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

uskin Symbol of tragic drama. <strong>The</strong> buskin, or
cothurnus, was originally a style of boot with a
thick sole that was conventionally worn by performers
of tragic roles in the Greek and Roman
theater to give actors a few inches of extra height
and thus contribute to the grandeur of their perfor
mance. “But in that bitter tirade upon Chantilly,
which appeared in yesterday’s ‘Musee,’ the satirist,
making some disgraceful allusions to the cobbler’s
change of name upon assuming the buskin, quoted
a Latin line about which we have often conversed”
(Edgar Allan Poe, “<strong>The</strong> Murders in the Rue
Morgue,” 1841). See also sock.
Buster Keaton (buster keetbn) Archetype of an
inventive physical comedian. Buster Keaton
(1896–1966) is remembered as one of the most
gifted clowns of the early silent- movie industry,
famous for his deadpan expression and for performing
his own death- defying stunts. “He gained
a reputation as the Buster Keaton of the cricket
world, a man who rarely seemed to have any
expression on his face and who was not one for
the excited cavortings that greet the fall of a
wicket; yet behind the mask a good deal of thought
was given to his bowling, and he was liked and
respected by his fellow players” (Gerry Cotter,
En gland versus West Indies, 1991).
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (buuch
kasidee, sundans) Archetypal outlaws of the Wild
West. Robert LeRoy Parker, otherwise known as
Butch Cassidy, and Harry Longbaugh (or Longabaugh),
otherwise known as the Sundance Kid
(having robbed a bank in Sundance, Nevada)
entered folklore by virtue of the crimes they committed
in the late 19th century and their inventive
attempts to evade the posse that pursued them.
Forced south by their pursuers, they are believed
to have died in a shoot- out with soldiers in Bolivia
in 1909. A romanticized version of their story was
presented in the classic Western movie Butch Cassidy
and the Sundance Kid (1969), in which the outlaws
were winningly played by Paul Newman and
Robert Redford. With those hats on they look like
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. See also wild
bunch.
Butler, Rhett See gone with the wind.
by bread alone See man cannot live by bread
alone.
by Jove ( jov) Exclamation of surprise or admiration.
<strong>The</strong> allusion is to the chief Roman god
Jupiter, whose Latin name was Jovis. Jupiter was
traditionally regarded as a source of good humor,
hence the related term jovial, meaning “jolly” or
“good- humored.” “ ‘Oh, by Jove!’ said Captain
Donnithorne, laughing. ‘Why, she looks as quiet
as a mouse. <strong>The</strong>re’s something rather striking
about her, though’ ” (George Eliot, Adam Bede,
1859).
Byronic (bironik) In a grand, dark, romantic,
passionate manner. <strong>The</strong> British poet George Gordon,
Lord Byron (1788–1824) became one of the
most celebrated men of his age through such epic
works as Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage (1812–18).
Both in his writing and in his personal life, Byron
was renowned for his tempestuous, passionate
character. He had several scandalous love affairs
and caused a sensation wherever he went before
ultimately dying in Greece after committing himself
to the fi ght for Greek in de pen dence. “But civil
strife and po liti cal violence, the quick and easy
expedients of the gun and the bomb, already
had for him a romantic and almost Byronic aura”
Byronic
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