allusions

Read the riot act

• Deliver a rigorous reprimand or warning

• the original right act was passed by the British Parliament in 1715 to deal with noisy street gatherings held to object the unpopular new German King George I, who hadn’t bothered

to learn English, ordered all persons assembled to disperse themselves or be guilty

of a felony and find themselves in jail.

Riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma

• First used to describe Russia by Winston Sir Winston Churchill in radio broadcast October 1, 1939. The phrase is often used to describe Russia and things Russian, often baffling to Westerners.

• used by extension: Russia, said Churchill, is a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma. America is plastic within paper inside shrink wrap, as lavish in its waste as in its consumption. – Los Angeles Times, January 1, 1996.

Totem

• An object such as an animal or plant, serving as an emblem of a family or clan, often as a reminder of its ancestry.

• Serves as a revered symbol

• In general use the word is applied to the ways in which non-Native Americans display symbols to make a point about themselves which make points about others

Man’s Reach Should Exceed His Grasp

• To achieve excellence, one should aim at a goal beyond what is easily attainable.

• A line from Robert Browning’s poem• Ah, but a man’s reach should exceed his grasp/or

what’s a heaven for?

Mantra

• In Hinduism or Buddhism a mantra is the sacred mystic word or verse chanted or sung repeatedly as part of devotions and meditations is said over and over

• “Om” is considered to be the greatest mantra embodying the essence of the universe

• Example by Laura Meckler September 8, 1997 Associated Press

• The mantra of welfare reform is work. But to welfare recipients in job training slots deserve the same benefits and rights as other workers?

Jekyll and Hyde

• One having a two-sided personality, one side which is good and the other that is evil

• Names are drawn from the most famous literary rendering of such a dual personality Robert Louis Stevenson’s night 1886 novel The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

let a hundred flowers bloom

• An invitation to an outpouring of diverse opinion

• The invitation was extended bt Mao Tse-tung in his speech in 1957 in People’s Republic of China

• The expression is now used to put the best face on embarrassing public disagreement among members of a group or simply to suggest that a multitude of use is being expressed on a certain topic

The kindness of strangers

• A famous line by Tennessee Williams character Blanche from A Streetcar Named Desire

• Blanche is a questionable character and uses these parting words as she’s taken away into an institution

• the exact line is quote I have always depended on the kindness of strangers.”

Know-Nothings

• Members of the 19th century secret American political organization hostile to the political influence of the recent immigrants and Roman Catholics

• Today the term is applied for more broadly in to include those who take a reactionary political position based on bigotry ignorance and emotion.

Lancelot

• A native the King Arthur’s round table and lover of Queen Guenevere is a flawed hero in the opposite of Sir Galahad, who represents perfection.

• Lancelot was the greatest fighter, most gallant and brave, and a perfect model of chivalry according to austerity and romance; but he fell in love with Queen Guinevere and was considered a traitor to King Arthur.

• It was Lancelot and Guenevere’s affair that ended the magic of Camelot and the death of Arthur.

Were Not in Kansas Anymore

• A humorous statement implying that circumstances have changed her dramatically, usually from the ordinary and familiar to the exotic or weird.

• The line comes from the wizard of Oz in 1939 movie, the famous line being spoken by Dorothy – “ Toto, I have a feeling we’re not in Kansas anymore.”

Kevorkian

• Dr. known for assisting the terminally ill to commit suicide.

• The Association of the doctors name and his aggressive at Dick’s advocacy for his point of view and his refusal to stop helping his patients has resulted in the use of his name as an allusion to those things that are sinister force suicide like

Race to the bottom Loss that

• A competition in which the parties seek to win by lowering the standards rather than raising them

• The competition is striking since competition is usually thought as uplifting forced

• Race to the bottom word is a competition that many deplore

• Eexample:it is competition among nations or states to reduce welfare benefits

White smoke

• The outward sign of critical decisions having been reached in a closed meeting organization

• The reference comes from the election of the pope said Roman Catholic Church. When a new pope is elected, the cardinals meeting the Vatican in secret as the world watches. After each round of voting the ballots are burned smoke is black into the final decision is made, when a substance is added to make the burning ballots produce puffs of white smoke the signal that the new Pope has been renamed.

Trail of tears

• the original trail of tears was a journey of the Native Americans tribes forced to migrate to new homes and Oklahoma territory

• The trail of tears is considered cruel, unjust ordeal endured by a group that consequently separate great loss.

