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

alongside Homer’s Iliad, including the medieval
Romance of the Rose (13th century), which came to
be dubbed the French Iliad, and the Nibelungenlied
(early 13th century), sometimes called the German
Iliad. <strong>The</strong> series of disasters suffered by both
sides during the war gave rise to the phrase an
Iliad of woes to describe any series of setbacks or
misfortunes. This third fi lm brings this Iliad of modern
warfare and trilogy of Vietnam movies to a tragic and
dispiriting close.
I’ll be back See terminator, the.
I’m alright, Jack I don’t care about anything
else, as long as my interests are secure. <strong>The</strong> phrase
has its origins in a traditional saying of unknown
age, possibly ultimately of nautical origin (“Jack”
being a nickname for a Royal Navy sailor). Today it
is often associated with a 1959 fi lm of the same
title starring Peter Sellers as a militant shop steward
who leads the staff of a factory in a strike
against the management. This callous and selfi sh
behavior is yet another example of the “I’m alright Jack”
attitude that prevails in modern society. See also god’s
in his heaven, all’s right with the world.
I’m going to make him an offer he can’t refuse
See offer you can’t refuse, an.
immaculate conception Something that comes
about in an unconventional or apparently inexplicable
manner. <strong>The</strong> reference is to the conception
of the Virgin Mary as defi ned in the dogma (“Ineffabilis
Deus” of Pope Pius IX, December 8, 1854):
“from the fi rst moment of her conception the
Blessed Virgin Mary was, by the singular grace and
privilege of Almighty God, and in view of the
merits of Jesus Christ, Saviour of mankind, kept
free from all stain of original sin.” Biblical allusions
Incredible Hulk
to this doctrine are held to be Genesis 3:15 and
Luke 1:28, but this teaching is rejected by Protestants.
<strong>The</strong> term is sometimes employed in modern
usage in a somewhat sarcastic tone. People tend to
forget that such structures have been designed in detail
by teams of engineers, preferring to believe they came
about through some pro cess of immaculate conception.
impressionist Involving a fl eeting impression
of a reality or mood. <strong>The</strong> term alludes to the
impressionist movement that caused a sensation
in the art world in the second half of the 19th
century. Championed by such artists as Claude
Monet (1840–1926), Auguste Renoir (1841–
1919), and Edgar Degas (1834–1917), impressionism
depended upon capturing the essence of
something without painting the actual details of it,
typically through the handling of color and light.
In modern parlance, the term impressionist, or
impressionistic, may be applied in a much wider
range of contexts. “<strong>The</strong> backs of the other shops
were an impressionistic picture of dirty grays,
drained browns, writhing heaps of refuse” (Sinclair
Lewis, Main Street, 1920).
in all one’s glory In all one’s beauty; having a
beautiful appearance. <strong>The</strong> phrase comes from
Matthew 6:29, which celebrates the beauty of the
lilies of the fi eld: “And yet I say unto you, That
even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like
one of these.” In modern usage the phrase may
sometimes appear in laconic references to a person
who is entirely naked. <strong>The</strong> girls squealed as the
man emerged grinning from the pool in all his glory.
Incredible Hulk A person with a large, imposing,
and often ungainly physique. <strong>The</strong> original Incredible
Hulk was the huge green creature into which the
scientist Dr. David Bruce Banner was transformed
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