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

has been fl ung into it with both hands for years”
(Joseph Conrad, Nostromo, 1904).
Boudicca (boodikb) Archetype of a formidable
woman. Boudicca (sometimes less accurately
called Boadicea) was a queen of the Iceni tribe of
eastern En gland, who rose up in revolt against the
Roman occupation. She sacked Colchester. London,
and St. Albans before being defeated by the
Roman legions under Suetonius Paulinus. She
committed suicide by taking poison in a.d. 62. She
stormed into the party like some Boudicca on a chariot.
Bountiful, Lady See lady bountiful.
Bounty, the See captain bligh.
Bovary, Madame See madame bovary.
bowdlerize (bodlbriz, bowdlbriz) To expurgate a
piece of writing by removing any obscene or other
controversial content. <strong>The</strong> reference is to the
retired British physician Dr. Thomas Bowdler
(1754–1825) who in 1818 published a 10- volume
edition of the works of William Shakespeare, with
any vulgarity that might cause offense to contemporary
readers removed or rewritten. <strong>The</strong> most
notorious of his changes included substantial cuts
to celebrated speeches made by Juliet and King
Lear. His version of Shakespeare’s plays became a
best- seller, as did his “improved” versions of other
classics designed to be suitable for a family audience,
but he is remembered today as the quintessence
of censorious prudishness. He gave the
detective a bowdlerized account of what had taken place
in the bedroom prior to the shooting.
bowels of compassion <strong>The</strong> source of a person’s
sympathy or pity. In biblical times the bowels were
commonly believed to be the seat of a person’s
emotions, as illustrated by 1 John 3:17: “Whose
hath this world’s good, and seeth his brother have
need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion
from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him?”
Other examples include 2 Corinthians 6:12;
Colossians 3:12. Jeremiah in his sorrows laments,
“My bowels! My bowels!” (4:19), and Job in his
mental suffering similarly complains, “My bowels
boiled” (30:27). Thus, to shut up the bowels of
compassion is to behave without compassion or
mercy. “It is the proper language—working upon
her father’s bowels of compassion. Fathers always
have bowels of compassion at last” (Anthony Trollope,
Ayala’s Angel, 1881).
boycott (boikot) To shun someone or something.
<strong>The</strong> allusion is to Captain Charles Boycott (1832–
97), a land agent of County Mayo who treated his
Irish tenants very harshly, becoming highly unpopu
lar. In 1880 his disgruntled tenants, their families,
and most of the rest of the local population
adopted a policy of refusing to talk to him or deal
with him in any way until he agreed to reduce
their rents, a tactic that became known as “boycotting.”
We have decided to boycott the store until they
take these publications off their shelves.
Boy Wonder See batman and robin.
Bracknell, Lady See lady bracknell.
Brady Bunch (braydee) A group of wholesome
all- American children. <strong>The</strong> allusion is to the U.S.
tele vi sion series <strong>The</strong> Brady Bunch (1969–74), which
revolved around the suburban Brady family, comprising
a couple and their six children (three each
from previous marriages). All the children were
lively, good- natured, and cheerful, embodying the
Brady Bunch
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