Dictionary definition of “road to Damascus”

road to Damascus

n. a religious conversion; a revelation, especially about one’s self; in other figurative uses, denoting a change in attitude, perspective, or belief. Also road to Damascus experience. Subjects: English

Editorial Note: From the biblical story of St. Paul, who converted from Judaism to Christianity while travelling on the road to Damascus.

Comments? | Cites | Permalink | Tell a Friend

Citations: 1899 Chicago Daily Tribune (June 17) “Delay In Arbitration Plan” (in The Hague) p. 2: The correspondent of the Daily News at The Hague, who asks whether the Kaiser has found his road to Damascus, says: “A cabinet messenger arrived here this morning from Berlin with fresh instructions to Count Munster. They were of such a nature that several delegates remarked that a new situation had been created thereby and they must write home for fresh instructions.” 1910 State Journal (Lincoln, Neb.) (Aug. 21) p. 5: Mr. Roosevelt has always been a progressive, but never an insurgent. Is he now on the road to Damascus? 1979 H.W. Somerville Globe and Mail (Toronto, Can.) (Nov. 21) “Parizeau profile” p. P7: There is nowhere any mention that on his Road to Damascus, from federalist to separatist, Mr. Parizeau was defeated as a Progressive Conservative candidate. 1993 Peter Davies Modern Homosexualities (Nov. 1) “The Role of Disclosure in Coming Out Among Gay Men” p. 75: There are those who regard coming out as a “road to Damascus” experience, a single moment of recognition of one’s “true” self, a gestalt shift in which the label of the derided other is applied to one’s self. 1995 Dan T. Carter The Politics of Rage (Oct. 27) p. 254: The Washington summit did not prove a road-to-Damascus experience. Within twenty-four hours, Wallace, back on CBS’s Face the Nation, once again atttacked the media for its use of “unmitigated falsehood” to slander the people of Alabama. 2005 Steven Church News Journal (Del.) (Apr. 24) “Big money, big speakers, big sound”: I refer to it as a “road to Damascus” experience.…When they hear that sound, they realize they have never heard anything like it before, and it absolutely changes their life.

Posted 16 May 05 | Permalink | Tell a Friend