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

Lenten
280
the Argonauts, whose couplings with the women
of Lemnos resulted in a compensatory boost in the
birthrate. Such Lemnian actions are increasingly leading
to the perpetrators making appearances before international
courts of justice.
Lenten (lentbn) Frugal; meager, especially in
relation to food. <strong>The</strong> adjective comes from Lent,
the period of fasting between Ash Wednesday and
Easter in the Christian calendar. <strong>The</strong> tradition of
Lent is itself a commemoration of the 40 days and
40 nights spent by Christ in the wilderness, as
described in Matthew 4:1–2. “But none can say /
That Lenten fare makes Lenten thought” (Alfred
Tennyson, Tiresias, 1885).
Leonardo da Vinci (leebnahdo db vinchee) A
genius whose skills extend across science and the
arts. <strong>The</strong> Tuscan- born Leonardo da Vinci (1452–
1519) was preeminent among the artists and
thinkers of the re nais sance, famed as the creator
of artistic masterpieces such as the Mona Lisa as
well as for his many scientifi c and technological
ideas, which included numerous inventions that
were hundreds of years before their time. In the
modern era of specialization it is unlikely we will ever
encounter another Leonardo da Vinci. See also mona
lisa smile.
Leonidas See thermopylae.
leopard cannot change its spots, a It is impossible
for a person to change his or her essential character
or nature. <strong>The</strong> proverb comes from the Bible,
appearing in Jeremiah 13:23: “Can the Ethiopian
change his skin, or the leopard his spots? then may
ye also do good, that are accustomed to do evil.”
His parents hoped he would mend his ways once he went
to college, but a leopard cannot change its spots.
Leopold and Loeb (leebpold, lob) Archetype of
murderers who kill for sadistic amusement. In
1924 Nathan Leopold (aged 19) and Richard Loeb
(aged 18), both highly gifted college students
from wealthy Chicago families, kidnapped and
murdered 14- year- old Bobby Franks purely for
their own entertainment. <strong>The</strong>ir subsequent trial
resulted in both being found guilty of murder but
insane: they were sentenced to life imprisonment,
with 99 years added on for kidnapping. <strong>The</strong> way the
pair cooperated in their killing spree reminded experts
strongly of the Leopold and Loeb affair.
lesbian (lesbeebn) A female homosexual. <strong>The</strong>
word (a late- 19th- century coinage) has its origins
ultimately in the island of Lesbos in the eastern
Aegean, where the Greek poetess Sappho (fl . 580
b.c.) was born. Sappho’s passionate verse celebrated
love between women, hence lesbian, or
sapphic, came to describe such relationships. Sappho
was married to a wealthy man named Cercolas
and according to one legend threw herself into
the sea in despair over her unrequited love for the
boatman Phaon. <strong>The</strong> belief that she was herself a
lesbian is speculative, although the tone of her
poetry does suggest at least an ardent attachment
to her female friends. All her friends knew she was a
lesbian, but her parents had never suspected a thing.
les- Deux-Églises (laydbzaygleez) A place to
which a person who is out of favor retreats to
await a revival in his or her fortunes. French
president Charles de Gaulle (1890–1970) retired
to his home at Colombey- les- Deux-Églises on
two occasions during his career when out of
offi ce: on the fi rst occasion he was duly begged
to come back. <strong>The</strong> governor has gone back to Miamiles-
Deux-Églises to sulk until he is summoned back to
Washington.