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

Clio See muses.
clockwork orange A person who has been brainwashed
to fi t into society. <strong>The</strong> allusion is to the
1962 Anthony Burgess novel (and 1971 movie) A
Clockwork Orange, which depicts the violent mayhem
caused by a rebellious gang of teenagers who
are eventually subjected to forcible conditioning
designed to adjust their antisocial characters. Burgess
himself adapted his title from a cockney
expression, queer as a clockwork orange, meaning
“homosexual.” She felt as if the family was turning
her into a clockwork orange who no longer had ideas of
her own.
close encounter Intimate contact of some kind,
especially with alien beings. <strong>The</strong> allusion is to the
1977 movie Close Encounters of the Third Kind,
directed by Steven Spielberg, in which human
beings and aliens come into direct contact for the
fi rst time. A close encounter of the fi rst kind
involves a sighting of a UFO, a close encounter of
the second kind involves an alien landing, a close
encounter of the third kind involves actual contact,
and a close encounter of the fourth kind
involves abduction by aliens. <strong>The</strong> phrase is now
commonly used to describe any kind of meeting,
whether with aliens, people, animals, or sensations.
“<strong>The</strong> pain is severe and no predator would
risk a second close encounter with these snakes”
(Desmond Morris, Animal Watching—A Field Guide
to Animal Behaviour, 1991).
clothed and in one’s right mind Fully aware and
ready to perform any undertaking. <strong>The</strong> phrase
alludes to an exorcism carried out by Christ on a
man possessed by demons, as related at Luke 8:35:
“<strong>The</strong>n they went out to see what was done; and
came to Jesus, and found the man, out of whom
the dev ils were departed, sitting at the feet of
Jesus, clothed, and in his right mind: and they
were afraid.” <strong>The</strong> rest of the family was surprised to
fi nd this matriarch, despite her years, clothed and very
much in her right mind.
Clotho See fates.
cloud by day, pillar of fi re by night Unfailing
guidance or advice. <strong>The</strong> phrase comes from Exodus
13:21–22, which relates how the Israelites
were guided on their journey from Egypt to
Canaan by a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of
fi re by night. “When I was a boy, I always thought a
pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fi re by night
was a pit, with its steam, and its lights, and the
burning bank,—and I thought the Lord was always
at the pit- top” (D. H. Lawrence, Sons and Lovers,
1913). See also pillar of fi re.
cloud cuckoo land A realm of fantasy or foolishness;
something that exists only in the imagination.
<strong>The</strong> phrase has its origins in the comedy <strong>The</strong>
Birds, by the Greek playwright Aristophanes (445–
c. 388 b.c.): It is the name of an imaginary city
built by the birds where two Athenians hope they
will be able escape the attentions of the legal
authorities who are pursuing them. If they think I’m
going all that way just to be bored to death then they’re
living in cloud cuckoo land.
cloud nine See on cloud nine.
cloud no bigger than a man’s hand
cloud no bigger than a man’s hand A relatively
insignifi cant portent of something much greater
about to happen. <strong>The</strong> phrase alludes to 1 Kings
18:44–45, which describes how, having defeated
the prophets of Baal, Elijah eagerly awaits the
coming of rain in response to his prayers. <strong>The</strong> rain
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