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

sinated” (Stuart Cosgrove, Hampden Babylon, 1991).
See also year zero.
Kilroy was here (kilroi) Ubiquitous graffi ti slogan.
<strong>The</strong> origins of this familiar graffi ti tag are
unclear, although there are suggestions that the
original Kilroy was a shipyard inspector at Quincy,
Massachusetts, who chalked up these words on
pieces of material he had inspected. What ever the
origin, the phrase became well known during
World War II, when it was scrawled on walls all
over the world by U.S. troops, especially members
of Air Transport Command. No one should
expect great cultural awareness from this “Kilroy was
here” generation, whose chief artistic expression seems to
be defacing rolling stock with garish tags.
kindness of strangers, the See blanche
dubois.
King, the <strong>The</strong> nickname by which U.S. pop star
Elvis Presley (1935–77) became universally known.
<strong>The</strong> nickname, otherwise rendered as the King of
Rock ’n’ Roll, refl ects Presley’s preeminence
among the pop stars of his generation. Another
nickname, Elvis the Pelvis, refl ects the sexual
allure of his stage per for mances. He had a large collection
of singles by the King and other giants of the
early rock ’n’ roll era. See also graceland.
King Arthur <strong>The</strong> ideal of a chivalric ruler. A
lengthy cycle of legends describes the adventures
of King Arthur and his knights, from his pulling
the sword from the stone (thereby proving his
claim to the throne of En gland), through the formation
of the round table and the search for the
holy grail, to his betrayal by Queen Guinevere
and Sir Lancelot and eventual death. Historically,
the legends are hazily placed somewhere between
the departure of the Romans from Britain and the
Saxon invasion. <strong>The</strong> stories are widely familiar,
and the term Arthurian is immediately understood
to represent such knightly qualities as courage,
loyalty, honor, and Christian fi delity. Like some
modern King Arthur, he believed implicitly in the righteousness
of his presidential court. See also avalon;
camelot; excalibur; merlin.
King Canute (kbnoot) A person who makes fanciful
claims far beyond his or her real infl uence or
importance. <strong>The</strong> historical King Canute (d. 1035)
was the Danish- born king of En gland who, in
order to demonstrate to his fl attering courtiers
the limits of his earthly powers, led his court to
the seashore and there ordered the incoming tide
to retreat. Perversely, despite the intent behind
the gesture, Canute’s name is today usually
invoked as an illustration of overweening ambition,
not humility. “Having proved myself incapable
of holding back an irresistible force, I now
know exactly how Canute felt” (Lee Wilkinson, Joy
Bringer, 1992).
King Kong A person or thing of large, even monstrous
proportions. <strong>The</strong> allusion is to the classic
1933 movie King Kong, since remade several times,
in which King Kong is a terrifying giant gorilla
who is brought low by his weakness for a pretty
human woman, played in 1933 by Fay Wray, in
1976 by Jessica Lange, and in 2005 by Naomi
Watts. “So there they stood, fi ve feet apart: the
monstrous stranger and the pure- beef hooligan,
both ready for battle and roaring their jungle challenges
into the night air like Godzilla and King
Kong” (Helen Forrester, <strong>The</strong> Latchkey Kid, 1990).
King Lear (leer) Archetype of a foolish and
tragic old man, especially one who becomes
King Lear
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