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

during the traumatic years of the Civil War. He
was a stalwart opponent of slavery but strongly
believed in sustaining the Union, even at the cost
of thousands of dead on both sides in the war.
Adored and hated in almost equal mea sure, he had
a reputation for great nobility of spirit, and was
popularly dubbed “Honest Abe.” He died just after
the end of the war when he was assassinated at
Ford’s <strong>The</strong>ater on April 14, 1865, by the deranged
actor John Wilkes Booth. <strong>The</strong> late ambassador had
the patient steadfastness of an Abraham Lincoln. See also
gettysburg address.
Abraham’s bosom (aybrbhamz) <strong>The</strong> Christian paradise;
heaven as the restful abode of the blessed
dead. <strong>The</strong> phrase comes from Luke 16:19–31, in
which Jesus relates the parable of Lazarus and the
rich man: “<strong>The</strong> beggar Lazarus died, and was carried
by the angels into Abraham’s bosom.” It has
been suggested that the image of leaning on the
bosom of a friend may relate to the classical custom
of reclining on a friend’s chest when dining
(hence the expression a “bosom friend”). “<strong>The</strong> sons
of Edward sleep in Abraham’s bosom” (William
Shakespeare, Richard III, c. 1592).
Abraham’s supreme test (aybrbhamz) An ultimate
challenge or sacrifi ce. <strong>The</strong> reference is to
God’s command to Abraham to sacrifi ce his only
son, Isaac, as a burned offering on Mount Moriah.
Abraham readily agreed to comply and was about
to kill Isaac with his knife when God, satisfi ed that
Abraham’s faith was genuine, intervened by providing
a ram caught in a thicket to take Isaac’s
place (Genesis 22:1–19; see also Romans 4;
Hebrews 11:8–19; James 2:20–26). <strong>The</strong> president
faces his own version of Abraham’s supreme test, being
forced to choose between instinctive loyalty to his vice
president or to his own po liti cal principles.
according to Hoyle
Absalom (absblom) Archetype of a rebellious son,
especially one who meets a tragic end. Absalom is
identifi ed in 2 Samuel 13–18 as the third son of
King david, remarkable for his great beauty and
adored by both his father and his people. Unfortunately,
he sided with Ahithophel in rebellion
against David and was consequently slain by Joab
after getting his long hair entangled in the branches
of a tree while trying to escape. David’s grief over
his slain son was overwhelming and gave rise to his
famous lament “O my son Absalom, my son, my
son Absalom! Would God I had died for thee!” (2
Samuel 18:33). “Sometimes, the worthy gentleman
would reprove my mother for being overindulgent
to her sons, with a reference to old Eli,
or David and Absalom, which was particularly
galling to her feelings” (Anne Brontë, <strong>The</strong> Tenant of
Wildfell Hall, 1848).
absurd, theater of the See theater of the
absurd.
academia (akbdeemeeb) <strong>The</strong> academic world.
<strong>The</strong> word comes from the Greek Akademeia, the
name of the public garden (with a grove) in Athens
where the phi los o pher Plato instructed his pupils
toward the end of the fourth century b.c. <strong>The</strong>
grove in turn was named after the legendary hero
Academus. In modern usage students may still be
said to toil in the groves of academe. Other
words from the same root include academy, academe,
and academic. <strong>The</strong> announcement has sent a
ripple of concern through academia.
according to Hoyle (hoil) Acting fairly or honestly.
Edward Hoyle (1672–1769) is remembered
for his codifi cation of the rules for various card
games, and as the supreme authority on such games
as whist. Thus, a person who acts “according to
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