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Silver bullet solution

Posted by Bob on October 08, 2005

In Reply to: Silver bullet solution posted by R. Berg on October 07, 2005

: : What is the meaning of the expression "silver bullet solution"?

: According to legend, only a silver bullet could kill a werewolf. Metaphorically, a silver bullet (or a magic bullet) is something that will solve a difficult problem as if by magic.

The discoverer of Salvarsan, Paul Erlich, used the term "silver bullet" to describe this first successful treatment for syphilis. For centuries, the disease was uncureable and untreatable ... then suddenly Erlich's treatment worked. (He was no doubt thinking of the werewolf myth as he used the phrase ... an unstoppable menace vanquished in a blink.

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