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

so- called dog days of mid- summer). <strong>The</strong> word
itself comes from the Greek seirios (meaning
“scorching”). “<strong>The</strong> sky was still thick, but looking
straight up he saw a single star, and tried vaguely
to reckon whether it were Sirius, or—or—<strong>The</strong>
effort tired him too much, and he closed his heavy
lids and thought that he would sleep” (Edith Wharton,
Ethan Frome, 1911).
Sisera See stars in their courses.
Sistine Chapel See painting the sistine
chapel.
Sisyphean (sisbfeebn) Of or relating to a seemingly
endless or futile effort. <strong>The</strong> allusion is to the
punishment that was imposed by Tartarus upon
Sisyphus, king of Corinth, for various misdemeanors.
Sisyphus was condemned for eternity to push
a large rock up a hill, only to fi nd that when he
reached the summit the rock tumbled all the way
back to the bottom, so he had to begin all over
again. By the same token any fruitless or neverending
task may be called a burden or labor of
Sisyphus. For years he had engaged in an apparently
Sisyphean effort to persuade the government to change
its mind.
sit at the feet of Gamaliel See gamaliel.
six million dollar man See bionic man.
sixty- four thousand dollar question An allimportant,
deciding question, especially one that
is diffi cult to answer. <strong>The</strong> allusion is to a U.S. radio
and tele vi sion quiz of the 1950s in which the prize
money gradually escalated until it reached the
maximum total of $64,000. <strong>The</strong> sixty- four thousand
dollar question is who’s got the key?
skeleton at the feast A somber or melancholy
note in otherwise joyous surroundings. This colorful
image is of ancient origin, its earliest mention
being in the Moralia of the Greek historian
Plutarch (a.d. 46–120). According to Plutarch,
who had traveled widely, the Egyptians were in
the habit of placing a mummy among the diners
at their feasts and celebrations as a reminder of
their own mortality. In modern usage the term is
often applied to a person who remains depressed
and gloomy while those around him or her are
throwing themselves into the festivities. “Blunt
noticed this and remarked that I seemed to be
attracted by the Empress. ‘It’s disagreeable,’ I
said. ‘It seems to lurk there like a shy skeleton at
the feast. But why do you give the name of
Empress to that dummy?’ ” (Joseph Conrad, <strong>The</strong>
Arrow of Gold, 1919).
skeptic A person who refuses to accept what he
or she is told. <strong>The</strong> word comes from the Greek
skeptesthai (meaning “to examine”) and was adopted
in the fourth century b.c. by the followers of Pyrrho
as a name to describe their philosophical
movement, otherwise known as Pyrrhonism.
Essential to their beliefs were the notions that
nothing could be proved beyond doubt and that
only the reality of the sensations could be trusted.
“ ‘Am I a liar in your eyes?’ he asked passionately.
‘Little sceptic, you shall be convinced’ ” (Charlotte
Brontë, Jane Eyre, 1847).
skid row See on skid row.
skin of one’s teeth, by the
skin of one’s teeth, by the By the narrowest of
margins. <strong>The</strong> expression comes from Job 19:20:
“My bone cleaveth to my skin and to my fl esh, and
I am escaped with the skin of my teeth.” He escaped
serious injury only by the skin of his teeth.
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