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

Boris Karloff
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with the Borgias, signifying a “fatal honor” of
some kind. Other evils associated with the family
included various acts of treachery, murder, and
incest, although they were also noted patrons of
the arts and many of the accusations leveled
against them were probably the inventions of their
rivals. “I watched her recoiling from that poulet
en casserole, as if it had been something dished up
by the Borgias” (P. G. Wode house, Cocktail Time,
1958).
Boris Karloff (kahrlof) A person with a menacing,
ugly appearance. <strong>The</strong> allusion is to the Hollywood
movie actor Boris Karloff (William Henry
Pratt; 1887–1969), who starred in Frankenstein
(1931) and <strong>The</strong> Mummy (1931) among numerous
other black- and- white horror movies, often heavily
made up. He was so badly beaten up that after the
fi ght he looked like Boris Karloff.
born- again Of or relating to conversion to a partic
u lar cause, often specifi cally referring to a
renewed zeal for the Christian faith. <strong>The</strong> term has
biblical origins, appearing in John 3:3 in Christ’s
explanation to Nicodemus that only by being
reborn spiritually could he reach heaven: “Verily,
verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again,
he cannot see the kingdom of God.” “<strong>The</strong>y take the
risk of fi nancial insecurity in order to be born
again workers” (Guardian, December 7, 1984).
Bosch, Hieronymus See hieronymus bosch.
Boston Strangler (bostbn) Archetype of a vicious
serial murderer. <strong>The</strong> Boston Strangler was Albert
DeSalvo (1933–73), who strangled 13 women in
Boston, Massachusetts, between June 1962 and
January 1964, causing widespread panic. He was
eventually caught and sentenced to life in prison,
but was ultimately stabbed to death by a fellow
inmate. After what she had been told about her daughter’s
new boyfriend she had expected a cross between
Quasimodo and the Boston Strangler.
Boston Tea Party An act signalling the start of a
rebellion. <strong>The</strong> Tea Act of 1773 allowed the East
India Company to ship tea to America at advantageous
tax rates, to the detriment of American
merchants, who were deprived of any say in the
levying of such taxes. In 1773 outraged patriots
disguised themselves as Native Americans and
boarded British ships in Boston, tipping their cargoes
of tea into the harbor. This act presaged the
outbreak of the American Revolution, which
began two years later. This open act of defi ance
reminded some observers of the Boston Tea Party.
Boswell (bozwel) A person who rec ords the
events of another’s life, especially one who knows
his subject intimately. James Boswell (1740–95)
was the Scottish writer who compiled a detailed
and illuminating Life of the celebrated lexicographer
Samuel Johnson (1709–84), recording his
conversations and describing his travels around
the British Isles. Published in 1791, Boswell’s Life
of Samuel Johnson set the standard for all subsequent
biographies. He played Boswell to the rock star’s
Johnson, recording every quip that fell from his lips.
bottomless pit A person, project, or other entity
that consumes an apparently endless supply of
money or other resources; a pit or hole that seems
to have no end. In its original biblical context the
phrase refers to the pit of hell (Revelation 9:1–2,
11), variously identifi ed elsewhere by such epithets
as the Abyss or the pit of the dragon. “Now, what is
Costaguana? It is the bottomless pit of 10 per cent
loans and other fool investments. Eu ro pe an capital