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

eplied, undaunted, “To Philip sober.” Legend has it
that she subsequently won her case. When her husband
returned home late that night, somewhat the worse
for wear, he refused to countenance her suggestion and she
resolved to wait until the following morning, when she
might appeal from Philip drunk to Philip sober.
appease his manes (mayneez) To observe the
wishes of a dead person. According to Roman
belief, the spirit, or manes, of the deceased would
rise up in anger if survivors failed to show due
respect to his or her wishes. In order to appease his
manes, they scattered the old man’s ashes on the cliff top,
as he had instructed.
Appleby, Sir Humphrey See humphrey, sir.
apple of discord A cause of argument. <strong>The</strong> allusion
is to Greek mythology and the golden apple
that was offered by Eris, the goddess of discord, to
the most beautiful of the guests at the wedding of
Peleus and <strong>The</strong>tis, to which she had not been
invited. <strong>The</strong> resulting contest between the goddesses
Hera, Athena, and Aphrodite was settled by
Paris (see judgment of paris) but resulted in
much resentment and bloodshed and ultimately
the outbreak of the Trojan War. In modern usage,
to throw the apple of discord means to provoke
confl ict. “I suppose he specifi ed sincere because it
was no longer sincere: he hurled the offer into
Musgrove Cottage by way of an apple of discord—
at least so I infer from the memorandum, with
which he retired at present from the cash hunt”
(Charles Reade, Hard Cash, 1863).
apple of knowledge See forbidden fruit.
apple of one’s eye Someone or something that
is very precious to a par tic u lar person. <strong>The</strong> phrase
is biblical in origin, appearing in Deuteronomy
32:10, which describes God’s love for Israel—“He
kept him as the apple of his eye”—and again in
Psalm 17:8 and Proverbs 7:2. <strong>The</strong> apple is understood
to be a meta phor for the pupil of the eye,
which is not dissimilar in shape. “ ‘He’s the only
minister I ever had much use for. He’s God’s
own if ever a man was. And he loves you—yes,
sir, he loves you like the apple of his eye’ ” (Lucy
Maud Montgomery, <strong>The</strong> Chronicles of Avonlea,
1912).
apple pie A symbol of the house hold values that
lie at the heart of the American national character.
<strong>The</strong> image of apple pie as a thoroughly American
dish dates back to its association with the
Pilgrim Fathers, who were the continent’s fi rst
permanent Eu ro pe an settlers. It is often linked
with “motherhood” in the phrase motherhood
and apple pie. Little league baseball is as American
as apple pie.
Appleseed, Johnny See johnny appleseed.
apples of Sodom See dead sea fruit.
après moi le déluge
apples of the Hesperides See labors of hercules.
après moi le déluge (apray mwah lb dayloozh)
Everything will collapse after I am (or we are)
gone. <strong>The</strong> sentiment (which translates from French
literally as “after me the fl ood”) is usually attributed
to Louis XV of France (1710–74), who thus
prophesied the chaos that would follow the overthrow
of the French monarchy. Other sources
credit it to Louis’s mistress Madame de Pompadour
(1721–64), reacting to the defeat of the
French and Austrian armies by Frederick the Great
at Rossbach in 1757. <strong>The</strong> general appeared to be
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