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

prevent them from suffering injury. Accused persons
might face ordeal by water (having their hand
plunged into boiling water or being tossed into a
pond with hands and feet tied), by fi re (being
forced to hold a red- hot bar or walk across heated
plowshares), or by eating consecrated bread to see
if they choked on it. “During this trial by ordeal
the restaurant was almost empty although people
kept arriving and being turned away because:
‘<strong>The</strong>re are no tables’ ” (Walter Perrie, Roads that
Move, 1991).
tribes of Israel See lost tribes of israel.
tribune of the people A demo cratic leader, specifi
cally one who acts as a champion of public rights.
In ancient Rome the se nior rank of tribune denoted
a chief magistrate, who wielded great infl uence in
the city. During the revolt of 494 b.c. two tribunes
were elected by the plebeians to prevent the patricians
from taking revenge on the rebels (the number
was subsequently increased to 10). Tribunes
were immune from prosecution and had various
powers of veto at their command. “<strong>The</strong> man on the
little stool behind the President, is the Capo Lazzarone,
a kind of tribune of the people, appointed
on their behalf to see that all is fairly conducted:
attended by a few personal friends” (Charles Dickens,
Pictures of Italy, 1845).
tried and found wanting See writing on the
wall.
Trigger See roy rogers.
triple whammy See double whammy.
Tristan and Isolde (izoldb) Archetype of a pair
of tragic lovers. According to a medieval En glish
romance, Tristan (or Tristram) was the nephew of
King Mark of Cornwall, while Isolde (or Iseult)
was the daughter of an Irish king. Isolde was promised
in marriage to King Mark, but when Tristan
went to Ireland to bring her to Cornwall, the pair
fell in love after unwittingly drinking a love potion
made for the bridal couple by Isolde’s mother. <strong>The</strong>
story ends tragically, although there are several
different versions of the events surrounding the
pair’s demise: in one, King Mark fi nds the lovers
asleep in the forest, with a sword between them to
keep them apart. “But always my dreadful secret
lay between us, like the sword between Tristan
and Isolde” ( John Fowles, <strong>The</strong> Magus, 1988).
Triton (tritbn) A mythological sea creature; the
larger of Neptune’s two satellites. <strong>The</strong> Greek sea
god Triton was the son of Poseidon and Amphitrite
and was said to have the upper half of a human
fi xed to a fi sh’s tail. He is often depicted in art and
literature blowing a horn formed from a conch
shell in order to calm the sea at Poseidon’s approach.
His name is sometimes encountered in the form a
Triton among the minnows, signifying a great
person among inferiors. “. . . on the right of the
stage is the public fountain, with a triton in green
bronze blowing from a conch; around the fountain
is a stone seat; the bell of the Cathedral is ringing,
and the citizens, men, women and children, are
passing into the Cathedral” (Oscar Wilde, <strong>The</strong>
Duchess of Padua, 1891).
triumvirate (tribmvirbt) Three people acting as
one body. <strong>The</strong> original triumvirates were the groups
of three magistrates who were appointed to fulfi ll
various offi cial functions in ancient Rome. <strong>The</strong>
most famous triumvirate of all was the po liti cal
alliance of Julius Caesar, Marcus Licinius Crassus,
and Pompey the Great that wielded power from
triumvirate
475