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

or her travels. Lemuel Gulliver is the central character
in the satirical novel Gulliver’s Travels (1726)
by Irish writer Jonathan Swift (1667–1745).
Gulliver visits a series of exotic lands and marvels
at the curious nature of their inhabitants who are
variously smaller, taller, more absent- minded, and
more bestial than he is himself, their bizarre nature
forcing him to acknowledge the reality of mankind’s
own shortcomings. “I was a Gulliver, viewing
a strange scene outside my experience” (Alfred
Wainwright, Wainwright in the Limestone Dales,
1991). See also brobdingnagian; laputa; lilliputian;
yahoo.
Gump, Forrest See forrest gump.
gunfi ght at the OK Corral A climactic confrontation
between opposing parties; a showdown.
<strong>The</strong> allusion is to the fabled gunfi ght that took
place between the notorious Clanton gang and
the lawmen Virgil, Wyatt, and Morgan Earp and
Doc Holliday at the OK Corral in Tombstone,
Arizona, on October 26, 1881. When the smoke
cleared, three of the Clanton gang were dead.
<strong>The</strong> gunfi ght has long since entered the folklore
of the Wild West and has been reenacted in
numerous western movies. “At first I had
visions of an OK Corral shoot- out at High Noon
between dozens of different security forces who
didn’t know each other, but in fact we worked it
out and there were no serious problems” (Harvey
Thomas and Liz Gill, Making an Impact,
1989).
Gunga Din (gungb din) Stock name for a person
of Indian descent. <strong>The</strong> allusion is to the central character
in one of the poems from Rudyard Kipling’s
Barrack Room Ballads (1892), an Indian water- carrier
who is killed performing heroic actions while serv-
ing with a British regiment in India, as acknowledged
by the narrator of the poem: “Though I’ve
belted you an’ fl ayed you, / By the livin’ Gawd that
made you, / You’re a better man than I am, Gunga
Din!” Allusive use of the name is often in the context
of this fi nal line. “<strong>The</strong> cries of gratitude sounded
from the car and heartfelt from Haverford, ‘You’re
a better man than I am, Gunga Din’ ” (John Mortimer,
Summer’s Lease, 1988).
gung ho (gung ho) Very eager or enthusiastic.
<strong>The</strong> phrase was picked up as a slogan by a battalion
of U.S. Marines fi ghting in World War II. It was
based on the Mandarin Chinese king (“work”) and
ho (“together”) and had previously been used as a
motivational slogan by the Chinese communists in
the 1930s. It is sometimes used of rash or excessive
enthusiasm in military contexts. “It also contains
in the character of Col o nel Calloway, the
world- weary En glishman responsible for alerting
the innocent American writer of pulp novels to
his former friend’s evil doings, a perfect symbol of
Britain’s position after World War II, standing in
the middle between battered Eu rope and gung- ho
America” (James Park, British Cinema: <strong>The</strong> Lights
that Failed, 1990).
Gunn, Ben See ben gunn.
Gunpowder Plot
Gunpowder Plot A conspiracy to commit a major
act of treason, or failure to carry it out. <strong>The</strong> allusion
is to the 1605 plot to assassinate James I of
En gland by blowing up the Houses of Parliament
with gunpowder smuggled into the cellars of the
building. <strong>The</strong> plot was conceived by leading Catholic
radicals, including Guy Fawkes, but failed
after the plotters were discovered before they
were ready to carry it out. <strong>The</strong> conspirators were
all killed or captured and executed. London’s
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