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

eat crow
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the east of Eden” that Cain was exiled after he
murdered his brother Abel. <strong>The</strong> phrase is best
known today as the title of a 1952 novel by John
Steinbeck that relates the events that unfold after
Adam Trask moves to California with his warring
sons Caleb and Aaron. He lives somewhere east of
Eden, out beyond the bounds of civilized society. See also
land of nod.
eat crow To have to apologize or do something
humiliating. <strong>The</strong> allusion is to a probably apocryphal
event that is said to have occurred during the
War of 1812, in which a New En glander accidentally
crossed the British lines while hunting and
shot a crow. A British offi cer took the American’s
gun from him and then forced him to take a bite
out of the crow as punishment for his trespassing.
When the American was given his gun back, he
immediately pointed it at his tormentor and forced
him to eat what was left of the bird. <strong>The</strong> phrase has
not been traced back further than the 1870s and is
unlikely to be as old as it is sometimes claimed to
be. Another version of the story sets it in the time
of the Civil War during the 1860s, with the two
people concerned being a Federal soldier and a
Southern plantation own er. It looks like the manager
will be forced to eat crow if he is to keep his position.
eat, drink, and be merry Enjoy yourself while
you have the chance. <strong>The</strong> expression comes from
the parable of the rich fool related at Luke 12:16–
21, in which Christ describes a rich farmer who
stores up his wealth for future indulgence and
dies before ever enjoying the benefi ts of it. <strong>The</strong>
parable serves as a warning to those who see the
enjoyment of material wealth rather than devotion
to God as the ultimate ambition of their lives.
<strong>The</strong> phrase also appears at Ecclesiastes 8:15 in the
form “a man hath no better thing under the sun,
than to eat, and to drink, and to be merry.” In
modern usage the phrase is equally likely to be
quoted as a criticism of those who indulge in
worldly pleasures without thought for the future
and, paradoxically, as a justifi cation by those making
the most of an immediate opportunity to
indulge themselves in the knowledge that the
chance may not be there for long. <strong>The</strong> sentiment
is often extended to eat, drink, and be merry,
for tomorrow we die, as found in Isaiah 22:13
and 1 Corinthians 15:32. “Such a man, nevertheless,
was the Reverend Samuel Pentecost, and
such a woman was the Reverend Samuel’s mother;
and in the dearth of any other producible guests,
there they were, engaged to eat, drink, and be
merry for the day at Mr. Armadale’s plea sure
party to the Norfolk Broads” (Wilkie Collins,
Armadale, 1866).
eater, out of the See out of the strong came
forth sweetness.
eat from the tree of knowledge See tree of
knowledge.
Ebenezer chapel (ebbneezer) A Nonconformist
chapel. This informal title alludes to the biblical
episode related in 1 Samuel 7:12 in the course of
which Samuel sets up a memorial stone in thanks
to God for his victory over the Philistines, giving it
the name Ebenezer (meaning “stone of help”) and
explaining, “Thus far has the LORD helped us.”
<strong>The</strong> family attended the local Ebenezer chapel and took
their religion very seriously.
ecce homo (ekay homo) A depiction of Christ
wearing a crown of thorns. A Latin phrase usually
translated as “behold the man,” it appears in John
19:5 as the words spoken by Pontius Pilate when