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

who fell in love with the nymph Galatea and, when
she rejected him, killed her lover, Acis. According
to Homer’s odyssey (c. 700 b.c.) Polyphemus
took Odysseus and his men prisoner when they
landed on Sicily and kept them in his cave with his
sheep. In order to escape Odysseus put out Polyphemus’s
one eye with a sharpened stake and
dressed his men in sheepskins so the blinded monster
could not recognize them by touch. <strong>The</strong> story
of Odysseus and Polyphemus is a classic parable of superior
intelligence and cunning outwitting brute force and
stupidity.
Pontius Pilate (ponshbs pilbt) A person who is
indifferent to cruelty or injustice as long as his or
her own interests remain untouched; a person
who refuses to take responsibility for his or her
own actions; a hypocrite. Pontius Pilate was the
Roman governor of Judaea (a.d. 26–36) who
remained unconvinced of Christ’s guilt at his trial
but ultimately allowed him to be crucifi ed in
order to avoid provoking a riot (Matthew 27,
Mark 15, Luke 23, and John 18). <strong>The</strong> expression
Pilate washed his hands alludes to the biblical
account of Pilate washing his hands in public as an
expression of the fact that he refused to accept
any blame for Christ’s death. Legend has it that
after the Crucifi xion Pilate was overcome with
remorse and committed suicide. <strong>The</strong> district attorney,
like some latter- day Pontius Pilate, refused point
blank to accept that he was to blame for this miscarriage
of justice. See also pilate’s wife; wash one’s
hands of.
Pony Express A mail delivery company, especially
one that offers speedy delivery of messages.
<strong>The</strong> original Pony Express was started by the U.S.
government in 1860 and covered the 1,800 miles
between St. Joseph, Missouri, and Sacramento,
poor are always with us, the
California. To ensure the mail got there in the
shortest time possible (at its fastest, just seven
days, 17 hours) riders changed horses at prearranged
posts along the route. It operated for less
than two years, being superseded by the electric
telegraph network in 1862. <strong>The</strong> proofs left by Pony
Express an hour ago.
Pooh- Bah An overbearing, pompous, selfimportant
offi cial, especially one who holds more
than one post. <strong>The</strong> allusion is to the light opera <strong>The</strong>
Mikado (1885) by W. S. Gilbert (1836–1911) and
Sir Arthur Sullivan (1842–1900), in which Pooh-
Bah, the Lord- High- Everything- Else and holder of
many se nior positions, is a prominent character.
He admits to being an insufferable snob and is
impossible to work with, so when others give up
their posts he simply adds them to those he already
holds. “Not that this Pooh- Bah of a person let his
duties worry him, even though they were within
his sight at all hours” (Miss Read, <strong>The</strong> World of
Thrush Green, 1990).
poor are always with us, the <strong>The</strong>re will always be
those who live in poverty and in need of assistance.
<strong>The</strong> expression appears in Matthew 26:11,
Mark 14:7, and John 12:8, which recount an incident
in which a woman used expensive ointment
to anoint Christ. <strong>The</strong> disciples rebuke the woman
for her extravagance, but Christ protests, “Why
trouble ye the woman? for she hath wrought a
good work upon me. For ye have the poor always
with you; but me ye have not always” (Matthew
26:10–11). “Still, with [the alms house’s] gateway
and wicket Meek, in the midst of splendour,
its humble walls seem to echo Softly the words
of the Lord:—‘<strong>The</strong> poor ye always have with
you’ ” (Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Evangeline,
1849).
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