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

coliseum
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Baruch (1870–1965): “Let us not be deceived—
we are today in the midst of a cold war.” “At least
the easing of the cold war lessened Anglo-
American tensions over trade with communist
countries” (C. J. Bartlett, <strong>The</strong> Special Relationship,
1992). See also berlin wall; checkpoint charlie;
come in from the cold.
coliseum (kolbseebm) A large theater or other
building used for entertainment, sports, and
other events. <strong>The</strong> original Colosseum was the
vast amphitheater in Rome that was begun by
the emperor Vespasian and completed by Titus
in a.d. 80. <strong>The</strong> venue for a wide variety of
entertainments, ranging from gladiatorial combats
and naval battles to executions, the Colosseum
was so named in reference to a huge statue
(colossus) of Nero that once stood nearby. In this
utopia every town was well furnished with facilities
for public entertainment, including at least one major
coliseum for the per for mance of spectacles on a large
scale.
Col o nel Blimp A hidebound old soldier, or anyone
who is pompously at odds with new methods
or thinking. Col o nel Blimp was a creation of
British cartoonist David Low in the London Evening
Standard in the years following World War I
and was later the subject of a pop u lar but controversial
fi lm, <strong>The</strong> Life and Death of Col o nel Blimp
(1943), which incurred the wrath of prime minister
Winston Churchill, who feared that by criticizing
se nior military fi gures it would damage
war time morale. “<strong>The</strong> grand council of the movement
was dominated by retired military offi cers
of the Col o nel Blimp type, die- hard conservatives,
landed gentry and emancipated middleclass
women” (R. Thurlow, Fascism in Britain:
1918–1985, 1987).
colophon (kolbfon) A publisher’s emblem, traditionally
placed at the end of a book. <strong>The</strong> allusion is
to the ancient Ionian city of Colophon, whose
horse men were renowned for turning the tide of
battle with last- minute charges. By the same
token, to add a colophon means to add the fi nishing
stroke. “Master Gridley took out a great volume
from the lower shelf,—a folio in massive
oaken covers with clasps like prison hinges, bearing
the stately colophon, white on a ground of
vermilion, of Nicholas Jenson and his associates”
(Oliver Wendell Holmes, <strong>The</strong> Guardian Angel,
1887).
colossus (kblosbs) Something that is very large
in size. <strong>The</strong> reference is ultimately to a huge statue
of ancient Egypt, described by the Greek historian
Herodotus (c. 484–c. 430/420 b.c.) but is more
usually associated with the Colossus of Rhodes, a
massive bronze statue of Apollo that formerly
stood at the entrance to the harbor of Rhodes.
Erected around 292–280 b.c., it was destroyed by
an earthquake in 225 b.c. <strong>The</strong> modern conception
that the statue actually bestrode the harbor
entrance is thought to be erroneous. In due course
the word came to be applied to any large statue
and may now be used to refer to any person or
thing of impressive size, reputation, power, etc. “I
found the wall—it was only a foot or two beyond
my reach. With a heave I had my foot on the spike,
and turning, I had both hands on the opposite wall.
<strong>The</strong>re I stood, straddling like a Colossus over a
waste of white waters, with the cave fl oor far
below me in the gloom” (John Buchan, Prester John,
1910). See also eighth wonder of the world.
Columbus (kblbmbbs) Archetype of a great
explorer, especially one who discovers what many
considered a new world. <strong>The</strong> Italian explorer