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

fatwa
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fatwa (fatwb) An unarguable ruling passed
down by someone in authority, especially one that
calls for the punishment of a named individual on
charges of heresy. <strong>The</strong> word is Arabic in origin and
in its strictest sense refers to decisions made by
Islamic religious leaders (see ayatollah). Since
the passing of a fatwa by Ayatollah Khomeini of
Iran in 1989, in which he called for the death of
the British writer Salman Rushdie in reaction to
his controversial book <strong>The</strong> Satanic Verses (1988), it
has been widely assumed that all such edicts
demand the death sentence, although this is not
always the case. <strong>The</strong> state governor has delivered a
fatwa forbidding any state employee indulging in such
corrupt practices in the future.
fat years and lean years Periods of prosperity
and misfortune, which tend to alternate. <strong>The</strong>
phrase comes from Genesis 41:25–27, in which
Joseph interprets Pharaoh’s dream about seven
lean cows consuming seven fat cows as meaning
that seven years of plenty would be followed by
seven years of famine. <strong>The</strong> family has known both fat
years and lean years but has always held together until
now.
Faulknerian (fokneereebn) In a manner reminiscent
of the writing of the U.S. novelist and shortstory
writer William Faulkner (1897–1962).
Faulkner’s themes included the past, race relations,
class confl ict, sexual repression, and slavery.
His style was typically elaborate, allegorical, and
hallucinatory. His prose was Faulknerian in its resonance
and scope, rich in characterization and sometimes
shocking in its violence.
faun (fahn) A species of minor rural deity having
the body of a man and the legs, tail, ears, and horns
of a goat. Fauns (similar to the satyrs of Greek
tradition) were a feature of Roman mythology and
were apparently derived from Faunus, the god of
nature and fertility and the Roman equivalent of
the Greek god Pan. <strong>The</strong>y are generally depicted in
art and literature as sprightly and mischievous. “As
he stood there in the lamp- light, with dead leaves
and bits of bramble clinging to his mud- spattered
clothes, the scent of the night about him and its
chill on his pale bright face, he really had the look
of a young faun strayed in from the forest” (Edith
Wharton, <strong>The</strong> Reef, 1912).
fauna (fahnb) <strong>The</strong> native or indigenous animal
life of a par tic u lar place or period of time. <strong>The</strong>
word comes from Fauna, the name of the sister of
Faunus, the Roman god of nature and fertility. It
was fi rst used in its modern sense by the Swedish
botanist Linneaus in 1746. “ ‘You’ve never been to
Kew?’ Denham remarked. But it appeared that she
had come once as a small child, when the geography
of the place was entirely different, and the
fauna included certainly fl amingoes and, possibly,
camels” (Virginia Woolf, Night and Day, 1919). See
also faun; fl ora.
Fauntleroy, Little Lord See little lord
fauntleroy.
Faustian bargain (fowsteebn) A deal made for
short- term gain, without regard to the costs in the
long term. <strong>The</strong> allusion is to the bargain Faustus
makes with the dev il in Christopher Marlowe’s
play Doctor Faustus (1604), in which Faustus is
granted his immediate desires in exchange for his
immortal soul. <strong>The</strong> story was later reworked by
various composers, notably Wagner, Berlioz, and
Gounod. Also called a Faustian pact, the term is
usually applied today to anyone who appears to
have sacrifi ced his or her morals for material