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

Buck Rogers
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their relatively humble character. It’s very cozy, but
it’s hardly Buckingham Palace.
Buck Rogers (bbk rojerz) A person who makes
use of futuristic technology, or the technology
itself. <strong>The</strong> archetypal space hero Buck Rogers,
created by Philip Francis Nowlan, made his fi rst
appearance in a space adventure story in the magazine
Amazing Stories in 1928. A year later, drawn by
Dick Calkins, he became the star of his own longrunning
comic strip Buck Rogers in the 25th Century,
which continued until the late 1960s, by which
time he had become a universally recognized symbol
of science fi ction. <strong>The</strong> futuristic adventures of
Buck Rogers were also brought to life on the radio
and in the cinema, with Rogers himself played by
former swimmer Buster Crabbe. <strong>The</strong>y selected for
the young couple a shiny silver Buck Rogers toaster.
buck stops here, the <strong>The</strong>re is no one else to whom
responsibility can be passed. <strong>The</strong> expression supposedly
has its roots in the game of poker, in which
players formerly placed a buckhorn knife on the
table to remind players whose turn it was to deal
next. <strong>The</strong> phrase “to pass the buck,” meaning “to
pass responsibility to someone else,” dates back to
the 19th century. In the 1940s, President Harry S.
Truman kept a sign on his desk reading “the buck
stops here” to remind himself that he bore ultimate
responsibility for decisions to be made. Running your
own company can be very satisfying and rewarding, but
you have to remember that if anything goes wrong, the
buck stops here.
Buffalo Bill (bufblo) Archetype of a dashing
cowboy fi gure. William Frederick Cody (1846–
1917) became internationally famous for his Wild
West Show, which toured the world with a cast of
sharpshooters, cowboys, and Native Americans.
Cody’s stagename recalled his past as a buffalo
hunter, in which role he was said to have killed
nearly 5,000 buffalo over an 18- month period to
supply railroad workers with meat in the 1870s.
His prowess as a rider and marksman brought him
Buffalo Bill status locally.
build a better mousetrap To come up with something
that is sure to prove a success. <strong>The</strong> phi los opher
and essayist Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–82)
is credited with formulating this phrase to express
the truth that if an idea is good enough it is bound
to enjoy success. He used it in one of his lectures:
“If a man can write a better book, preach a better
sermon, or make a better mousetrap than his
neighbor, though he builds his house in the woods
the world will make a beaten path to his door.” It’s
just as true today as it ever was—if you want to make
your fortune all you have to do is build a better
mousetrap.
Bulge, Battle of the (bulj) <strong>The</strong> struggle to stay
slim. <strong>The</strong> allusion is to the so- called Battle of the
Bulge that took place in the Ardennes region of
Belgium and Luxembourg in December 1944
when the German armed forces launched an unexpected
counterattack against the Allies in the closing
stages of World War II. <strong>The</strong> Allies were pushed
back by the determined armored assault until a
“bulge” in the front line some 60 miles deep had
opened up. It was not until the end of January
1945 that the German advance was reversed and
the bulge was fl attened out. <strong>The</strong> phrase has since
been taken up in the world of dieting to describe
the unending battle of many people to keep fl abbiness
at bay. This new product could prove a useful
weapon in the Battle of the Bulge for many people.
Bull, John See john bull.