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

they know not what they do
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they know not what they do See father, forgive
them.
they shall not pass A declaration of re sis tance to
an enemy. <strong>The</strong> origins of this slogan are thought
to date back to World War I, being variously
ascribed to Marshal Pétain or General Robert
Nivelle, but it is also strongly associated with the
Spanish Civil War of the 1930s, having been
memorably delivered in a famous radio broadcast
on July 19, 1936 to Republican supporters by
Dolores Ibarruri (La Pasionaria). <strong>The</strong> team’s strategy
was based on the determination that “<strong>The</strong>y shall not
pass!”
they that sow the wind shall reap the whirlwind
See sow the wind and reap the whirlwind.
they toil not, neither do they spin See lilies of
the fi eld.
thief in the night, like a Suddenly; unexpectedly;
surreptitiously. <strong>The</strong> phrase is biblical in origin,
appearing in 1 <strong>The</strong>ssalonians 5:1–3, where it
describes how Jesus Christ will return: “But of
the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no
need that I write unto you. For yourselves know
perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a
thief in the night. For when they shall say, Peace
and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon
them, as travail upon a woman with child; and
they shall not escape.” “For the Son of Man cometh
as a thief in the night, and there is not one of us
can tell but what this day his soul may be required
of him” (Samuel Butler, <strong>The</strong> Way of All Flesh,
1903).
thieves break through and steal See lay not up
trea sures upon earth.
things ain’t what they used to be See fi ngs
ain’t wot they used t’be.
things fall apart, the center cannot hold We are
on the verge of chaos. This is a quotation from
the poem “<strong>The</strong> Second Coming” by the Irish poet
W. B. Yeats (1865–1939): “Things fall apart; the
centre cannot hold; / Mere anarchy is loosed upon
the world.” <strong>The</strong> question is how long the government
will hold on, for when things fall apart, the center cannot
hold.
things in common, all See all things in common.
things to all men, all See all things to all
men.
thin red line An apparently brittle but defi ant
line of defense. This was originally a tag applied to
the British army, specifi cally the 93rd Highlanders,
who stood successfully against an attack by a
much larger Rus sian force during the Battle of
Balaclava in the Crimean War of 1853–56. <strong>The</strong>
regiment consequently became known as the “thin
red line,” after the color of their uniforms, and in
due course the description came to be applied to
the British infantry as a whole. <strong>The</strong> variant “thin
blue line” is sometimes used of the police, for similar
reasons. <strong>The</strong> troops formed a thin red line against
the rioting mob.
thirty pieces of silver <strong>The</strong> price of an act of
betrayal. <strong>The</strong> allusion is to the 30 shekels of silver
that was paid by chief priests to judas in
exchange for information about Christ’s whereabouts
(Matthew 26:14–16), thus setting in
motion the trail of events that led to the Crucifi
xion. According to Matthew 27:3–5 Judas soon