Eavesdrop started as a word for standing by the water falling from a roof’s edge. Later, it came to mean listening secretly.

“Feet of clay” means a hidden weakness in someone admired. The phrase comes from Daniel 2, where a mighty statue collapses at its fragile base.

Juggernaut started as Jagannath, a title of Krishna, then changed in English into a word for an overwhelming, unstoppable force.

“Cat’s paw” means a person used by someone else for a risky or dishonest purpose. The image comes from a fable about chestnuts in a fire.