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

Desmond delivers the celebrated line “Mr. DeMille,
I’m ready for my close- up now.” “He was a
fabulous showman, the Cecil B. DeMille of the
dinner party trail, equally happy embracing Henry
Kissinger or Liza Minnelli or Andy Warhol or Elizabeth
Taylor, who was one of the more celebrated
of his many lovers” (William Shawcross, <strong>The</strong> Shah’s
Last Ride, 1989).
Celestial City Heaven. <strong>The</strong> allusion is to John
Bunyan’s religious allegory pilgrim’s progress
(1678, 1684), in which the Celestial City is identifi
ed as Christian’s ultimate destination. According
to Bunyan, the Celestial City is made of pearls and
precious gems, and the streets are paved with gold.
“And it was as if she had glimpsed the celestial city
knowing that she could never enter in” (Winifred
Beechey, <strong>The</strong> Reluctant Samaritan, 1991).
centaur (sentor) One of a race of mythical
creatures having the head, arms, and torso of a
man and the lower body and legs of a horse. Centaurs
belonged to Greek mythology and were
deemed to represent the bestial aspects of human
nature, although later tradition generally depicts
them as benevolent, gentle creatures. <strong>The</strong>y may
have been inspired by the appearance of the
ancient <strong>The</strong>ssalians who were the fi rst to tame
horses and learn how to ride. According to legend,
the centaurs were defeated in battle by the
human Lapiths, an epic encounter depicted in the
celebrated friezes that decorated the Parthenon.
“He was dressed in a Newmarket coat and tightfi
tting trousers; wore a shawl round his neck;
smelt of lamp- oil, straw, orange- peel, horses’
provender, and sawdust; and looked a most
remarkable sort of Centaur, compounded of the
stable and the play- house” (Charles Dickens, Hard
Times, 1854). See also chiron.
cesarean section
center cannot hold, the See things fall apart,
the center cannot hold.
central casting A source of personnel who conform
exactly to what is expected. <strong>The</strong> allusion is
to Central Casting, an or ga ni za tion set up in 1926
to supply extras for Hollywood movies. “All black
suede shoes and double- breasted pinstripe, he
seemed central casting’s idea of the ideal Establishment
man” ( Jeremy Paxman, Friends in High
Places, 1990).
Cephalus See unerring as the dart of procris.
Cerberus (serbbrbs) A guardian; a watchkeeper.
<strong>The</strong> allusion is to the fi erce three- headed dog that,
according to Greek mythology, guarded the
entrance to the underworld. It has been suggested
that the legend of Cerberus may have been inspired
by the ancient Egyptian practice of guarding graves
with dogs. “When a woman knows that she is
guarded by a watch- dog, she is bound to deceive
her Cerberus, if it be possible, and is usually not
ill- disposed to deceive also the own er of Cerberus.
Lady Glencora felt that Mrs. Marsham was her
Cerberus” (Anthony Trollope, Can You Forgive Her?
1864). See also labors of hercules; sop to
cerberus.
cesarean section (sbzaireebn) A surgical incision
through the abdominal and uterine walls to allow
for the delivery of a baby. This procedure (also
spelled caesarean section and often referred to
simply as a cesarean) traces its name back to the
Roman emperor Julius Caesar (100–44 b.c.), who
was reputed to have been born in this way. Medical
experts however, have questioned whether Caesar’s
mother could possibly have survived such an
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