Word: tantalus
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Dates: during 1880-1889
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...Rebuked by the directors, unsupported by the faculty, disliked by undergraduates, dispised by the alumni, looked upon with aversion by the teachers of Woodward, Hughes and other preparatory schools, obnoxious to a large number of the patrons of the school, his hold on the rectorship is certainly feeble. Like Tantalus, he reached out after fruit which has constantly cluded his grasp. Like the Samian king, he left a cup untasted to pursue game he failed to secure, and has verified the proverb, 'There's many a slip 'twixt the cup and the lip.'" The return of the editors...