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

love, and combined elements of both their characters.
Equivalent to the Roman cupid, he fi red
arrows at both gods and men, thus causing them
to fall in love. <strong>The</strong> term erotic appears to have
entered the En glish language around the middle of
the 17th century. Related words include erotica,
sexually provocative topics and material. <strong>The</strong> erotic
content of the book caused a sensation at the time but
seems fairly mild by today’s standards.
Errol Flynn (erbl fl in) A dashing, romantic
adventurer. Errol Flynn (1909–59) was a
Tasmanian- born U.S. fi lm actor who became Hollywood’s
greatest player of romantic heroes in the
1930s and 1940s, appearing in a variety of swashbuckling
roles such as pirate captains and Robin
Hood. His attempts to play the company’s very own
Errol Flynn backfi red at the offi ce Christmas party when
he was chased out of the building by the fi nancial director’s
drunken mother- in- law.
Erymanthean boar See labors of hercules.
Esau (eesah) A person who allows himself to be
parted with something of value without receiving
much in return. According to Genesis 25:24–34,
Esau foolishly sold his birthright to his treacherous
twin brother, Jacob, in exchange for a dish of soup
or stew (see sell one’s birthright for a mess of
pottage). His name may also be applied to people
who are unusually hairy or red haired, Esau himself
being described in the Bible as “an hairy man”
with red hair, while Jacob was smooth shaven.
“ ‘He’s of a rash, warm- hearted nature, like Esau,
for whom I have always felt great pity,’ said Dinah”
(George Eliot, Adam Bede, 1859).
escape by the skin of one’s teeth To make a narrow
escape from something. <strong>The</strong> expression is
biblical in origin, appearing in Job 19:20 in the
following form: “I am escaped with the skin of my
teeth.” <strong>The</strong> stuntman only escaped serious injury by the
skin of his teeth, rolling aside as the tower came crashing
down on top of the place where he had been sitting.
Esther (ester) <strong>The</strong> archetype of a beautiful, virtuous
heroine. <strong>The</strong> biblical Esther was chosen to
become the queen of King Ahasuerus (Xerxes) of
Persia on account of her beauty (Esther 2:17). As
queen she protected the captive Israelites from
persecution by her husband, thereby becoming a
heroine to the Jews. <strong>The</strong> name itself means “star”
and was probably originally derived from that of
Ishtar, the Babylonian goddess of love. “Mrs. van
der Luyden beamed on her with the smile of
Esther interceding with Ahasuerus; but her husband
raised a protesting hand” (Edith Wharton,
<strong>The</strong> Age of Innocence, 1920). See also for such a
time as this.
Estragon See waiting for godot.
état c’est moi, l’ See l’état c’est moi.
Ethiopian change his skin
Eternal City <strong>The</strong> city of Rome. This commonly
heard nickname for Rome is of ancient origin,
having been used by Ovid (43 b.c.–a.d. 17) and
Tibullus (c. 55–c. 19 b.c.), among other writers.
“<strong>The</strong>n ensued an eager description, by the two
women, of what had been done, and what should
be done, to penetrate the thick wall of fees, commissions,
and chicanery, which stood between the
patrons of art and an unknown artist in the Eternal
City” (Charles Reade, <strong>The</strong> Cloister and the Hearth,
1861).
Ethiopian change his skin See leopard cannot
change its spots, a.
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