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

suggesting all manner of outrageous reasons why something
that was perfectly obvious to everyone else could
not possibly be right.
dev ils believe and tremble Even the most wicked
people have a conscience or lingering belief in
good that may trouble them. <strong>The</strong> sentiment
appears in the Bible: “Thou believest that there is
one God; thou doest well: the dev ils also believe,
and tremble” (James 2:19). Fear convulsed the murderer’s
face when he was shown photographs of his victim,
proving that even dev ils believe and tremble, as the saying
goes.
Dev il’s Island A forbidding place of confi nement
or isolation, from which a person may well not
return. <strong>The</strong> original Dev il’s Island was an island off
the coast of French Guiana, which was formerly
the site of a notorious penal colony. Due to the
harsh conditions on the island, many prisoners
died there. <strong>The</strong> prison was closed in 1953 and the
island was remarketed as a tourist resort. He felt as
if he was being sent to some remote Dev il’s Island, and
that soon no one back home would even remember his
name.
Diana of the Ephesians (dianb, efeezhbnz) Someone
or thing that serves to distract attention from
the truth. According to Acts 19:24–28, Diana of
the Ephesians was a fertility goddess with many
breasts. Paul urged Diana’s worshipers to give her
up but met with objections from the local silversmiths,
who were earning a great deal of money
selling trinkets at the temple of Diana. <strong>The</strong> followers
of Diana shouted “Great is Diana of the Ephesians,”
and ever since then the phrase has been
quoted in circumstances when a person stands
accused of being blinded by his or her own selfinterest.
“<strong>The</strong>n he wad rather claver wi’ a daft
quean they ca’ Diana Vernon (weel I wet they
might ca’ her Diana of the Ephesians, for she’s little
better than a heathen—better? she’s waur—a
Roman, a mere Roman)” (Sir Walter Scott, Rob
Roy, 1817). See also artemis.
diaspora (diaspbrb) <strong>The</strong> dispersion of people
through migration or forced removal. <strong>The</strong> word
was originally applied to the scattering of the
Jews after the Babylonian exile. In modern usage
the word has been applied much more generally,
though it is still often understood to refer specifi -
cally to Jewish communities scattered throughout
the world. <strong>The</strong> extent of the Scottish diaspora means
that a Scotsman abroad can be confi dent of fi nding
sympathetic hosts in any major city in the developed
world.
Dick Dastardly (dastbrdlee) A villainous rogue,
especially an incompetent one. Dick Dastardly
was one of the central characters in the Hanna-
Barbera tele vi sion cartoon series wacky races.
Sporting the long mustache of villains in 19thcentury
melodrama, and assisted by his sniggering
but resentful dog- companion Muttley, Dick Dastardly
sought to win each race by a range of devious
ruses, all of which came disastrously undone.
His escapades continued in the spin- off series <strong>The</strong>
Perils of Penelope Pitstop and Dastardly and Muttley in
their Flying Machines. He drove with total disregard for
other road users, snarling at other drivers to get out of
the way like Dick Dastardly.
Dickensian (dikenzeebn) Reminiscent of the
atmosphere, settings, themes, or style of British
novelist Charles Dickens (1812–70). One of the
most celebrated novelists of the Victorian era,
Dickens created a lively, vivid world that encompassed
many aspects of life in 19th- century
Dickensian
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