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

Sinon
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Sinon (sinon) Personifi cation of a person who
betrays others by deceit. Sinon was the Greek who
convinced the Trojans that there was no danger in
dragging the trojan horse, and the Greek warriors
hidden inside it, within the city’s walls. He
agreed to act as Sinon, volunteering to go to the meeting
and tell anyone who would listen that management was
now ready to negotiate.
sins be as scarlet Even those who are guiltiest of
the worst crimes may be forgiven. <strong>The</strong> phrase
comes from Isaiah 1:18, in which sinners are reassured
of the possibility of divine forgiveness:
“Come now, and let us reason together, saith the
LORD: Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall
be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson,
they shall be as wool.” “What if this cursed
hand / Were thicker than itself with brother’s
blood / Is there not rain enough in the sweet
heavens / To wash it white as snow?” (William
Shakespeare, Hamlet, c. 1600).
sins of the fathers <strong>The</strong> misdeeds of one generation
may have to be atoned for by the generations
that follow. <strong>The</strong> phrase comes from the second of
the Ten Commandments, as rendered in Exodus
20:5, which warns that those who offend God
may fi nd their descendants must pay for their
offenses: “Thou shalt not bow down thyself to
them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God
am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the
fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth
generation of them that hate me.” “Do you believe
in the sins of the father being revisited on the son?”
(Times, January 8, 2002).
sin will fi nd you out Crimes and other misdeeds
invariably reveal themselves in time. <strong>The</strong> phrase
comes from Numbers 32:23, in which Moses
commands the reluctant Reubenites and the
Gadites to cross the Jordan, warning them that if
they refuse to do so they will have committed a
crime against God: “But if ye will not do so,
behold, ye have sinned against the LORD: and be
sure your sin will fi nd you out.” “It sounds horrible
and wicked enough, but he cannot be blamed too
much, and be sure his sin will fi nd him out”
(H. Rider Haggard, She, 1887).
Sion See zion.
siren (sirbn) A seductive or beguiling woman; a
temptress. According to Homer’s Odyssey (c. 700
b.c.) the Sirens were sea nymphs (part women,
part bird) who lured sailors and their ships to
destruction with their enchanting singing; hence, a
siren song signifi es an extremely attractive and
tempting but highly dangerous offer or invitation.
Odysseus was curious to hear the song of the sirens
and had himself tied to the mast of his ship while
the rest of his crew plugged their ears with wax.
When the Argonauts sailed past the Sirens, they
kept themselves safe by listening instead to the
superior singing of Orpheus, upon which the Sirens
threw themselves into the sea and were turned into
rocks. “Of course such a marriage was only what
Newland was entitled to; but young men are so
foolish and incalculable—and some women so
ensnaring and unscrupulous—that it was nothing
short of a miracle to see one’s only son safe past the
Siren Isle and in the haven of a blameless domesticity”
(Edith Wharton, <strong>The</strong> Age of Innocence, 1920).
Sirius (sireebs) <strong>The</strong> brightest star in the sky, situated
in the constellation of Canis Major. Also
called the dog star, it was named Sirius by the
Romans, who believed that dogs were most likely
to go mad when the star was at its height (the