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

Doctor Livingstone, I presume?
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medical series Dr. Kildare (1961–66), he was played
with suitable suavity by Richard Chamberlain. Say
what you like, but old Doc Stevens with his bald head
and half- moon spectacles is no Doctor Kildare.
Doctor Livingstone, I presume? (livingstbn) An
ironic greeting on meeting someone. <strong>The</strong> allusion
is to the supposed words of greeting uttered by
the British explorer and journalist Henry Morton
Stanley (1841–1904) on fi nally locating Dr. David
Livingstone (1813–73) at Ujiji in central Africa in
1871, after the latter had been out of contact with
the rest of the world for some considerable time.
Stanley’s words have since been lauded, or lampooned,
as a perfect example of British understatement
and good etiquette, even in the most
unlikely of circumstances. “Doctor Livingstone, I presume?”
Charles giggled as he lifted the blanket covering
Edward’s head.
Doctor Spock A child care expert. Dr. Benjamin
Spock (1903–98) challenged many established
conventions concerning child care with his Common
Sense Book of Baby and Child Care (1946), which
became a best- seller and profoundly infl uenced
parents for years to come. His liberal views on
discipline were especially controversial and were
blamed by many for a decline in behavior among
the young. As children they were brought up on the
Doctor Spock model, but this did not mean they were
allowed to do what they liked.
Doctor Strangelove (straynjlbv) Archetype of a
mad scientist who is so obsessed with his work
that he does not appreciate the possible consequences
of it. In the classic 1964 fi lm comedy Dr.
Strangelove: Or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and
Love the Bomb, directed by Stanley Kubrick, the
eponymous scientist was brilliantly played by Peter
Sellers, who portrayed him as an ex- Nazi boffi n
with an uncontrollable urge to bring about a catastrophic
nuclear confrontation. Supposing a Doctor
Strangelove got in here and started pressing buttons? See
also doomsday machine.
Doctor Watson A devoted companion or assistant.
<strong>The</strong> allusion is to the character of the name
who is the right- hand man of the gifted detective
sherlock holmes in the mystery stories of
Arthur Conan Doyle. He has seen ser vice as a
medical offi cer with the British army in India
before becoming Holmes’s amanuensis and chronicler
of his many adventures. Every great detective
must have his Dr. Watson. See also elementary, my
dear watson.
Dodge City A lawless, dangerous, urban environment.
<strong>The</strong> frontier town of Dodge City, Kansas,
had a notorious reputation as a haven for
gunfi ghters and other rough elements of the old
Wild West until fi nally cleaned up by Wyatt Earp
in 1876. Take care—it’s like Dodge City out there.
Dogberry A petty bureaucrat, an offi cious person.
<strong>The</strong> allusion is to the overbearing constable
Dogberry in William Shakespeare’s Much Ado
About Nothing (1598) and his pompous but ignorant
nature. Like Mrs. Malaprop in a much later
generation of fi ctional characters, he is given to
using long words that he does not really understand
(see malapropism). <strong>The</strong> Dogberrys at City
Hall proved to be of no use at all in offering any useful
advice.
dog days <strong>The</strong> hottest days of summer. <strong>The</strong> concept
is of ancient Roman origin, having its roots in
early astronomy and the fact that the star sirius,
the brightest star in the night sky and commonly