The Facts on File Dictionary of Allusions - Green Valley High School

War of Jenkins's Ear
496
began to spread that those controlling the project had
had a falling- out and war had broken out in heaven.
War of Jenkins’s Ear See jenkins’s ear, war of.
war to end all wars, the World War I. This expression
was fi rst adopted while the war was still continuing,
presumably in a halfhearted attempt to
make the slaughter seem more justifi ed. It may
have been suggested originally by an H. G. Wells
book entitled <strong>The</strong> War That Will End War (1914),
but was soon shown to be a hollow sentiment with
the outbreak of World War II, among other confl
icts. “Tolkien himself fought in ‘the war to end
all wars,’ but saw his sons fi ghting in the one after
that” (T. A. Shippey, <strong>The</strong> Road to Middle- Earth, 1982).
washed in the blood of the lamb Redeemed by
faith or otherwise purifi ed. <strong>The</strong> phrase comes
from Revelation 7:14, which describes a host of
people in white robes before the throne of God:
“. . . they which came out of great tribulation, and
have washed their robes, and made them white in
the blood of the Lamb.” “Make them clean, oh
God; wash away their offences in the blood of the
Lamb; and when their spirits pass, oh receive Thou
them into the heaven of the just” (H. Rider Haggard,
Allan Quatermain, 1887).
wash one’s hands of To refuse to accept guilt for
some misdeed or to involve oneself further in a
dubious or apparently ill- fated enterprise. <strong>The</strong>
expression alludes to the episode in Matthew in
which pontius pilate washes his hands to emphasize
his refusal to accept any responsibility for crucifying
Christ after the mob has rejected his offer
of a pardon in favor of Barabbas: “When Pilate saw
that he could prevail nothing, but that rather a
tumult was made, he took water, and washed his
hands before the multitude, saying, I am innocent
of the blood of this just person: see ye to it” (Matthew
27: 24). Following his dismissal as manager of the
team he washed his hands of them and refused to accept
any responsibility for any further disappointments in the
competition.
watch and pray Be alert and put your trust in
God. <strong>The</strong> expression is biblical in origin, occurring
in Matthew 26:41 and Mark 14:38 (where
Christ is speaking to his disciples at Gethsemane).
“I shall expect your clear decision when I return
this day fortnight. Meantime, watch and pray that
you enter not into temptation: the spirit, I trust, is
willing, but the fl esh, I see, is weak. I shall pray for
you hourly” (Charlotte Brontë, Jane Eyre, 1847).
Watergate (wahtergayt) <strong>The</strong> po liti cal scandal
that shook the United States in the 1970s and
resulted in the resignation of President Richard
Nixon and the besmirching of the U.S. po liti cal
establishment as a whole. Watergate was actually
the name of an apartment complex in Washington,
D.C., which was the scene of a break- in that led to
the uncovering of offi cial attempts to conceal a
high- level conspiracy in which Nixon himself
was implicated. Ever since then the term Watergate
has been synonymous with po liti cal corruption.
“Many teachers know of their own cover- up
operations, and fear lest a personal Watergate
scandal be revealed” (Guy Claxton, Being a Teacher,
1989). See also all the president’s men; deep
throat; - gate; smoking gun.
water into wine <strong>The</strong> miraculous transformation
of something ordinary into something much more
valuable. <strong>The</strong> allusion is to the biblical episode
describing the marriage in Cana, during which
Christ turned water into wine for the guests at a