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

wisdom and sense of justice, by two prostitutes
who were both claiming possession of the same
child. Having heard their cases, Solomon calmly
proposed cutting the child in half so that the
women could have equal shares; the woman who
showed anxiety about this proposal proved she
was the real mother and was accordingly awarded
custody of the infant. <strong>The</strong> biblical account rec ords
Solomon’s prayer for wisdom (1 Kings 3:5–15)
and the giving by God to him of “a wise and
understanding heart” (verse 12). “ ‘<strong>The</strong> dev il take
all halves and quarters!’ said the Captain; ‘were it
in my option, I could no more consent to the
halving of that dollar, than the woman in the Judgment
of Solomon to the disseverment of the child
of her bowels’ ” (Sir Walter Scott, A Legend of Montrose,
1819).
judgment seat See judgment day.
Judy See punch and judy.
juggernaut (jugernot) A large, heavy truck; any
im mense object, force, or concept with seemingly
unstoppable momentum. <strong>The</strong> word comes from
Hindu mythology, specifi cally from the name Jagganath,
which was one of the many titles adopted
by the god Vishnu. Idols of Jagannath are traditionally
borne on massive wheeled vehicles pulled by
thousands of pilgrims at an annual festival held in
the city of Puri in eastern India in his honor. Pop ular
belief has it that extreme devotees of Jagganath
regularly make sacrifi ces of themselves by lying
down in front of the huge wheels carry ing his
image and being crushed to death, although the
reality may be that these are simply unfortunates
who have lost their footing in the press of worshipers.
“It’s as if he were some horrible old Juggernaut
and I had to see my children’s own father
throwing them under the wheels to keep him satisfi
ed” (Booth Tarkington, Alice Adams, 1921).
Julian calendar (jooleebn) <strong>The</strong> calendar that preceded
the present Gregorian calendar. <strong>The</strong> system
was named after the Roman emperor Julius Caesar
(100–44 b.c.), who introduced the system in 46
because the existing system (based on the lunar
month rather than the solar year) had led to the
Roman year being a full three months ahead of
where it should have been. <strong>The</strong> fact that Caesar’s
own calendar meant that each year was longer by
11 minutes than it should have been eventually persuaded
Pope Gregory XIII to replace it in 1582 with
the so- called Gregorian calendar, which was subsequently
adopted by Britain and its colonies in 1752,
when 11 days (September 2–14) were omitted to
correct the long- standing inaccuracy of the former
system. People who did not understand the rationale
behind this latest updating feared they were
being robbed of the time and protested vigorously
under the slogan “give us back our 11 days.” Ethiopia
ranks among the few countries that still retain the
Julian calendar. Such ideas belong to a different time, to
the era of the Julian calendar and gladiatorial combat.
Juliet See romeo and juliet.
Jumping Jehoshaphat!
July <strong>The</strong> seventh month of the year. July was
named after the Roman emperor Julius Caesar
(100–44 b.c.) on the command of Mark Antony
(c. 82–30 b.c.); it was originally known as Quintilis.
Her smile was as sunny as July.
Jumping Jehoshaphat! ( jbhoshbfat) A mild
oath. According to 1 Kings 22, Jehoshaphat, whose
name means “Jehovah is judge,” was one of the
kings of Judah from 873 to 849 b.c. As king he
promoted the religious education of his people and
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