Allusions Quiz 1 (4th Quarter)

Question 1

Philistines/Philistinism

Answer 1

David and Goliath, Enemies of the Israelites/ A person with no appreciation for culture.

Question 2

Faust/ Faustian Bargain

Answer 2

Christopher Marlowe, Mephistopheles/ Sacrificing one’s self or one’s values for what one desires.

Question 3

Coals to Newcastle

Answer 3

Coal mining city, Northern England/ Giving a superfluous gift, gratuitous and unnecessary

Question 4

Freudian Slip

Answer 4

Austrian physician and psychotherapist/ An unintentional or accidental error, reveals one’s subconscious thoughts or desires.

Question 5

Sisyphus/Sisyphean

Answer 5

King who offended Zeus/ forced to roll a giant boulder up a hill/ A seemingly endless, perhaps futile task.

Question 6

Methuselah

Answer 6

Oldest patriarch in the Bible, 969 years old/ Extremely old person

Question 7

Scylla and Charybdis

Answer 7

Many headed sea monster, whirlpool, narrow strait/ Between two equal dangers, avoiding one means getting closer to the other.

Question 8

Holy Grail

Answer 8

Last Supper/ Extremely desirable or valuable, long and difficult quest

Question 9

Luddites

Answer 9

Smashed textile machinery, British laborers/ Opposes change, especially industrial or technological advances

Question 10

Pass the Buck

Answer 10

President Harry Truman/ Shift responsibility, and often blame to another person

Question 11

Babylon

Answer 11

Jews, The prophet Daniel/ A place of decadence and corruption

Question 12

Phoenix/ Rising from the ashes

Answer 12

Mythological Bird/ Symbolize rebirth or resurrection, surmounting great obstacles

Question 13

Xanadu

Answer 13

Mongolia, Kublai Khan, Samuel Taylor Coleridge/ Magnificent, beautiful, almost magical place.

Question 14

Muckrakers

Answer 14

Theodore Roosevelt, reform minded journalists/Authors or journalists who expose corruption.

Question 15

Sine qua non

Answer 15

Latin/ Essential ingredient without which an endeavor or certain situation would be impossible.