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

Bashan, bull of See bull of bashan.
Basil Fawlty See fawlty towers.
basilisk stare (basblisk; bazblisk) A cold stare; a
glance that exerts a profound, even deadly infl uence
over the person at whom it is directed. <strong>The</strong>
basilisk (virtually synonymous with the cockatrice)
was a serpent of mythological origin,
hatched by a reptile from the egg of a cock and
reputed to be able to kill its victim with a mere
glance or with the exhalation of its breath. In
modern usage, the word basilisk may refer to any
example of the genus Basiliscus of tropical America,
which includes a variety of small arboreal
semiaquatic lizards (the males of which often have
an infl atable head crest used in display). “Without
softening very much the basiliks nature of his stare,
he said, impassively: ‘We are coming to that part
of my investigation, sir’ ” (Joseph Conrad, <strong>The</strong>
Secret Agent, 1907).
Bastille (basteel) A formidable or impregnable
prison. <strong>The</strong> Bastille prison in Paris, built originally
as a fortress in the 14th century, was the most
notorious prison in France prior to the French
Revolution of July 14, 1789, when the mob
stormed its gates and freed all the prisoners inside.
<strong>The</strong> prison was subsequently sacked; ever since
then July 14 has been celebrated as Bastille Day.
<strong>The</strong> word itself comes from the Old French bastir,
meaning “to build.” In modern usage, the name
Bastille may be used fi guratively of any bastion of
oppression. “Yet the other half was as determined
as ever and in a better position for defence, since it
consisted of enormous convents and monasteries
with walls like the Bastille, which could not be so
easily brushed out of our way” (Arthur Conan
Doyle, <strong>The</strong> Adventures of Gerard, 1896).
Bates Motel (bayts) An unappealing and sinister
hotel, boarding house, or other building. <strong>The</strong> allusion
is to the terrifying 1960 movie psycho,
directed by Alfred Hitchcock, the action of which
takes place largely in the lonely Bates Motel and in
the neighboring house occupied by its own er,
the psychotic, mother- obsessed Norman Bates.
“Most travellers with their wits about them and an
eye for aesthetics would have preferred to rest at
the Bates Motel” (Paul Bryers, <strong>The</strong> Adultery Department,
1993).
Bathsheba See david and bathsheba.
batrachomyomachia
Batman and Robin Archetypal comic-book superheroes,
who seek to right wrongs and defend the
innocent in a crime- ridden world. Dressed in a
distinctive bat- like cape and mask, Batman (otherwise
known as the Caped Crusader) was the alias
of rich Gotham City socialite Bruce Wayne. <strong>The</strong>
creation of Bob Kane (1915–98), he made his fi rst
appearance in Detective Comics in 1939 and subsequently
became a star of tele vi sion and fi lm.
Robin, the Boy Wonder, was introduced as Batman’s
equally heroic assistant, while Batgirl was
added in 1967. <strong>The</strong> somewhat camp fl avor of the
1960s U.S. tele vi sion series based on the original
characters means that modern references to Batman
and Robin are usually jocular and intended to
point out defi ciencies in the people to whom the
tag is applied. You look like Batman and Robin in those
anoraks. See also gotham.
batrachomyomachia (bbtrakomiomakeeb) A
great deal of fuss about something trivial; much
ado about nothing. <strong>The</strong> word, which means “the
battle of the frogs and mice,” originated as the title
of a mock heroic epic formerly attributed to
Homer (eighth century b.c.) but more probably is
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