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

inhabitants of the United States and the country’s
early Dutch colonists. <strong>The</strong> term ultimately alludes
to the venomous copperhead snake which, unlike
the rattlesnake, lacks a rattle that might warn of its
presence. <strong>The</strong>re are too many copperheads in the party
to keep big secrets from leaking to the press.
Cordelia (kordeeleeb) Archetype of an ideal, loving
daughter. Cordelia is the youn gest of the king’s
three daughters in William Shakespeare’s tragedy
king lear (1605) she is the only one to tell her
father the truth and the only one to offer the king
comfort after he goes mad. She is also admired for
her soft and gentle voice. In the end she proved a
Cordelia to her father’s deranged and dispossessed Lear.
cordon bleu (kordon(g) blb) Of the highest standard,
especially as regards cooking. A French term
meaning “blue ribbon,” it referred originally to the
blue ribbon from which French knights of the
Order of the Holy Ghost suspended the order itself.
<strong>The</strong> knights were famous for their superb dinners,
hence the link with high cuisine. In modern usage,
however, the phrase is often applied to matters
unrelated to cookery. <strong>The</strong> race established itself as a
cordon bleu event attracting the cream of society.
cordon sanitaire (kordon(g) sanitair) A barrier
created around a par tic u lar area that is considered
infectious in some way. A French phrase meaning
“sanitary line,” it was originally applied to areas
that had to be put in quarantine to prevent the
spread of disease. In modern usage, the expression
is applied more widely, especially in international
politics. A cordon sanitaire has been placed around
several countries considered ripe for revolution.
Corinth, it is not for every man to go to (korinth)
Some things, such as great wealth, are fated to
be enjoyed by only a few. This is a quotation
from the Epistles of Horace (65–8 b.c.). Corinth,
which was famed for its great wealth, was
deemed diffi cult to get to either because of the
expense required to travel there or because it
was awkwardly situated between two seas. As a
young man he had dreamed of making his million,
but it is not for every man to go to Corinth. See also
corinthian.
Corinthian (kbrintheebn) Licentious, dissolute.
<strong>The</strong> lax morals of the inhabitants of Corinth were
widely known throughout the ancient world. <strong>The</strong>
word Corinthian also denotes the most richly decorated
of the fi ve orders of Greek architecture. “He
never passed the line which divides the spruce
vices from the ugly; and hence, though his morals
had hardly been applauded, disapproval of them
had frequently been tempered with a smile. This
treatment had led to his becoming a sort of
regrater of other men’s gallantries, to his own
aggrandizement as a Corinthian, rather than to the
moral profi t of his hearers” (Thomas Hardy, Far
from the Madding Crowd, 1874). See also doric;
ionic; tuscan.
Coriolanus (koreeolaynbs) Archetype of an arrogant
politician. According to Roman legend,
Gaius Marcus Coriolanus was a Roman general
who threatened to lead his army against Rome in
the fi fth century b.c. until dissuaded from so
doing by his mother and wife. His contempt for
the public in general was memorably depicted in
William Shakespeare’s play Coriolanus (1608), in
which he was portrayed lamenting the fact that he
was obliged to recruit pop u lar support for his
cause. <strong>The</strong> press was unforgiving in its accounts of the
minister’s arrogance, calling him a Coriolanus for his
time.
Coriolanus
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