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

Minister (1986–88). As permanent undersecretary
to politician Jim Hacker, Sir Humphrey spent most
of his time trying to prevent politicians from interfering
in the smooth running of the civil ser vice,
with varying degrees of success. At once comical
and ludicrous, the series was praised by many po litical
observers for the accuracy of its portrayal of the
relationship between the po liti cal establishment
and the bureaucracy supposed to serve it. <strong>The</strong> term
is also sometimes used in reference to Sir Humphrey’s
characteristic circumlocution and equivocation.
Many ambitious plans have bitten the dust after
a Sir Humphrey has got hold of them.
Humpty Dumpty A person with an egg- shaped
physique or, alternatively, something that is precariously
balanced and risks being fatally broken.
<strong>The</strong> allusion is to the nursery rhyme character, an
egg perched on a wall who is broken to pieces
when he falls off: “Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall, /
Humpty Dumpty had a great fall. / All the king’s
horses and all the king’s men / Couldn’t put Humpty
together again.” <strong>The</strong>re are various theories concerning
the origins of Humpty Dumpty. Some say
he originally represented Richard III, while others
claim he had his beginnings in a riddle, the answer
to which was “an egg.” Alternatively, and perhaps
signifi cantly, a “Humpty Dumpty” was the name of
an ale and brandy punch drunk in the late 17th
century and, even more bizarrely, the nickname of
a siege tower or cannon used during the siege of
Gloucester in 1643. “Five feet high and weighing
one hundred and seventy pounds, a veritable
Humpty Dumpty of a woman, Mrs. Stych had no
hope of ever being able to wear pants gracefully”
(Helen Forrester, <strong>The</strong> Latchkey Kid, 1990).
Hunchback of Notre Dame (notrb dahm, notrb
daym) A person of grotesque, misshapen appear-
ance. <strong>The</strong> allusion is to the 1831 novel <strong>The</strong> Hunchback
of Notre Dame by Victor Hugo (1802–85), in
which the title character is an ugly, hunchbacked
bellringer called Quasimodo. “<strong>The</strong> shop keep er
was a Hunchback of Notre Dame, twisted, with
grotesque growths protruding from his body” (Alison
Leonard, Gate- Crashing the Dream Party, 1990).
hundred days <strong>The</strong> fi rst hundred days of an
administration, presidency, or other offi ce. <strong>The</strong>
original hundred days were those that began with
the escape of napoleon from elba on March 20,
1815, and ended on June 28, 1815, after his defeat
at waterloo and the restoration of the French
monarchy. <strong>The</strong> term has been applied to many
periods in offi ce since then and is especially associated
with the presidency of Franklin Roo se velt
and the three months in 1933 during which he laid
the basis of his celebrated New Deal. By extension,
the presidency of John F. Kennedy, which
ended prematurely with his assassination in 1963,
became known as the thousand days, as that was
how long his administration lasted. “His supporters
talked of a new ‘Hundred Days,’ although the
situation was far less serious than that of 1933 and
the mea sures not as radical” (A. B. Lancaster, <strong>The</strong>
Americas, 1984).
hyacinth A lily of the genus Hyacinthus with usually
blue, pink, or white fl owers. <strong>The</strong> name of the
plant alludes to Hyacinthus, a youth whose beauty,
according to Greek mythology, attracted the attention
of the sun god Apollo and of Zephyrus, the
god of the west wind. Hyacinthus favored Apollo,
thus incurring the wrath of Zephyrus, who took
his revenge by bringing about the accidental death
of Hyacinthus as he and Apollo tossed an iron discus
to each other in play. A sudden gust of wind
blew the discus off course, and it hit Hyacinthus
hyacinth
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