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

Hannibal Lecter (hanibbl lekter) A cannibalistic
serial killer. Originally the creation of U.S. writer
Thomas Harris (b. 1940), Dr. Hannibal Lecter—
dubbed Hannibal the Cannibal—is the sadistic
psychiatrist- turned- killer who likes to eat parts of
his victims in the 1990 movie <strong>The</strong> Silence of the
Lambs, in which he is consulted for information
that might help in the detection of another serial
killer. He was played on screen to chilling effect in
this and various sequels by Anthony Hopkins, having
previously been played by Brian Cox in the
1986 movie Manhunter. We are searching for a killer
who makes Hannibal Lecter look positively cuddly.
Hans Christian Andersen (andersbn) A dreamy,
unworldly, or otherwise distracted or ineffectual
person. <strong>The</strong> allusion is to the Danish author Hans
Christian Andersen (1805–75), who was greatly
loved for his many classic fairy tales. In modern
usage his name is often applied to people who are
not only perceived as being out of touch with the
real world but also suspected of having a fey, feminine
character. You won’t get any help from the fi re
department—they are a real bunch of Hans Christian
Andersens. See also emperor’s new clothes; princess
and the pea; ugly duckling.
Hansel and Gretel (hansbl, gretbl) A brother and
sister (or two other children) who appear to be
lost or adrift in a hostile world. <strong>The</strong> allusion is to
the central characters in a traditional fairy tale
fi rst published in the 19th century by the Brothers
Grimm (see grimm’s fairy tales), in which Hansel
and Gretel narrowly escape the clutches of a
wicked witch after being abandoned deep in the
forest by their loving father on the insistence of his
evil wife. <strong>The</strong> allusion is often specifi cally to the
trail of breadcrumbs that the children leave behind
them in the hope that this will guide them back
out of the wood and show them the way home, or
else to the picturesque cottage made of bread,
cake, and candy into which the children are lured
by the witch. “And beyond that, some fairy- tale
kind of Hansel and Gretel cottage full of apple
trees and roses and Alex herself stooping under a
low lintel in a summery dress . . .” (Susannah
James, Love Over Gold, 1993).
happiest days of your life A person’s school
years. <strong>The</strong> phrase was pop u lar ized as the title of a
play (1948) by John Dighton, fi lmed in 1950,
which charted the confusions arising from a boys’
school and a girls’ school having to share the same
premises as a result of war time upheavals. <strong>The</strong>
expression may, however, be somewhat older. “I
have never subscribed to the view that schooldays
are the happiest days of your life, but I do think
that student days are among the happiest” (Mairi
Hedderwick, Highland Journey, 1992).
happy as Larry See as happy as larry.
Happy Islands See islands of the blest.
hard day’s night
hara- kiri (harbkeeree, harbkiree) Suicide, or some
other self- damaging act. <strong>The</strong> phrase is Japa nese in
origin and alludes to the ritual suicide by disembowelment
sometimes carried out by disgraced
aristocrats and soldiers. <strong>The</strong> original Japa nese
term literally means “belly cut.” <strong>The</strong> Japa nese
themselves, however, refer to the practice as seppuku.
In modern En glish usage, the term is equally
likely to be rendered as hari- kari or hari- kiri.
He knew that by sending the letter exposing the scandal
he had committed professional hara- kiri.
hard day’s night An exhausting time. <strong>The</strong> allusion
is to the Beatles fi lm A Hard Day’s Night
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