Idiom Du Jour

It's been a while since I've done one of these...

And today we're talking about clay feet. 

To have feet of clay implies that one has flaws that are not immediately apparent...it typically refers to people who at first seem invincible but who in fact have hidden faults that lead to their own downfall or loss of reputation.

Apparently this idiomatic expression was first used around 1600 or so, but its source is rather older.  Biblical, even - in the book of Daniel (2:31-34), there is a description of a dream had by the Chaldean King Nebuchadnezzar that depicts a large statue with a head of gold, but with feet of iron and baked clay.  These materials cannot withstand a thrown stone, and are crushed into fragments and blown away by the wind.  Sounds obvious enough to me about what all that might imply...although interestingly, the entire statue, gold and all, gets smashed to smithereens.  But perhaps "head of gold" is less poetic.