RUBICON

PRONUNCIATION: (ROO-bi-kon)

MEANING: noun: A point of no return, one where an action taken commits a person irrevocably.

ETYMOLOGY: Contrary to popular belief, Caesar salad is not named after Julius Caesar. But today’s term does have a connection to him. In 49 BCE, Caesar crossed the Rubicon, a small river that formed the boundary between Cisalpine Gaul and Italy. As he crossed the river into Italy, he exclaimed “Iacta alea est” (The die is cast), knowing well that his action signified a declaration of war with Rome. Today when an action marks a situation where there is no going back, we say the Rubicon has been crossed. Earliest documented use: 1613.
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RUBIC WON - Who got the prize for the best toy of the early 1980s?

REBICON - annual gathering of Civil War renacters, partial to the South

RUBI-CORN - maize of a particularly intense deep red