kəˈribdə̇s noun
( -es )
Usage: usually capitalized
Etymology: from Charybdis (now Galofalo ), whirlpool off the northeastern extremity of Sicily, from Latin, from Greek
: a destructive peril — usually used as the alternative to Scylla
between the Scylla of national parochialism and the Charybdis of complete exoticism — Bernard Smith