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

John the Baptist
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however, be quoted less fl atteringly in reference to
the great man’s portly frame. “With Johnsonian
vigour, Eliot discussed the way to run a society; he
surveyed with distanced irony ‘<strong>The</strong> Literature of
Fascism,’ also printing MacDiarmid’s ‘Second
Hymn to Lenin’ ” (Robert Crawford, <strong>The</strong> Savage
and the City in the Work of T. S. Eliot, 1990).
John the Baptist ( jon, baptist) A person who
preaches or speaks out in defi ance of hostile opinion,
especially one who urges Christian repentance.
John the Baptist was the prophet who foretold the
coming of Christ and went on to baptize Jesus
Christ in the Jordan River (Matthew 3:1–15; Mark
1:4–11; Luke 3:1–22). Jesus regarded him as the
last and greatest prophet, fulfi lling the promise of a
second Elijah (Matthew 11:11–14). Despite a successful
ministry, he was killed by Herod Antipas for
criticizing Herod’s marriage to his sister- in- law
(Matthew 14:1–12). “He was a John the Baptist
who took ennoblement rather than repentance for
his text” (Thomas Hardy, <strong>The</strong> Return of the Native,
1880). See also voice crying in the wilderness.
John Wayne <strong>The</strong> personifi cation in the movies
of the cowboy- hero of the Wild West. John
Wayne (Marion Michael Morrison; 1907–79),
the star of such iconic westerns as Stagecoach
(1939) and <strong>The</strong> Searchers (1956), came to epitomize
the rugged integrity and indomitable spirit
of the colonial West as well as the old- fashioned
patriotic, conservative values of the Republican
establishment. He walked into the bar like John
Wayne looking for the man who had killed his best
friend. See also man’s gotta do what a man’s
gotta do, a.
Jonah (jonb) A person who brings bad luck
wherever he or she goes. <strong>The</strong> biblical Jonah was a
prophet who was blamed for the storm that lashed
the ship in which he was fl eeing from God’s command
to go and preach repentance to the people
of Nineveh (Jonah 1:4–12). To appease the storm
and save the ship, Jonah readily agrees to be cast
into the water “for I know that for my sake this
great tempest is upon you.” On being tossed into
the sea he is swallowed by a “great fi sh” (often presumed
to be a whale), inside which he spends
three days and nights before being disgorged safely
on land and subsequently making his way to
Nineveh as commanded. To Jonah someone means
to throw them overboard. “I felt some sentiment
that it must be a judgment on us also. <strong>The</strong> Jonah, in
my mind, was Mr. Earnshaw” (Emily Brontë,
Wuthering Heights, 1847).
Jonathan See david and jonathan.
Jones, Casey See casey jones.
Jones, Indiana See indiana jones.
Jordan passed (jordbn) Death completed,
heaven attained. <strong>The</strong> phrase refers to the Jordan
River in the Holy Land and alludes to the miraculous
dryfooted crossing of the river by the Israelites
led by Joshua on their way to the Promised
Land (located on the western side and often considered
a meta phor for Heaven), as recounted in
Joshua 3:7–17. Her long struggle was over, Jordan
passed and no more suffering to be borne. See also cross
over jordan.
jorum (jorbm) A large drinking bowl, especially
one used to contain punch. <strong>The</strong> name may refer to
the biblical king Joram of Hamath who offered
“vessels of silver, and vessels of gold, and vessels
of brass” (2 Samuel 8:10) as gifts to King David