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

include Scotland’s Silicon Glen between Glasgow
and Edinbugh and En gland’s Silicon Fen at Cambridge.
He plans to make his fortune in Silicon Valley
and spend the rest of his life on the Riviera.
Siloam See shiloah.
Silvanus (silvaynbs) Personifi cation of the countryside.
Silvanus was identifi ed in Roman mythology
as the god of woodlands, fi elds, and fl ocks, the
equivalent of the Greek god Pan. He was reputed
to keep wolves away from livestock. <strong>The</strong>y spent the
rest of the afternoon enjoying all the pleasures that Silvanus
offered to visitors in that delightful glade.
Silver See lone ranger.
Silver, Long John See long john silver.
silver age A period of history considered inferior
to a golden age. According to Hesiod (fl . c.
800 b.c.) and other poets of the classical era, the
original silver age was the second of the ages of
the world, when humans abandoned themselves to
voluptuous and godless ways. Commercialism has
entirely replaced the artistic impulse in what has been
termed a second silver age.
silver cord See golden bowl.
Simon Legree See uncle tom.
simony (simbnee) <strong>The</strong> practice of buying and
selling spiritual or church benefi ts such as pardons,
relics, and ecclesiastical offi ces. <strong>The</strong> word
comes from the name of Simon Magus, a sorcerer
who lived in the fi rst century a.d. and who, having
converted to Christianity, sought to buy spiritual
power from the apostles until rebuked by Peter
(as related in Acts 8): “And when Simon saw that
through laying on of the apostles’ hands the Holy
Spirit was given, he offered them money, saying,
Give me also this power” (Acts 8:18–19). <strong>The</strong>
word has also produced the verb simonize to
describe such activity. Some modern people could be
accused of simony. <strong>The</strong>y think they can buy their way
into the kingdom of God.
Simple Simon A slow- witted person, a fool. <strong>The</strong>
allusion is to a nursery rhyme character who,
among other nonsensical activities, goes fi shing
for a whale in a bucket of water. He pretended to be
Simple Simon but was really a brilliant thinker.
Sinai See mount sinai.
Sinbad A sailor or adventurer of some kind. <strong>The</strong>
adventures of Sinbad the Sailor were featured in
one of the tales of the arabian nights, which
described his seven voyages to exotic distant lands.
He was a regular Sinbad the Sailor, with his own sailboat
and everything. See also old man of the sea.
sing one’s Nunc Dimittis See nunc dimittis.
sinister Ominous; threatening evil or harm. <strong>The</strong>
word comes from the Latin sinister (meaning “left
handed”) and alludes to the ancient notion that in
divination, portents that appeared toward the west
(on the left of the augur, who traditionally faced
north) were negative, while those that appeared
toward the east (on the augur’s right) were positive.
“<strong>The</strong> hand he gave me was the hand I had bitten.
I could not restrain my eye from resting for an
instant on a red spot upon it; but it was not so red
as I turned, when I met that sinister expression
in his face” (Charles Dickens, David Copperfi eld,
1849–50).
sinister
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