Historical Allusions

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Atilla

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barbarian, rough leader; king of the Huns from 433-453 and the most successful of the barbarian invaders of the Roman Empire

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Beserk

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destructively or freneticlly violent, mental or emotional upset; a warrior clothed in bear skin who worked imself into a frenzy before battle

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Bloomer

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undergarments for dance or active wear; underwear formally worn by females that was composed of loose trousers gathered at the ankles; invented by Amelia Jenks Bloomer (1818-94)

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Bowdlerize

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to censor, expurgate prudishly to modify, as by shortening or simplifying or by skewing content; after Thomas Bowdler who expurgated Shakespeare

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Boycott

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to act together in abstaining from using, Charles C. Boycott

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Canopy

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an overhnging protection or shelter, to cover or hover above; Middle English word canape taken from Latin Canpeum or Conopeum meaning "net curtains"

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Casanova

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a man who is amorously and gallantly attentive to women; a promiscuous man

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Chauvinist

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one who has a militant devotin to and glorification of one' cuntry; fanatical patriotism, prejudiced belief in the supreiority of one's own gender, group, or kind; after Nicolas Chauvin a legendary French soldier devoted to Napoleon

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Derrick

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a machine for hoisting and moving heavy objects, consisting of a movable stationary beam, a tall framework over a drilled hole, esp an oil well, used to support boring equipment, named after a London hangman Derrick (1600)

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Donnybrook

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any riotous occasion; taken from the donnybrook fair, held in Dublin County, Ireland

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Dungaree

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a style of casual work pants; from a coarse cotton fabric of east indian origin from the Hindu word dungri

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El Dorado

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a place of reputed wealth; from the legendary city in South America, sought by early Spanish explorers

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Hackney

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to make omething banal or trite by frequent use, a horse for ordinary riding or driving, a horse kept fr hire, let out, employed, or done for hire; from Hackney, the most common breed of heavy harness horses in the US

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Horatio Alger

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one who believes that a person can make it on his own merits, American writer of inspiration adventure books

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Laconic

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using or marked by the use of few words, brief; Lakonikos, from the reputatio of the Spartans for brevity of speech

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Limerick

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a humorous or nonsense verse of five lines; from Limerick, a county in Republic of Ireland where the form is said to have originated

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Machiavellian

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of or relating to Machiavelli or Machiavellianism, expedience, deceit and cunning, Niccolo Machiavellie, a philosopher known for his treaties and political expediency wrote "The Prince"

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Marathon

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a long distance race, source of the Victory of the Greeks over Persians in 490 B.C.

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McCarthism

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modern witch hunt, the practice of publicizing accusations of political disloyalty or subversions with insufficient regard to evidenc, the use of nfair ivestigatory or accusatory methods, in order to suppress oposition; after Joseph McCarthy

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Meander

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to wander aimlessly; originating from Meander, a river in Turkey noted for its winding course

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Mesmerize

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to induce the state of being hypnotized; F.A. Mesmer, an American physician who used hypnotism and developed a theory called "animal magnetism"

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Nostradamus

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fortune teller; French physician and astrologer who wroe a book of rhymed prophecies

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Sardonic

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bitterly ironical, sarcastic, sneering, from a Sardinian plant said to bring on fits of laughter

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Shangai

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to cheat or steal, to make drugs, liquor, etc. To bring or get by trickery or force; a seaport in East China, from Shanghai because sailor for voyages there were often secured by illicit menas

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Spartan

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frugal and bare, simple disciplined and stern and brave, having to do w Sparta, an portant City in Greece. The Spartans were known for simplicity of life, severity, courage, and brevity of speech

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Stonewall

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hinder or obstruct by evasive, delaying tactices, in cricket; trying to go completely defensive, blocking every ball without trying to score; relating to Stonewall Jackson, Confederate General from the remark during the Battle of Bull Run "Look at Jackson's men; they stand like a stone wall."

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Swiftian

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satirical, from Jonathan Swift's famous satire on politics Gulliver's Travels

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Sybaritic

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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

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Thespian

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having to do with theater or acting, Thespis

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Uncle Sam

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government of people of the US, derived from the USA, a businessman with the intials on shpping boxes in 1800s

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Utopia

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an imaginary and perfect society, source of Thomas More's novel Utopia

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Wagnerian

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style of music, loud, dramatic, radical; having to do with Wagner, his music, or his musical styles or theories

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Waterloo

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a decisive or final defeat or setback, source of Napoleon's last defeat