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

groundless. <strong>The</strong> phrase is biblical in origin, appearing
in Matthew 6:30, which reads: “Wherefore, if
God so clothe the grass of the fi eld, which to day
is, and to morrow is cast into the oven, shall he
not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith?”
You didn’t think we would get here on time, did you,
O ye of little faith.
Oz See wizard of oz.
Ozymandian (ozeemandeebn) Grandiose but
ultimately devoid of any real, lasting signifi cance.
In his 1818 poem “Ozymandias” the En glish poet
Percy Bysshe Shelley (1792–1822) gave the name
Ozymandias to an imaginary ancient king, whom
he identifi ed as the subject of a huge statue in the
desert reduced over the years to a mere fragment:
“My name is Ozymandias, king of kings: / Look
on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!” <strong>The</strong> statue
in question, at <strong>The</strong>bes, actually depicted the Egyptian
pharaoh Ramses II (1304–1237 b.c.). <strong>The</strong>
adjective Ozymandian has thus come to refer to
any ambitious but inevitably futile fl aunting of
earthly power or other display of vanity. His pride
in his children’s trifl ing achievements was positively
Ozymandian.
Ozymandian
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