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

After her banishment she became a demon haunting
various remote places at night and attacking
women in childbirth. She is sometimes identifi ed
as the “screech- owl” mentioned in Isaiah 34:14.
Mad with rage, with her long hair tangled and matted,
she hurtled through the ruined house, screaming like
some demented Lilith.
Lilliputian (lilbpyooshbn) On a miniature scale.
<strong>The</strong> Lilliputians were a race of tiny people
encountered by gulliver in Jonathan Swift’s
satire Gulliver’s Travels (1726). Only six inches
tall, they have a sense of self- importance quite
unmatched by their stature, making them ridiculous
to the towering Gulliver. “For this was the
season when at every doorway and table the locals
were noisily betting on the lilliputian battles of
fi ghting cicadas” (Lorne Blair, Ring of Fire, 1988).
See also brobdingnagian; laputa; yahoo.
lily of the valleys See rose of sharon.
Lincoln, Abraham See abraham lincoln.
lion in the way A contrived excuse for not doing
something one does not feel like doing. <strong>The</strong>
expression comes from Proverbs 26:13: “<strong>The</strong>
slothful man saith, <strong>The</strong>re is a lion in the way; a lion
in the streets.” It may also be encountered in the
variant forms lion in the path and lion in the
streets. “. . . but it was three miles off, and there
was a lion in the way: they must pass in sight of
Squire Raby’s house” (Charles Reade, Put Yourself
in His Place, 1870).
lion in winter A man whose great strength and
resolution is in gradual decline because of advancing
age. <strong>The</strong> phrase is best known as the title of a
1966 play (fi lmed in 1968) by James Goldman
about King Henry II of En gland and his struggle to
maintain control of the country as his mental and
physical powers weaken. <strong>The</strong> lion is one of the
most familiar emblems of British royalty. <strong>The</strong> prime
minister retained his powers of rhetoric into advanced
old age, proving time and again he was a lion in winter
who still knew how to roar.
lions’ den See daniel in the lions’ den.
lion shall lie down with the lamb Idyllic view of a
future in which natural enemies will be reconciled
and live in peace. <strong>The</strong> expression appears in
Isaiah 11:6–7, which contains a prophecy of peace
and safety in the future messianic age: “<strong>The</strong> wolf
also shall dwell with the lamb and the leopard
shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the
young lion and the fatling together; and a little
child shall lead them. And the cow and the bear
shall feed; their young ones shall lie down together:
and the lion shall eat straw like the ox.” “. . . the
time is come when the past should be buried in
oblivion; when my family should take Mr. Micawber
by the hand, and Mr. Micawber should take
my family by the hand; when the lion should lie
down with the lamb, and my family be on terms
with Mr. Micawber” (Charles Dickens, David Copperfi
eld, 1849–50).
Little Bighorn See custer’s last stand.
little cloud no bigger than a man’s hand See
cloud no bigger than a man’s hand.
Little Corporal See napoleon.
little gray cells See hercule poirot.
little Hitler See hitler.
little Hitler
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