The "Sisyphean challenge"

Sisyphus

Excerpt:

"Sisyphean task" or "Sisyphean challenge": As a punishment from the gods for his trickery, Sisyphus was compelled to roll a huge rock up a steep hill, but before he reached the top of the hill, the rock always escaped him and he had to begin again (Odyssey, xi. 593).

Comment: I told my manager today that my job was a "Sisyphean task". Last year we upgraded all of our workstations to a new release ... and this year we upgraded all of our workstations to the newest release. Now engineering is working on the next upgrade and I know what I will be doing in 2008!

Pronunciation: Sisyphus