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

mark of Cain (kayn) A brand or other distinguishing
mark that bears witness to some past
crime or misdeed. According to the biblical account
of Abel’s murder at the hands of his brother Cain,
Cain was branded by God with a special mark so
that those who met him would refrain from killing
him out of vengeance: “And the LORD set a mark
upon Cain, lest any fi nding him should kill him”
(Genesis 4:15). Tradition has it that the mark took
the form of a bloodstained brand on Cain’s brow.
In modern usage a mark of Cain, or curse of Cain,
is generally understood to be a mark of punishment
rather than protection. “<strong>The</strong> commitment is
total and to opt out of the system is a mark of Cain”
(Guardian, July 19, 1991). See also cain and abel.
mark of the beast A physical mark or something
else that indicates a person’s association with evil. In
the book of Revelation (13:16–17, 16:2, and 19:20)
an angel punishes those who bear the mark of the
beast, a brand on the right hand or forehead signifying
those who, at the behest of a creature risen up
from the earth, worship a seven- headed beast from
the sea. Those who criticize a person or activity as
evil are said to set the mark of the beast on the
object of their condemnation. In the Royal Navy the
lapel fl ashes of midshipmen are traditionally nicknamed
marks of the beast. “Each of these creatures,
despite its human form, its rag of clothing, and the
rough humanity of its bodily form, had woven into
it—into its movements, into the expression of its
countenance, into its whole presence—some now
irresistible suggestion of a hog, a swinish taint, the
unmistakable mark of the beast” (H. G. Wells, <strong>The</strong>
Island of Doctor Moreau, 1896).
Marlboro man (mahrlbbro) Archetype of a
rugged, masculine cowboy. <strong>The</strong> allusion is to a
long- running advertising campaign for Marlboro
cigarettes, which was launched in 1954. <strong>The</strong> campaign
featured the stirring image of a cowboy contentedly
smoking a Marlboro cigarette as he
surveyed an expansive Wild West landscape. <strong>The</strong>
campaign was apparently conceived to pop u lar ize
fi lter cigarettes, which until then had been considered
feminine. It was hugely successful and over
the years many actors and male models appeared
in the role of the Marlboro man; two of them, it
must be added, later died of lung cancer. <strong>The</strong>
quintessential wild country in which the Marlboro
man supposedly thrived was dubbed Marlboro
country, though the cigarettes themselves were
actually named after Great Marlborough Street in
the West End of London, where the manufacturers
of the cigarettes were originally based. <strong>The</strong> guide
clearly thought of himself as a Marlboro man, with his
white stetson and faded blue jeans.
Marlene Dietrich (mahrlaynb deetrik) Archetypal
femme fatale. <strong>The</strong> German- born movie actress
and singer Marlene Dietrich (Magdalena von Losch;
1901–92) sprang to fame in <strong>The</strong> Blue Angel (1930)
and acquired iconic status as a vampish sex symbol
whose husky voice came to be widely imitated by
admirers and impersonators. In his high heels, fi shnet
stockings, and top hat he looked like a nightmarish
version of Marlene Dietrich.
Marley’s ghost See scrooge.
Marlowe, Philip See philip marlowe.
Marner, Silas See silas marner.
Marple, Miss See miss marple.
Marquess of Queensberry rules
Marquess of Queensberry rules See queensberry
rules.
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