the.com/phalanx
A wall of spears so rude, it conquered the ancient world by being unfriendly.
means A tight, organized mass of people or things (originally soldiers) packed shoulder to shoulder to advance as one solid unit.
from From Greek 'phalanx,' meaning a log or roller — and by extension, a line of battle, since a row of men pressed together suggested a solid beam. The word also names the small bones of your fingers and toes, because the ancient Greeks thought the bones lined up in a row looked like soldiers standing in formation.
- origin
- Greek word for finger bone, oddly intimate
- formation
- soldiers locked shields, spears bristling eight rows deep
- weakness
- useless on uneven or broken terrain
- anatomy
- also names the bones in your fingers and toes