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

paparazzi
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brother—only it wasn’t his brother, it was his sister. See
also pelléas and mélisande.
paparazzi (papbratsee) Press photographers
who pursue celebrities to take their photographs.
<strong>The</strong> singular form of the word, used less frequently,
is an allusion to a photographer called
Paparazzo in the 1960 movie la dolce vita
directed by Federico Fellini (1920–93). <strong>The</strong>
name came ultimately from Sulle rive dello Ionio
(1957), Margherita Gandacci’s translation of
George Gissing’s travel book By the Ionian Sea
(1901), in which it was borne by an Italian hotel
own er who took exception to his guests dining at
other establishments. “<strong>The</strong>y have been spied on
by the paparazzi, betrayed by trusted servants,
embarrassed by indiscreet friends, and have had
to endure a constant torrent of innuendo, gossip,
lies and half- truths in newspapers, magazines and
books—none of which are they able to repudiate”
(Penny Junor, Charles and Diana, 1991).
paper tiger Something that appears much more
formidable or impressive than it is actually revealed
to be. <strong>The</strong> phrase was fi rst heard in the 1940s,
when it was used (as zhi laohǔ in the original Chinese)
by the Chinese leader Mao Zedong, talking
about the United States: “<strong>The</strong> atom bomb is a
paper tiger which the United States reactionaries
use to scare people. It looks terrible, but in fact it
isn’t . . . All reactionaries are paper tigers.” “Is it
only a paper tiger, or does it really have teeth?”
(H. McVea, Financial Conglomerates and the Chinese
Wall, 1993).
Paphian (payfeebn) A prostitute. <strong>The</strong> word
originally meant “relating to Venus” and came about
as an allusion to the city of Paphos on Cyprus,
where Venus, the Roman goddess of love, was
worshiped. A Paphian by trade, she became a pop u lar
fi gure in high society, though heartily disliked by other
women.
parable of the sower Story illustrating the point
that there are various responses to God’s word.
<strong>The</strong> parable is related in Mark 4:3–9: “Hearken;
Behold, there went out a sower to sow; And it
came to pass, as he sowed, some fell by the way
side, and the fowls of the air came and devoured it
up. And some fell on stony ground, where it had
not much earth; and immediately it sprang up,
because it had no depth of earth: But when the sun
was up, it was scorched; and because it had no root,
it withered away. And some fell among thorns, and
the thorns grew up, and choked it, and it yielded no
fruit. And other fell on good ground, and did
yield fruit that sprang up and increased; and brought
forth, some thirty, and some sixty, and some an
hundred. And he said unto them, He that hath ears
to hear, let him hear.” Jesus explains the parable in
verses 13–20. Perhaps a better name would be the
parable of the soils: <strong>The</strong> same seed is sown in different
soils. Some seed falls by the wayside, analogous
to the word immediately being taken away by
Satan. Some seed falls on stony ground and so
does not take root, like those who receive the
word gladly but quickly fall away when times
become diffi cult. Other seed falls among thorns,
which choke the growth of the plants, much like
those for whom “the cares of this world, and the
deceitfulness of riches, and the lusts of other
things” (verse 19) come in and kill off the growth.
But in the fi nal case seed falls on good ground
where people hear and receive the word and are
greatly fruitful and productive. <strong>The</strong> story graphically
illustrated the truth behind the biblical parable of the
sower. See also fall by the wayside; fall on stony
ground.