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

<strong>The</strong> notion of Arcadia representing an idealized
rural setting was taken up with some enthusiasm
by En glish poets of the late 16th century. “I had
not forgotten Sebastian. He was with me daily in
Julia; or rather it was Julia I had known in him, in
those distant Arcadian days” (Evelyn Waugh, Brideshead
Revisited, 1945).
Arcati, Madame See madame arcati.
Archie Bunker (ahrchee bunker) A garrulous
bigot. Archie Bunker was the central character in
the U.S. tele vi sion series All in the Family, broadcast
between 1971 and 1991. Archie Bunker represented
the narrow, bigoted views of the working
classes and regularly voiced his prejudices to the
consternation and amusement of his family, his
neighbors, and anyone else unlucky enough to
cross his path. <strong>The</strong> show was based on the British
tele vi sion series Till Death Us Do Part, in which the
Archie Bunker character ranted and railed under
the name Alf Garnett. It seems likely that we will
always have our Archie Bunkers decrying the way that
society is.
Archilochian bitterness (arkilokeebn) Mocking,
personalized satire. <strong>The</strong> allusion is to the writings
of the seventh- century b.c. Greek satirical poet
Archilochus, who expressed personal resentments
and bitterness in his verse. It was just as well that the
author of such Archilochian bitterness had elected to
remain anonymous as he or she would doubtless have
been sued for libel.
Archimago (ahkeemaygo) An arch-hypocrite.
Archimago appears in Edmund Spenser’s <strong>The</strong>
Faerie Queene (1590, 1596), in which he is depicted
as an evil sorcerer who uses his powers to deceive.
<strong>The</strong> Republicans now have their own Archimago, voicing
opinions that no one in the White House actually
shares.
Archimedean (ahrkbmeedeebn) Of or relating to
the mathematical or physical theories of Archimedes.
A Greek mathematician and scientist, Archimedes
(c. 287–c. 212 b.c) made many notable and
profoundly infl uential discoveries in such fi elds as
geometry, mechanics, and hydrostatics, such as the
Archimedes principle and the Archimedes screw.
“It was at this juncture that Mr. Monck Mason
(whose voyage from Dover to Weilburg in the balloon
Nassau occasioned so much excitement in
1837) conceived the idea of employing the principle
of the Archimedean screw for the purpose of
propulsion through the air” (Edgar Allan Poe, “<strong>The</strong>
Balloon- Hoax,” 1850). See also eureka!
Arden See forest of arden.
Ares (aireez) Personifi cation of war. Ares was
identifi ed in Greek mythology as the son of Zeus
and Hera and the god of war. In Roman mythology
he was called Mars. <strong>The</strong> spirit of Ares loomed over the
conference table and made any substantial agreement
well nigh impossible.
Arethusa See alpheus and arethusa.
argonaut (ahrgbnot) A seafarer, especially one
who embarks in a spirit of adventure. In Greek
mythology the Argonauts were the heroes who
accompanied Jason in his pursuit of the golden
fl eece. Including such famous names as hercules
and orpheus among their number, they took
their name from their vessel, the Argo (meaning
“swift”). “This was our second parting, and our
capacities were now reversed. It was mine to play
the Argonaut, to speed affairs, to plan and to
argonaut
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