Historical Allusions Flashcards
barbarian, rough leader; King of Huns from 433-453 and the most successful of the barbarian invaders of the Roman Empire
Attila
destructively or frenetically violent, mental, or emotionally upset; a warrior clothed in bear skin who worked himself into a frenzy before battle
Berserk
undergarments for dance or active wear; underwear formally worn by females that was composed of loose trousers gathered at the ankles; invented by Amelia Jenkins Bloomer, an American social reformer
Bloomer
to censor, expurgate prudishly, to modify, as by shortening or simplifying or by skewing content; after Thomas Bowdler, who expurgated Shakespeare
Bowdlerize
to act together in abstaining from using, buying, or dealing with as an expression of protest or disfavor or as a means of coercion, the act or an instance of ____ after a former British soldier who refused to charge lower rents and ejected his tenants
Boycott (Charles C. Boycott)
an overhanging protection or shelter, to cover or hover above; Middle English word canape taken from Latin Canapeum or Conopeum, meaning net curtains
Canopy
a man who is amorously and gallantly attentive to women; a promiscuous man; Giovanni Jacopo Casanova De Seingalt, an Italian adventurer who established a legendary reputation as a lover
Casanova
one who has a militant devotion to and glorification of one’s country, fanatical patriotism, prejudiced belief in the superiority of one’s own gender, group, or kind; after Nicolas Chauvin, a legendary French soldier devoted to Napoleon
Chauvinist
a machine for hoisting and moving heavy objects, consisting of a movable boom equipped with cables and pulleys and connected to the base of an upright stationary beam, a tall framework over a drilled hole, esp. an oil well, used to support boring equipment; named after a London hangman
Derrick
any riotous occasion; taken from the Donnybrook Fair, held in Dublin County, Ireland until 1855, which was famous for rioting and dissipation
Donnybrook
a style of casual work pants; from a coarse cotton fabric of East Indian origin; from the Hindu word dungri
Dungaree
a place of reputed wealth; from the legendary city in South America, sought by early Spanish explorers
El Dolorado
to make something banal or trite by frequent use, a horse for ordinary riding or driving, a horse kept for hire, let out, employed, or done for hire; from Hackney, the most common breed of heavy harness horses in the US
Hackney
one who believes that a person can make it on his own merits; from American writer of inspirational adventure books
Horatio Alger
using or marked by the use of few words, brief; Lakonikos, from the reputation of Spartans for brevity of speech
Laconic
a humorous or nonsense verse of five lines; from a county in the Republic of Ireland where the form is said to have originated
Limerick
of or relating to Machiavelli or Machiavellianism, characterized by expedience, deceit, and cunning; after Niccolo Machiavelli, a philosopher known for his treaties and political expediency; wrote “The Prince”
Machiavellian
a long distance race; source of the Victory of the Greeks over Persians in 490 BC
Marathon
modern witch hunt, the practice of publicizing accusations of political disloyalty or subversions with insufficient regard to evidence, the use of unfair investigatory or accusatory methods, in order to suppress opposition; after Joseph McCarthy, an American politician who as a US Senator from WWI publicly accused many citizens of subversion
McCarthyism
to wander aimlessly; originating from Meander, a river in Turkey noted for its winding course
Meander
to induce the state of being hypnotized; FA Mesmer, a Austrian physician who used hypnotism and developed a theory called “animal magnetism”
Mesmerize
fortune teller; French physician and astrologer who wrote a book of rhymed prophecies
Nostradamus
bitterly ironical, sarcastic, sneering; from a Sardinian plant said to bring on fits of laughter
Sardonic
frugal and bare, simple, disciplined and stern and brave; having to do with Sparta, an important City in Greece; they were known for simplicity of life, severity, courage, and brevity of speech
Spartan
hinder or obstruct by evasive, delaying tactics; in cricket: trying to go completely defensive, blocking every ball without trying to score; relating to Stonewall Jackson, a Confederate General, from the remark during the Battle of Bull Run: “Look as Jackson’s men; they stand like a stone wall.”
Stonewall
satirical; from JS’s famous satire on politics in GT
Swiftian
luxurious, voluptuous, a person who cares very much for luxury and pleasure; an inhabitant of Sybars, a town founded by the Greeks in ancient Italy, which was known for its luxury
Sybaritic
having to do with the theater or acting; relating to Thespians, so called from Thespis, a Attic poet of the 6th century BC, reputed to be the father of the Greek tragedy
Thespian
govt of people of the US; derived from the USA– a businessman with initials on shipping boxes in the 1880s
Uncle Sam
an imaginary and perfect society; British 1610, source: Tomas More’s novel
Utopia
style of music; loud, dramatic, radical; having to do with Wagner, his music, or his musical styles or theories
Wagnerian
a decisive or final defeat or setback; Belgian 1816, source of Napoleon’s last defeat
Waterloo
