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

Bob Cratchit
58
mild- mannered Bob Acres agrees to fi ght a duel
for the hand of Lydia Languish, only to fi nd his
courage “oozing out at the palms of his hands”
when he fi nally has to face his rival suitor. “ ‘If you
are busy, another time will do as well,’ continued
the bishop, whose courage like Bob Acres’ had
oozed out, now that he found himself on the
ground of battle’ ” (Anthony Trollope, Barchester
Towers, 1857).
Bob Cratchit (krachit) A loving but impoverished
father. Bob Cratchit is the hapless clerk of
Ebenezer scrooge in A Christmas Carol (1843) by
Charles Dickens (1812–70). He receives only a
meager wage from his employer to support his
wife and fi ve children, but does not allow his
straitened circumstances to prevent him being a
loving and devoted husband and father, especially
to his sickly son Tiny Tim. <strong>The</strong> offi ce was crowded
with a group of miserable Bob Cratchits clearly struggling
to make ends meet.
Body- Snatchers, Invasion of the See invasion
of the body- snatchers.
Boeotian (beeoshbn) Dimwitted, stupid, uneducated.
<strong>The</strong> allusion is to Boeotia, a rural region of
ancient Greece whose inhabitants were reputed to
be very slow witted (supposedly caused by the
cloyingly damp climate of their homeland). By the
same token any person suspected of lacking any
sensitivity toward music was accused of having
Boeotian ears. Contrary to their reputation,
however, the Boeotians included among their
number such intellectual luminaries as Hesiod,
Pindar, and Plutarch. “At the same time, who can
avoid smiling at the earnestness and Boeotian simplicity
(if indeed there be not an underhand satire
in it), with which that ‘Incident’ is here brought
forward . . .’ ” (Thomas Carlyle, Sartor Resartus,
1833–34).
boldly go where no man has gone before, to See
star trek.
Bolshevik (bolshbvik) Revolutionary or radical
in nature. <strong>The</strong> original Bolsheviks were members
of Lenin’s Rus sian Revolutionary Party, who came
to power in 1917 in the wake of the overthrow of
the Rus sian monarchy. <strong>The</strong> name Bolshevik came
originally from the Rus sian bol’she, meaning
“more.” It was inspired by the fact that at the party
conferences of 1902–03 there were more Leninists
present than supporters of other factions.
During the era of the Soviet Union, the term was
commonly applied to communists anywhere; in
modern usage, any obstreperous person, particularly
one with Leftist leanings, may be labeled a
Bolshevik, or bolshie. This announcement did not go
down well with the Bolsheviks in the gallery, who began
throwing paper cups onto the heads of the delegates
below.
Bonaparte See napoleon.
Bond, James See james bond.
bone of my bones See fl esh of my fl esh.
bones, dry See valley of dry bones.
bonfi re of the vanities A symbol of the destruction
of the follies and delusions of mankind. <strong>The</strong>
phrase refers ultimately to the reformist preaching
of the radical Dominican leader Girolamo
Savonarola (1452–98), who urged the people of
Florence to purge themselves of material vanities
by throwing paintings, mirrors, musical instru-