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

eighth- century b.c. Assyrian king Shalmaneser V,
who appears in the Bible (2 Kings 17:3). <strong>The</strong> company
stopped providing salmanazars for the hotels of
New York several de cades ago.
Salome (sblomee, salomay) A seductive, deceitful
temptress. <strong>The</strong> allusion is to the biblical Salome,
the stepdaughter of Herod Antipas, who (at the
prompting of her mother) demanded the head of
john the baptist; she had been promised whatever
she wanted in payment for her dancing before
her stepfather (Matthew 14:1–12 and Mark 6:16–
29). This Salome, in a fi gure- hugging red gown and
long black gloves, advanced slowly toward their table
with a predatory look in her half- closed eyes.
salt of the earth A person or group of people
admired for their sterling qualities. <strong>The</strong> phrase
comes from Christ’s Sermon on the Mount, as
related in Matthew 5:13: “Ye are the salt of the
earth: but if the salt have lost its savour, wherewith
shall it be salted? It is thenceforth good for nothing,
but to be cast out, and to be trodden under
foot of men.” <strong>The</strong> reference is to the use of salt as
a preservative, preventing food from going rotten.
“Retired sea- captains, in easy circumstances, who
talked of farming as sea- captains are wont; an
erect, respectable, and trustworthy looking man,
in his wrapper, some of the salt of the earth, who
had formerly been the salt of the sea” (Henry
David Thoreau, Cape Cod, 1865).
Sam, Uncle See uncle sam.
Samaritan See good samaritan.
Samian letter (saymeebn) <strong>The</strong> letter y. <strong>The</strong> allusion
is to Pythagoras, who was born on Samos in
the sixth century b.c. and who used the Greek
Samson, blind, grinds in prison
upsilon (equivalent to the modern y) as a symbol
of the divergence between vice and virtue. Pythagoras
himself is sometimes referred to as the
Samian sage. “When reason doubtful like the
Samian letter, / Points him two ways, the narrower
the better” (Alexander Pope, <strong>The</strong> Dunciad,
1728).
Samson (samsbn) A person of exceptional physical
strength. <strong>The</strong> allusion is to the biblical Samson,
a judge of Israel, who was renowned for his
great strength. His feats included tearing a lion
apart with his bare hands, catching 300 foxes, and
knocking down 1,000 men with the jawbone of a
donkey (as related in Judges 13–16). He was
brought low, however, by the wiles of delilah,
who cut off the long hair on which his strength
depended and had his eyes gouged out. Once his
hair grew back, however, his strength returned.
When his Philistine enemies amassed in the temple
of Dagon, Samson gripped the two central
pillars of the temple and pushed them down, causing
the whole building to collapse, killing everyone
inside (Judges 16:30). “He passed the remainder
of the afternoon in a curious high- strung condition,
unable to do much but think of the approaching
meeting with her, and sadly satirize himself for
his emotions thereon, as a Samson shorn” (Thomas
Hardy, <strong>The</strong> Mayor of Casterbridge, 1886). See also
eyeless in gaza; samson, blind, grinds in
prison.
Samson, blind, grinds in prison (samsbn) Reference
to a worker who is obliged to work long and
hard under terrible conditions. <strong>The</strong> allusion is to
the fate of the biblical samson, who was betrayed
by Delilah, subsequently blinded, then forced to
work in the mills of the Philistines ( Judges 16:21).
A cursory examination of the maquiladora reminded the
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