <p> <strong>Did you know?</strong><br /> <p>“In head and shoulders, she was like a lion, / in back and tail, a snake, and in the middle, / a she-goat, and she breathed a dreadful blast / of blazing fire.” So did <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Homer-Greek-poet">Homer</a> describe the fearsome <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Chimera-Greek-mythology">Chimera</a> in <em>The Iliad</em> (as translated by scholar Emily Wilson in 2023). The Chimera terrorized the people of Lycia until slain by the hero <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Bellerophon-Greek-mythology#ref946849">Bellerophon</a>, but the beast lived