cha·ryb·dis \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 >