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/ˈsfɪŋks/ · noun
(mythology) A creature with the head of a person and the body of an animal, commonly a lion..
[W]hatsoe'er of strange / Sculptured on alabaster obelisk, / Or jasper tomb, or mutilated sphynx, / Dark Æthiopia in her desert hills. / Conceals.
...it is clear that judges are no longer required to be as passive as they once were; to be what I call sphinx judges. We now not only accept that a judge may intervene in the adversarial debate, but also believe that it is sometimes essential for him to do so for justice in fact to be done.
Constance said boastfully, ‘My sphinxes are strong and in good repair. I order you to come.’
a marble sphinxed chimney-piece
A hot lion with a very bloated stomach … will adopt either a sphinxed or a squatting posture which takes some of the weight off its belly.
Several animals maintained either a crouched … or a sphinxing posture (abdomen on the floor)
The sphinxèd riddle of the Universe, Nature's unsolved enigma, who may prove?
Then there are the folks trying to do a Garbo on us[…]Janet Gaynor, so they tell, is sphinxing it and has gone into a Retirement, with "Nothing to Say — Please Go Away" written on the doormat.
Use sphinx when its meaning, tone and grammar fit the full sentence. A synonym is not always a direct replacement.
Sphinx means (mythology) A creature with the head of a person and the body of an animal, commonly a lion..
Common synonyms include enigma.
The opposite depends on the specific sense.
[W]hatsoe'er of strange / Sculptured on alabaster obelisk, / Or jasper tomb, or mutilated sphynx, / Dark Æthiopia in her desert hills. / Conceals.
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