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

Dracula
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Athenians showered on him during a visit to the
theater. “Such an attitude should hearten China’s
draconian womb police, who have spent two
de cades trying to control the nation’s burgeoning
population through any means possible” (Time,
July 30, 2001).
Dracula (drakyoolb) An evil-minded person
who drains others dry of money, ideas, etc. <strong>The</strong>
evil Count Dracula was created by Bram Stoker in
his novel Dracula (1879), in which he is depicted as
a hypnotic bloodsucking vampire of Transylvania
who can only be killed by having a stake driven
through his heart or by exposure to sunlight. <strong>The</strong>
story inspired numerous fi lms and Dracula has
long since entered modern world folklore as one
of the most terrifying yet strangely seductive of
supernatural monsters. Stoker is said to have
drawn on various inspirations for his famous creation,
among them stories surrounding the historical
Transylvanian ruler Vlad the Impaler
(1470–76) and a visit to Slains Castle near Aberdeen,
which provided a model for Dracula’s castle.
In modern usage, anyone with a similar cadaverous
complexion, black hair, and dark clothing may
be likened to Dracula, regardless of his or her
actual character. “Under a massive front- page
headline, HUNT FOR DRACULA FIEND (Star),
the report indicated that a 13- year- old was able to
tell detectives that her attacker ‘had short dark
hair streaked with grey and deep- set eyes that
made him “look a bit like Dracula” ’ ” (S. Walby and
K. Soothill, Sex Crime in the News, 1991).
dragon’s teeth See sow dragon’s teeth.
dreadnought A powerful battleship. <strong>The</strong> launching
of HMS Dreadnought in 1906 heralded the
introduction of a whole new class of battleships in
the Royal Navy, collectively known as dreadnoughts.
Faster and better armed than any other
ships then sailing the seas, the dreadnoughts outclassed
all opponents and triggered a naval arms
race as other nations sought to match this new
threat. Since that era large naval vessels of various
kinds have often been referred to as dreadnoughts.
<strong>The</strong> U.S. Navy will send in its dreadnoughts to dissuade
powers in the region from starting anything.
Dresden (drezdbn) Archetype of a city de stroyed
by war. <strong>The</strong> bombing of the historic city of Dresden
in eastern Germany by Allied aircraft on
February 13, 1945 remains one of the most controversial
episodes of World War II, especially since
the city had little military signifi cance. Most of the
city was destroyed in the fi restorm that resulted
from the bombing and many thousands of its citizens
were killed. No one wanted Sarajevo to be turned
into a second Dresden.
Dreyfus, Alfred See j’accuse.
drink hemlock To voluntarily sacrifi ce oneself by
resigning, committing suicide, etc. <strong>The</strong> phrase
alludes to the death of the Athenian phi los o pher
Socrates (469–399 b.c.), who was obliged to kill
himself by drinking hemlock after speaking out
against the ruling elite in Athens and being sentenced
to death at the subsequent trial. <strong>The</strong> head of
the party took the honorable way out, drinking hemlock
by giving up his post and throwing himself on the mercy
of the press.
droit du seigneur (drwah db saynyer) A person’s
right to take the fi rst share in something or have
the fi rst say. <strong>The</strong> allusion is to the (largely apocryphal)
belief that in certain medieval Eu ro pe an
countries a feudal lord had the right to have sex