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

Christ’s second coming (postmillennialism)” (Selman
and Manser, Hearthside Bible Dictionary, p. 162).
<strong>The</strong> millennium was expected by some to begin in
the year 1000, but when this did not happen various
theories based on different readings of the biblical
text were put forward as to the possible date.
Similar expectations were raised, and disappointed,
in 2000. “You hear talk, sometimes, ‘d make you
think the millennium had come—but right the next
breath you’ll hear somebody hollerin’ about “the
great unrest.” You BET there’s a ‘great unrest’!”
(Booth Tarkington, <strong>The</strong> Turmoil, 1915).
Mills and Boon Of or relating to a strongly
romantic, sentimental type of fi ction. <strong>The</strong> Mills and
Boon publishing company was founded by Gerald
Mills (1877–1928) and Charles Boon (1877–1943)
and from the 1930s became a byword for pop u lar
escapist romantic fi ction. Interestingly, the company
did not initially start out with such books, but
included among its early output novels by distinguished
writers such as Hugh Walpole and P. G.
Wode house. <strong>The</strong> wedding was all very Mills and Boon,
with half a dozen sweet young children acting as bridesmaids
amid a sea of fl owers.
millstone around one’s neck An inescapable and
onerous obligation or duty that tends to handicap
a person’s efforts. <strong>The</strong> expression comes from
Matthew 18:6, which delivers a warning against
those who would lead a child astray: “But whoso
shall offend one of these little ones which believe
in me, it were better for him that a millstone were
hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned
in the depth of the sea.” His obligations to his family
are a real millstone around his neck.
Milo (milo) Personifi cation of great physical
strength. Milo was a famous Greek athlete who
lived in Crotona toward the end of the sixth century
b.c. Legend has it that he once carried a fouryear-
old heifer through the stadium at Olympia
before eating the entire animal, and also that he
met his death after attempting to pull apart a partially
riven oak tree, becoming trapped by the
hands and in this helpless condition being devoured
by wolves. This new Milo seemed not to know the limits
of his strength and looked about him for a new way to
impress the growing crowd with his prodigious muscle
power.
Milquetoast, Caspar See caspar milquetoast.
Miltonic (miltonik) Of or relating to the writings
of the En glish poet John Milton (1608–74).
<strong>The</strong> author of the masterpieces Paradise Lost (1667)
and Paradise Regained (1671), among other works,
John Milton dealt with such profound, lofty, “Miltonic”
themes as the fall of man, the rights of the
people against the monarchy, the shortcomings of
the Church of En gland, and the greatness of God.
He condemned the failings of the contemporary cultural
establishment in ringing, Miltonic tones.
Minerva See athena; invita minerva.
Ming the Merciless See fl ash gordon.
Minotaur See labyrinth.
mint A place where money is manufactured. <strong>The</strong>
word comes from the Latin moneta (meaning
“money”), which was in turn a reference to an
alternative title (meaning “the admonisher”) for
the Roman goddess Juno. It was next to the temple
of Juno in Rome that the city’s money was
coined. All the new coins will have to be returned to the
mint and replaced by a new issue. See also money.
mint
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