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

phone home
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to be burned in the fl ames. It then emerged
renewed from the ashes, hence the expression a
phoenix rising from the ashes. “. . . and there
she is with her plumage unruffl ed, as glossy as
ever, unable to get old:—a sort of Phoenix free
from the slightest signs of ashes and dust, all complacent
amongst those inanities as if there had
been nothing else in the world” ( Joseph Conrad,
<strong>The</strong> Arrow of Gold, 1919).
phone home See e.t. phone home.
Phrynean (frineebn) Of or relating to a prostitute.
Phryne was a famous and very wealthy Greek
courtesan who lived in the fourth century b.c. Her
beauty was widely admired, and she is supposed to
have been the model for many celebrated statues.
It is said she made so much money that she offered
to pay for the rebuilding of the walls of <strong>The</strong>bes.
“Her underclothes are positively Phrynean” (Aldous
Huxley, Point Counter Point, 1928).
physician, heal thyself Do not criticize others
when you are guilty of the same failings; refrain
from tackling the problems of others before you
have dealt with your own diffi culties fi rst. <strong>The</strong>
proverb is of biblical origin and is spoken by Christ
to the people in the synagogue in Nazareth: “Ye
will surely say unto me this proverb, Physician,
heal thyself: whatsoever we have heard done in
Capernaum, do also here in thy country” (Luke
4:23). “How can a man . . . teach sobriety or
cleanliness, if he be himself drunken or foul? ‘Physician,
heal thyself,’ is the answer of his neighbours”
(Samuel Smiles, Thrift, 1875).
Picasso (pikaso) A brilliant, controversial artist,
especially one who paints in a challenging,
modernistic style. <strong>The</strong> Spanish artist Pablo Picasso
(1881–1974) earned a reputation as perhaps the
most daring and talented artist of the 20th century,
developing the concept of cubism and painting
some of the best- known masterpieces of his
generation, among them the iconic Les Demoiselles
d’Avignon (1907), Three Dancers (1925), and guernica.
His experimental, abstract style won him
many admirers as well as many detractors, who
were perplexed by his trademark distortion of features
and fi gures. <strong>The</strong> college has trained hundreds of
students but has yet to produce its fi rst Picasso.
Pickett’s charge (pikit) A heroic but doomed
effort. <strong>The</strong> reference is to an incident that took
place on July 3, 1863, during the Battle of Gettysburg,
the climactic battle of the U.S. Civil War.
Under severe pressure from the Federal forces,
the Confederate major general George Edward
Pickett (1825–75) ordered his 15,000 men into a
last- ditch attack on the Union lines on Cemetery
Ridge. Pickett’s force was attacked by artillery fi re
as it crossed the open ground in front of the ridge
and was fi nally ordered to retreat by General Robert
E. Lee. Pickett’s gallant but futile gesture
resulted in the loss of three- quarters of his men.
<strong>The</strong> defeat at Gettysburg was widely seen as a fi nal
blow from which the Confederate cause never
recovered. <strong>The</strong> team made a Pickett’s charge down the
fi eld, but the fi nal result was never in doubt.
Pickwickian (pikwikeebn) Jovial; benevolent;
full of curiosity and zest for life. <strong>The</strong> allusion is to
the central character in <strong>The</strong> Pickwick Papers (1837)
by the British novelist Charles Dickens (1812–
70). <strong>The</strong> novel follows Mr. Pickwick and his
friends as they make a tour of the En glish countryside,
getting involved in various comical escapades
and adventures along the way. <strong>The</strong> term
“Pickwickian” can also be used to describe words