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

identifi ed as personifi cations of the winds that
could carry people off or as the souls of the dead
who looked for opportunities to snatch the souls
of the living. <strong>The</strong>y are best known from the adventures
of Jason and the Argonauts, in which they are
depicted perpetually seizing food prepared for the
blind king Phineus. “Nothing short of the twelve
dollars and a half will satisfy this harpy, I perceive;
and surely my reputation as judge is worth that
trifl e” (James Fenimore Cooper, <strong>The</strong> Pioneers,
1823).
hasta la vista, baby See terminator, the.
Hastings, Battle of (haystingz) A decisive
moment, or an event that happened so long ago
that it is lost in the mists of time. <strong>The</strong> Battle of
Hastings took place between an invading Norman
army led by William the Conqueror and the
Anglo- Saxon forces loyal to Harold I on Senlac
Hill, near the town of Hastings on the southeast
coast of En gland, on October 14, 1066. <strong>The</strong> death
of Harold and eventual Norman victory resulted
in a fundamental transfer of power in Britain and
greatly infl uenced the subsequent course of Eu rope
an history. <strong>The</strong> encounter was said by some to be a
20th- century Battle of Hastings.
hath shall be given, to him that See whosoever
hath, to him shall be given.
hatter, mad as a See mad as a hatter.
hat trick A sequence of three successes in a row.
<strong>The</strong> allusion is to the now defunct custom among
cricketers of rewarding a bowler who has taken
three wickets in successive balls with a new cap,
paid for by his club. <strong>The</strong> expression has long since
escaped its origins and is now widely employed in
other sports as well as in nonsporting contexts.
His success in the college poetry competition completed a
hat trick of stiffl y contested literary prizes.
haughty spirit before a fall See pride goeth
before a fall.
have an ax to grind To have a grievance or an
ulterior motive for doing something. <strong>The</strong> allusion
is to a traditional story sometimes attributed to
American statesman and scientist Benjamin
Franklin (1706–90). According to this story, a
young man (perhaps Franklin himself ) was fl attered
by the compliments of another man into
helping him sharpen his ax on a grindstone, with
the result that he was made late for school. As
soon as the ax was fully sharp, however, and the
older man had no more use for the boy, he offered
the lad no thanks and instead berated him for being
late for school. <strong>The</strong> expression has since been
applied to anyone who is suspected of pretending
to be what he or she is not, or of saying what he or
she does not mean, in order to achieve some secret
purpose. “But then the Church came to the front,
with an axe to grind; and she was wise, subtle, and
knew more than one way to skin a cat—or a
nation; she invented ‘divine right of kings,’ and
propped it all around, brick by brick, with the
Beatitudes” (Mark Twain, A Connecticut Yankee in
King Arthur’s Court, 1889).
Havisham, Miss See miss havisham.
Haw- Haw, Lord See lord haw- haw.
head off at the pass See cut off at the pass.
heap coals of fi re
heap coals of fi re To act with generosity or kindness
to someone who has behaved badly, thereby
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