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

modest proposal, a
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ship, the Pequod, and the deaths of both pursuer
and pursued. Melville’s creation was apparently
based on a real whale, called Mocha Dick, which
was blamed for damaging whaling ships and causing
the deaths of many whalers during the 1830s
and 1840s. <strong>The</strong> downed zeppelin wallowed in the surf
like a fl abby Moby Dick. See also captain ahab.
modest proposal, a An outrageous proposal suggested
as a possible solution to a problem. In 1729
the Irish satirist Jonathan Swift (1667–1745) suggested
in his pamphlet “A Modest Proposal for
preventing the Children of poor People in Ireland,
from being a Burden to their Parents or Country,
and for making them benefi cial to the Publick”
that the children of poor families should be fed to
the rich, thus solving the problems of both famine
and poverty in Ireland. This was a modest proposal
guaranteed to offend anyone with allegiance to the
church.
Mohammed See muhammad.
Moirae See fates.
Moloch (mahlbk, molok) A god or other power
who demands the sacrifi ce of what a person holds
most dear. According to Leviticus 18:21, Moloch
(or Molech) was an Ammonite god to whom followers
sacrifi ced their children in the Valley of
Hinnom outside Jerusalem. Over the centuries the
name has been applied to various dreadful rulers
and instruments of death, including war and, during
the French Revolution, the guillotine. “Artists
are the high priests of the modern Moloch” (George
Bernard Shaw, An Unsocial Socialist, 1887).
Molotov cocktail (molbtof ) A homemade grenade
consisting of an infl ammable liquid poured
into a bottle, fi tted with a burning rag or wick,
and thrown at an enemy, igniting on impact. Such
devices were fi rst employed against tanks during
the Spanish Civil War of the 1930s. <strong>The</strong>y were
named after the Soviet minister of foreign affairs
Vyacheslav Molotov (1890–1986), a reference to
their use during the “Winter War” that broke out
between the Soviet Union and Finland in 1939.
“Before Adam could react with his weapons, the
passenger in the BMW, a young blond skinhead,
set light to a glass bottle half- fi lled with petrol
with a piece of rag stuffed in the top, and hurled
the Molotov cocktail through Billie’s open window
into the Quattro” (Eddy Shah, <strong>The</strong> Lucy Ghosts,
1993).
moly (molee) An herb with magical properties.
This mysterious herb was allegedly given by
Hermes to Odysseus to make him immune from
spells cast by the sorceress Circe. It was described
as having a black root and a milk- white fl ower.
<strong>The</strong> name has since been associated with several
plants, including wild garlic. She could not describe
the medicine the shaman had administered to her but
concluded that it was some modern equivalent of the
magical moly that Odysseus had used to protect himself
from the witchcraft of Circe.
moment of truth <strong>The</strong> time when the fi nal outcome
is revealed or when someone or something
is put to the test. <strong>The</strong> expression comes from bullfi
ghting, specifi cally from the Spanish el momento de
la verdad, which describes the moment when a
bullfi ghter makes the sword- thrust that fi nally kills
the bull. He stood on the diving platform, knowing that
this was going to be his moment of truth.
Momus (mombs) A person who complains about
everything. In Greek mythology Momus was the