a
character in the story of
Sinbad the
Sailor, one of the stories contained in the
Arabian Nights (a
collection of approximately 2,000
Persian-
Indian-
Arabian tales of magical adventures, genies and
love, dating from the tenth century A.D.). "
Sinbad the
Sailor" is the story of a wealthy
merchant (
Sinbad) who narrates tales of his adventurous
life and of the dangers and incredible creatures he encounters. In one of them, a
sea-
god, called the
Old Man of the
Sea, manages to
force Sinbad to carry him on his
shoulders. The
Old Man of the
Sea refuses to let go and
Sinbad has to carry him around for many days and nights. Finally,
Sinbad frees himself by getting the
Old Man of the
Sea so drunk that he falls off. The
phrase Old Man of the
Sea has since come to mean an intolerable, heavy and encumbering burden, annoyance, etc., which is
hard or impossible to get rid of.
a
character in the story "
Sinbad the
Sailor" from the
Arabian Nights. The
Old Man of the
Sea hoisted himself on the
shoulders of
Sinbad and clung there for many days and nights, much to the discomfort of
Sinbad, who finally
released himself by making the
Old Man drunk.
character in the story of "Sindbad the
Sailor" in The
Arabian Nights. A seemingly harmless
old man, he climbs onto the
shoulders of the obliging Sindbad and refuses to get off. He clings there for many days and nights until Sindbad escapes by getting him drunk.