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

ice maiden
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consequently, Icarus fell to his death in the sea.
<strong>The</strong> waters of the Aegean are still sometimes
called the Icarian Sea. “He, like Icarus, had fl own
up towards the sun, hoping that his wings of wax
would bear him steadily aloft among the gods”
(Anthony Trollope, Phineas Finn, 1869). See also
daedalian.
ice maiden A woman with a cold, detached manner.
<strong>The</strong> reference is to a fi gure who appears in
stories from Rus sian and Scandinavian folklore, as
retold in the 19th century by hans christian
andersen (1805–75) and later used as the basis of
Grieg’s Peer Gynt suite. In these stories she is usually
depicted as proud and malevolent, using her
glacial beauty to attract young men, whom she
then puts to death. Sometimes rendered in the
form ice queen, the epithet is typically applied to
beautiful models, actresses, and other women who
are perceived as having a reserved or unemotional
nature. Her lack of sympathy with her lover’s plight
earned her the reputation of an ice maiden.
Ichabod See glory is departed, the.
Ichabod Crane (ikbbod) An awkward, gawky
person, especially a tall, skinny one who wears illfi
tting clothes. <strong>The</strong> original Ichabod Crane was the
central character in the Washington Irving story
“<strong>The</strong> Legend of Sleepy Hollow” (1820), in which
he fi gures as a timid village schoolteacher whose
very appearance provokes mirth among his neighbors
in Sleepy Hollow, the archetypal old- world
rural community. Ichabod competes for the hand
of a local farmer’s daughter, but meets with opposition
from a rival suitor who frightens him with
stories of a headless horseman—when the headless
horse man duly “appears,” Ichabod fl ees the
area in fright and is never seen again. <strong>The</strong> 1999
fi lm Sleepy Hollow, directed by Tim Burton and
starring Johnny Depp as Ichabod Crane, is very
loosely based on the original story. She ridiculed
him for his Ichabod Crane physique and his circus clown
clothing sense.
ichor (ikor) A watery, foul- smelling discharge
from a wound or ulcer. In Greek mythology, ichor
(meaning “juice”) is the name given to the colorless
blood of the gods. “<strong>The</strong> fi rst indication of
revival was afforded by a partial descent of the iris.
It was observed, as especially remarkable, that this
lowering of the pupil was accompanied by the
profuse out- fl owing of a yellowish ichor (from
beneath the lids) of a pungent and highly offensive
odor” (Edgar Allan Poe, <strong>The</strong> <strong>Facts</strong> in the Case of
M. Valdemar, 1845).
I coulda been a contender I could have achieved
something, given the opportunity. A quotation
from the 1954 fi lm On the Waterfront, the line was
memorably delivered by Marlon Brando in the
role of a former boxer who falls foul of racketeers
in the docks of New York. Redolent of lost opportunities,
it is usually employed ironically, due to its
inevitable association with its iconic origins. If it
wasn’t for my terminal lethargy and puny physique, I
could have been a world champion too, I coulda been a
contender.
Ida, Mount (idb) A place from which one can
observe events without getting personally
involved. In Greek mythology, Mount Ida was a
“many- fountained” mountain or ridge in Asia
Minor identifi ed as the vantage point from which
the gods followed the course of events during the
Trojan War. This mountain (or one of the same
name in Crete) was also said to be the birthplace
of Zeus, the place where Ganymede was abducted,