Trojan horse

• Someone or some thing intending to defeat or subvert from within

• Trojans were offered a gift from the Greeks of the huge wooden horse which was actually filled with Greek warriors

• Trojans brought the recourse into their city where the Greeks emerged and slaughtered the Trojans ending a 10 year struggle

The unkindest cut

• Cruelest, most personally devastating injury or insults; often one afflicted by a person who is thought to be a friend. Most famous example from William Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar:

• For Brutus, as you know, was Caesar’s angel./Judge, OU gods, how dearly Caesar loved him!/this was the most unkindest cut of all;/four when the noble Caesar saw him stab,/and gratitude, more strong than the trader’s arms,/quite vanquished him.

Face that launched 1000 ships

• An extremely beautiful woman, for whom men would be willing to fight in July

• The references to Helen of Troy said to be the most beautiful woman in the world

• Christopher Marlowe, The Tragical History of Dr. Faustus:

– “Was this the face that launched 1000 ships/and burnt the topless towers of Ilium?”

Fall on one’s sword

• Sacrifice oneself,

• voluntarily take full responsibility and voluntarily pay the price for disastrous turn of events

• Refers back to Brutus and the battle of Philippi in 42 A.D.

• Recognizing he was defeated, Brutus threw himself on a friend’s blade,

Deep six

• A place of disposal or abandonment use especially in the phrase “ give it the deep six”

• In naval slang, the phrase means to toss something overboard. One theory says it is inspired by the U.S. Navy regulations requiring that burials at sea must be done at least 100 fathoms, or 600 feet down

• As a verb it attained fame and political change in the Watergate era

Dead man’s hand

• Really rotten luck

• ; a sign of unforeseen and unintended disaster.The phrase first to poker handheld by wild Bill Hickok at the moment he was shot in the back by the Jack McCall in deadwood, South Dakota on August 2, 1876.

• The conflict began over the cards that while Bill was holding: a pair of black aces and black eights – combination now known as “dead man’s hand”

Best laid plans of mice and men

• A warning that even the most careful plans can become founded by events

• Phrase comes from Scottish poet Robert Burns

Balkanized; Balkanization

• To break up a region or group into smaller often mutually hostile units originally coined to describe the tragic politics of the Balkan region

• Now refers to the process of fragmentation of countries, societies, and institutions.

Anal-retentive

• Now thought of as someone who is orderly punctual obsessed with detail overly conscientious and excessively frugal

• Originally referred to the psychosexual development stage with a primary source of pleasure for the individual is defecating or not defecating (infant and potty training)– hence the need to control a situation

Smoking gun

• Evidence of guilt often used in political context

• References used in detective fiction which characters found standing over the corpse holding a smoking gun. It is assumed the character is guilty, although the infection the detective hero often is able to demonstrate that the obvious conclusion is wrong.

Hearts and minds

• Conviction felt in every way, emotional and intellectual, thoroughly incompletely

• Pres. Lyndon Johnson, 1965:…” So we must be ready for to fight in Vietnam, but the ultimate victory will depend on the hearts and minds of the people who actually live out there.”

Crocodile tears

• False or fake tears; hypocritical sorrow

• Stems from the ancient myth that crocodile sobs like a being in a greediest depression to lower its prey and then sheds tears as it devours victim

• Reference from Shakespeare, Henry VI, Part II

Cheshire Cat

• A broadly grinning cat in the was Carroll’s Alice tales

• Cat could appear and disappear in its pronouncements were enigmatic or at least ambiguous

• It is said all that’s left behind is the smile of the cat

boilerplate

• If first to standardize text

• Standard language that appears in contracts, wills, or other legal forms is a good example

• Reference goes back to precomputer days when boilerplate reference refer to the syndicated material such as features or columns editorials that was widely distributed to papers especially weeklies became in plate form ready for the press is the type didn’t have to be set and offered a way to fill out the paper.

Big brother

• An all-powerful government organization monitoring and directing people’s actions

• Original reference comes from George Orwell’s version of a Stalin like dictator in his 1949 novel 1984

• “ big brother is watching you.”-

American dream

• Refers to the ideals of freedom and opportunity in which the United States was founded

• Phrase is often used to express personal pursuit of success material and otherwise

• Rags to riches climb from poverty to recognition wealth and honor

Alpha and Omega

• Outfit is the first letter in the Greek alphabet and Omega is the last

• Means from beginning to end, the whole 9 yards

• Originally referenced in the Bible revelations 22:13, Jesus says: “I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last.”