Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English homepage

Date: 1800-1900
Origin: From the story that the ancient Greek hero Achilles was dipped as a baby into the river Styx to protect him, but the part of his heel he was held by did not get wet, and so remained unprotected

Achilles' heel

 noun
     
A‧chil‧les' heel [countable]
a weak part of someone's character, which could cause them to fail at something:
I think Frank's vanity is his Achilles' heel.
Definition from the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
Advanced Learner's Dictionary.

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