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

Timbuktu
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Timbuktu (timbuktoo) A far distant place.
Timbuktu is a real place, a city in Mali in western
Africa, founded in 1087. Its fabled reputation
as a center of the gold trade made it a goal
of 19th- century explorers, though it was not
until 1828 that a French explorer managed to
visit the city (by then largely in ruins) and return
in one piece to describe what he had seen. When
they moved from next door to the next street it might
as well have been to Timbuktu, as we haven’t seen them
since.
Time, Father See father time.
time and place for everything <strong>The</strong>re is an appropriate
time for all things and, therefore, times when
certain things should not be said or done. <strong>The</strong> proverb
has its origins in Ecclesiastes 3:1–8: “To everything
there is a season, and a time to every purpose
under the heaven: a time to be born, and a time to
die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that
which is planted; a time to kill, and a time to heal; a
time to break down, and a time to build up; a time
to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and
a time to dance . . . a time to get, and a time to
lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away; a time
to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence,
and a time to speak; a time to love, and a time to
hate; a time of war, and a time of peace.” <strong>The</strong> saying
is also encountered in the forms time for all
things, season for all things, and to every thing
there is a season. “ ‘<strong>The</strong>re is a time for everything,
a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from
embracing; the fi rst is now going to be mine’ ”
(Thomas Hardy, Tess of the D’Urbervilles, 1891). See
also word in season.
time as this, for such a See for such a time as
this.
time for all things See time and place for
everything.
timeo Danaos et dona ferentes See beware of
greeks bearing gifts.
Times Square A very busy place. Times Square
in New York City is famous for its bustling crowds
and animated neon advertisements, which add to
the atmosphere of frenetic urban activity. It is
located at a crossroads, where 42nd Street and
broadway meet. It owes its name to the presence
nearby of the former headquarters of the New York
Times newspaper. Traffi c diversions turned the normally
quiet intersection into Times Square, with horns
blaring and pedestrians running for their lives.
time to be born, and a time to die See time and
place for everything.
Timon (timbn) Archetypal misanthrope. Timon
was a rich Athenian citizen who spent his entire
fortune on lavish entertainments for his friends.
When his money was all gone, Timon found himself
deserted by his erstwhile companions and
became a recluse, living in a remote cave and bitterly
avoiding all human contact, with the single
exception of the exile Alcibiades. He was represented
on stage in William Shakespeare’s play
Timon of Athens (1605). In modern usage his name
appears most frequently in the phrase to out-
Timon Timon, meaning to be even more misanthropic
than Timon. A sour and embittered Timon, he
lurked on the fringes of society for years, savaging anybody
who ventured near him.
Tinkers to Evers to Chance A successful display
of coordinated teamwork. <strong>The</strong> allusion is to the
Chicago Cubs baseball team of the early 1900s,