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

Teapot Dome
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to the oft- quoted introduction me Tarzan, you
Jane. “Ken looked like a waterborne Tarzan,
swinging through the air from wave to wave”
(Andy Martin, Walking on Water, 1991).
Teapot Dome A major po liti cal scandal. <strong>The</strong> Teapot
Dome scandal erupted in the United States in
the 1920s, when secret payments made by the
Mammoth Oil Company to drill on a government
oil fi eld at Teapot Dome in Wyoming came to
light, leading ultimately to the trial and imprisonment
of Secretary of the Interior Albert B. Fall
(1861–1944), who had received the bribes. Watergate
developed into the biggest po liti cal scandal since the
Teapot Dome.
tears, vale of See vale of tears.
tears of Eos (eeos) <strong>The</strong> morning dew. <strong>The</strong> allusion
is to the tears that were supposedly wept every
morning by the Greek goddess Eos in mourning for
her son Memnon, who was slain by Achilles during
the Trojan War. <strong>The</strong> lawns sparkled with the “tears of
Eos” as the old romantic liked to say.
teeth set on edge See sour grapes.
Tefl on- coated Impervious to criticism or blame.
<strong>The</strong> allusion is to a tough nonstick coating (tradenamed
Tefl on) for cooking pans and other utensils
developed in the 1940s from polytetrafl uoroethylene.
In modern usage the term “Tefl on- coated”
(or simply “Tefl on”) is often applied to politicians,
criminals, etc., who appear to be immune from
any blame for their actions or associations: accusations
or criticism directed at them do not
“stick.” Ronald Reagan’s ability to avoid personal
blame for any policy failure led to him being called the
Tefl on President.
Teiresias See tiresias.
telamon (telbmbn) An architectural column in
the shape of a male fi gure. <strong>The</strong> allusion is to
Telamon, a mythological king of Salamis who participated
in the calydonian boar hunt and was
one of the Argonauts. He is also identifi ed as the
father of Ajax and Teucer. <strong>The</strong> temple portico was supported
by a dozen telamons in the Greek style. See also
caryatid.
Telemachus See odysseus.
Tell, William See william tell.
tell it not in Gath (gath) Do not allow your enemies
to make capital out of your misfortunes; be
careful to whom you reveal your weaknesses. Gath
is identifi ed in 2 Samuel 1:17–20 as the city of the
Philistines: “And David lamented with this lamentation
over Saul and over Jonathan his son . . . the
beauty of Israel is slain upon thy high places: how
are the mighty fallen! Tell it not in Gath, publish it
not in the streets of Askelon; lest the daughters of
the Philistines rejoice, lest the daughters of the
uncircumcised triumph.” “Tell this not in Gath, lest
the Scots rejoice that they have at length found a
parallel instance among their neighbours, to that
barbarous deed which demolished Arthur’s Oven”
(Sir Walter Scott, Ivanhoe, 1819).
Tellus (telbs) Personifi cation of the Earth. Tellus
was identifi ed in Roman mythology as the goddess
of the Earth, equivalent to the Greek gaea. “On
the following morning it was known that Lord De
Terrier was with the Queen at Buckingham Palace,
and at about twelve a list of the new ministry
was published, which must have been in the highest
degree satisfactory to the whole brood of giants.