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

Ivan the Terrible
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<strong>The</strong>y had bittersweet memories of the war years, which
for their family had been the best of times and the worst
of times.
Ivan the Terrible (ivbn) A person who behaves
in a tyrannical or vicious, overbearing manner. <strong>The</strong>
original Ivan the Terrible was Ivan IV of Rus sia
(1530–84), a ruler who became notorious for his
many acts of cruelty. A more accurate translation
of his name in Rus sian, however, would be “Ivan
the Awesome.” <strong>The</strong> secretaries cowered whenever the
managing director approached and routinely referred to
him among themselves as Ivan the Terrible.
ivory shoulder of Pelops (peelops) A person’s
distinguishing characteristic. <strong>The</strong> phrase alludes to
the legend of Pelops, son of Tantalus, king of
Lydia, who was killed by his father and served up
as a meal to the gods in order to test the limits of
their knowledge. <strong>The</strong> gods realized what Tantalus
was offering them and restored Pelops to life.
Unfortunately the goddess Demeter had already
consumed the lad’s shoulder, so a shoulder of ivory
was fashioned to complete his restoration. Tantalus
was consigned to hell for his presumption in challenging
the wisdom of the gods, while in due course
Pelops became the king of Elis. This birthmark, as
unique and striking as the ivory shoulder of Pelops, distinguished
him from the mass of people around him.
ivory tower A life of seclusion from the everyday
world, typically dedicated to academic or indulgent
pursuits. <strong>The</strong> allusion is of French origin and
fi rst appeared in 1911, when the critic and poet
Charles Sainte- Beuve applied it to the poet Alfred
de Vigny. In 1916 it became familiar in its En glish
form through the title of the Henry James novel
<strong>The</strong> Ivory Tower. <strong>The</strong> phrase has since come to be
associated particularly with the exclusive lives of
university scholars and students. For three years she
lived in an ivory tower, blissfully unaware of the problems
facing her family.
I want to be alone See garbo.
I was a stranger, and ye took me in An expression
of gratitude for an act of kindness shown
toward a person in need. <strong>The</strong> line comes from
Matthew 25:35: “For I was an hungred, and ye
gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink:
I was a stranger, and ye took me in: Naked, and ye
clothed me.” “I was a stranger and ye took me in,”
quoted their unexpected guest as he lifted his glass in
jovial salute to his hosts.
Ixionian wheel (ikseeoneebn) A source of endless
torment. In Greek legend, Ixion was a king of
<strong>The</strong>ssaly who murdered his father- in- law and sought
to seduce Hera. Zeus fooled him by sending him a
cloud in the form of Hera and then had him bound
to a perpetually revolving wheel of fi re as punishment.
<strong>The</strong> cloud subsequently gave birth to the centaurs.
“Round and round, then, and ever contracting
towards the button- like black bubble at the axis of
that slowly wheeling circle, like another Ixion I did
revolve” (Herman Melville, Moby- Dick, 1851).