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

himself: “Life’s but a walking shadow, a poor
player, / That struts and frets his hour upon the
stage, / And then is heard no more; it is a tale /
Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, / Signifying
nothing.” “Fatima had an emotional outburst and
stormed out fi rst with Giselle and the Re nais sance
Man in tow, taking all her sound and fury and phobias
elsewhere, and everyone was profoundly
relieved” ( Jean Bows, Jane’s Journey, 1991).
sounding brass or a tinkling cymbal A meaningless
noise. <strong>The</strong> phrase comes from 1 Corinthians
13:1: “Though I speak with the tongues of men
and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as
sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal.” “I hearkened
and hearkened the ministers, and read an’ read at
my prayer- book; but it was all like sounding brass
and a tinkling cymbal: the sermons I couldn’t
understand, an’ th’ prayer- book only served to
show me how wicked I was, that I could read such
good words an’ never be no better” (Anne Brontë,
Agnes Grey, 1847).
sound of many waters See voice of many
waters.
sour grapes Resentment or bitter feelings, usually
against something that one cannot enjoy oneself.
<strong>The</strong> allusion is to Aesop’s fable about a fox
that on fi nding itself unable to reach a delicious
bunch of grapes consoled itself with deciding that
they were sour anyway. He said that the book I wrote
is not worth reading, but that is sour grapes because he
would like to write one himself.
South Sea Bubble A fi nancial collapse based on a
sudden failure of confi dence in a doubtful project.
<strong>The</strong> South Sea Bubble was the name given originally
to a sudden rise and equally sudden fall in
sow the wind and reap the whirlwind
confi dence in a speculative venture launched by
the British lawyer Sir John Blunt in 1710. Blunt’s
ambitious plans involved controlling trade in the
South Seas and South America; for a time the
scheme prospered, but investors ultimately became
ner vous and in 1720 the whole project collapsed,
ruining many of those connected with it. This venture
could turn into another South Sea Bubble unless
more capital is found soon.
sow dragon’s teeth To plant the seeds of future
confl ict. <strong>The</strong> allusion is to Greek mythology, specifi
cally to the story of Cadmus, who killed a
dragon and was instructed to give half the dragon’s
teeth to the goddess Athena and to plant the other
half in the ground. <strong>The</strong> latter sprouted into warriors
who fought one another until only fi ve were
left. <strong>The</strong>se survivors then accompanied Cadmus
on his mission to found the city of <strong>The</strong>bes. Athena
gave her part of the teeth to the king of Colchis,
who passed them on to Jason, leader of the Argonauts.
Among other challenges Jason had to plant
the teeth and kill the warriors who sprang up from
them before he could secure the Golden Fleece (in
which task he was eventually successful). Few people
realized at the time that those who agreed the compromises
necessary to facilitate the state’s foundation
were actually sowing dragon’s teeth that would lead to
the loss of thousands of lives in the de cades to come. See
also pyrrhic victory.
sow the wind and reap the whirlwind Those who
behave irresponsibly or carelessly will fi nd that
they have to face disastrous consequences of their
misdeeds later on. <strong>The</strong> expression is of biblical
origin, appearing at Hosea 8:7: “For they have
sown the wind, and they shall reap the whirlwind:
it hath no stalk: the bud shall yield no meal: if so
be it yield, the strangers shall swallow it up.” In its
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