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

Gamaliel
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fi re from the Turkish defenders. After heavy losses
the Allies fi nally withdrew in January 1916. Gallipoli
is sometimes referred to in connection with
other disastrous campaigns of various kinds. “Himself
the son of a South Wales miner, Kinnock compared
Scargill with a world war general who
wanted ‘another Gallipoli’ ” (Kenneth O. Morgan,
<strong>The</strong> People’s Peace, 1990).
Gamaliel (gbmayleebl) A teacher, especially a
religious teacher. <strong>The</strong> biblical Gamaliel was a
Pharisee rabbi, or doctor of law, and a mentor of
Paul, who claimed to have studied sitting “at the
feet of Gamaliel” (Acts 22:3). Gamaliel spoke up
in defense of Paul and his companions when they
were put on trial and is traditionally supposed to
have subsequently converted to Christianity. “No
man—that is, no gentleman—could possibly be
attracted to Mr. Slope, or consent to sit at the feet
of so abhorrent a Gamaliel” (Anthony Trollope,
Barchester Towers, 1857).
game as Ned Kelly See ned kelly.
gamesmanship <strong>The</strong> use of cunning, possibly illegal,
strategies to achieve one’s aims. <strong>The</strong> allusion
is to the book <strong>The</strong> <strong>The</strong>ory and Practice of Gamesmanship
(1947) by Stephen Potter, in which various
methods of getting one’s way without actually
cheating are humorously described. “Let us say
that, although not trapped in a fi ght for survival,
we are all still caught up in the ordinary competitiveness
of business, social gamesmanship, and
marriage” (A. C. Graham, Reason and Spontaneity,
1985).
Gandalf (gandalf) A wise old wizard, or someone
who has the appearance of one. Gandalf is the wizard
who guides the heroes through their various
adventures in the novels <strong>The</strong> Hobbit (1937) and <strong>The</strong>
Lord of the Rings (1954–55) by J. R. R. Tolkien. In
keeping with many other wizards of folklore and
literature, Gandalf has a long white beard and
wears a tall wizard’s hat. <strong>The</strong> old man raged with fury
at their disobedience and shook his walking stick at them
for all the world like a demented Gandalf.
Gandhi (gahndee, gandee) A pacifi st, especially
one who is charismatic or inspirational. <strong>The</strong> allusion
is to Mahatma Gandhi (Mohandas Karamchand
Gandhi; 1869–1948), who advocated the
use of peaceful methods when campaigning for
Indian in de pen dence from Britain in the 1940s.
He was fi nally assassinated by a Hindu nationalist.
He acted Gandhi to the hotheads who insisted that
armed re sis tance was the only way forward.
gang of four A group of four people acting
together. <strong>The</strong> original Gang of Four were the leaders
of a Chinese po liti cal faction who tried (and
failed) to seize power in China on the death of
Mao Zedong in 1976. <strong>The</strong>y included Mao’s widow
Jiang Qing. <strong>The</strong> term was subsequently applied to
the four found ers of the Britain’s Social Democratic
Party in 1981. It is frequently employed in a
critical fashion. We do not want this country to come
under the control of a U.S. Gang of Four.
Gantry, Elmer See elmer gantry.
Ganymede (ganimeed) An exceptionally beautiful
youth. In Greek myth, Ganymede was a young
man from Phrygia who was selected by Zeus as
the most beautiful of mortals and on his command
carried off by an ea gle to serve as his cupbearer in
heaven. Ganymede is also the name of one of the
Galilean moons of Jupiter and is the largest satellite
in the solar system. “I don’t believe Ganymede