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

foolish virgins See parable of the wise and
foolish virgins.
forbidden fruit Something that is especially
desirable but prohibited. <strong>The</strong> phrase is commonly
applied to the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge of
Good and Evil described in Genesis 3:1–16, which
Adam and Eve are forbidden to eat on God’s command.
When on the prompting of the serpent
Adam and Eve disobey God’s order and eat the
fruit (commonly depicted as an apple or, in Islamic
tradition, as a banyan, or Indian fi g), they are
expelled from the Garden of Eden. (See also Proverbs
9:17.) In the fuller proverbial form forbidden
fruit tastes sweetest, the implication is that
something becomes infi nitely more desirable simply
because it is prohibited. “<strong>The</strong>n this spring,
three more newspapers—the In de pen dent, the
Daily News and the Standard—nibbled the forbidden
fruit, and got a heavy legal case for their pains”
(Guardian, July 13, 1987).
Forest of Arden (ahrdbn) A pastoral paradise,
providing a refuge from the cares of the real
world. <strong>The</strong> Forest of Arden was the setting of
Shakespeare’s comedy As You Like It (c. 1600).
Shakespeare’s Forest of Arden constituted an idealized
version of the real forest of the same name,
which was located north of his native Stratfordupon-
Avon. “<strong>The</strong> next moment they were in the
spacious shade of a sort of Forest of Arden, with
great groups of bossy trees standing apart, and
deer fl ashing by at the end of ferny glades” (Edith
Wharton, <strong>The</strong> Refugees, 1919).
forlorn hope A force of men that is sent into
action with little hope of survival. <strong>The</strong> allusion is
to the groups of volunteers or picked men who
were fi rst to storm a breach in the walls of a
for such a time as this
besieged fortress: <strong>The</strong> chances of survival were
slim, although honors were heaped upon any who
did survive a successful attack. Today the phrase
(which is ultimately derived from the Dutch verloren
hoop, meaning “lost troop”) is often extended
to nonmilitary contexts. “Dreamers were for ever
the vanguard, or maybe for ever the forlorn hope”
(Kim Newman, <strong>The</strong> Night Mayor, 1990).
Forrest Gump A simpleminded innocent, typically
a man who fi nds himself unintentionally or
unwittingly involved in momentous events or who
does great things by chance. <strong>The</strong> allusion is to the
1994 fi lm of the same name starring Tom Hanks as
a slow- witted Southerner who accidentally fi nds
himself present at many of the most signifi cant
events of the 20th century. He was a kind of Forrest
Gump, fl oating through life without ever realising the
amazing effect he had upon the people he met.
for such a time as this At such a favorable opportunity,
referring to the choice of a person who will
have a widespread, signifi cant infl uence. This
phrase alludes to an episode recorded in the book
of Esther. Mordecai, a Jewish captive from Judah,
held a post at the palace of King Ahasuerus
(Xerxes) of Persia at Shushan. When Queen Vashti
disobeyed the king and was to be replaced, many
young girls from all over the kingdom were
brought to the palace to see whom the king would
choose. Mordecai put forward his adopted daughter
Esther (also known as Hadassah) for the honor.
She was beautiful and was chosen by King Ahasuerus
to become queen; the king did not know that
she was a Jew. Haman, one of the king’s high offi -
cials, was an anti- Semite and instigator of one of
the fi rst pogroms against the Jews. Mordecai heard
about Haman’s plot to have all the Jews killed and
sent word to Esther, asking her to plead with the
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