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

twinkling of an eye, in the
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twinkling of an eye, in the Instantaneously; very
quickly; in the briefest time. <strong>The</strong> phrase comes
from 1 Corinthians 15:51–52, in which Paul writes
about the resurrection of the dead on the return of
Christ: “Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not
all sleep, but we shall all be changed, In a moment,
in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the
trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised
incorruptible, and we shall be changed.” “I don’t
understand these matters very well, but from
Fyne’s narrative it seemed as if the creditors or the
depositors, or the competent authorities, had got
hold in the twinkling of an eye of everything de
Barral possessed in the world” ( Joseph Conrad,
Chance, 1913).
Twist, Oliver See oliver twist.
twist slowly in the wind To be left alone to
endure prolonged public humiliation, regret,
etc. <strong>The</strong> reference is to the turning of the body of
a hanged man on a gibbet. <strong>The</strong> phrase is particularly
associated with the public downfall of leading
po liti cal fi gures and featured prominently
during the watergate scandal, when it was
voiced by Richard Nixon’s Assistant for Domestic
Affairs John D. Ehrlichman: “I think we ought
to let him hang there. Let him twist slowly,
slowly in the wind.” She could have rescued him from
public humiliation in front of the other parents, but she
decided to let him twist slowly in the wind.
two- edged sword Referring to something that is
open to two different interpretations, such as an
argument or policy that has an effect against both
parties involved. <strong>The</strong> phrase comes from the Bible.
Hebrews 4:12 reads: “For the word of God is
quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-
edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder
of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and
is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the
heart.” According to Revelation 1:16: “And he had
in his right hand seven stars: and out of his mouth
went a sharp two- edged sword: and his countenance
was as the sun shineth in his strength.’ (See
also Revelation 2:12 and the apocryphal book of
Ecclesiasticus [Sirach] 21:3.) “<strong>The</strong> honest soldier
was confused. <strong>The</strong> lawyer’s eloquence overpowered
him. He felt guilty. Josephine saw his simplicity,
and made a cut with a woman’s two- edged
sword. ‘Sir,’ said she coolly, ‘do you not see it is an
affair of money?’ ” (Charles Reade, White Lies, 1857).
two or three gathered together See where two
or three are gathered together.
Tyburn (tibern) A place of execution by hanging.
Tyburn was the name of a location in London
where public executions took place regularly
from 1388 to 1783, using a triangular gallows
that made it possible to hang several people at the
same time. It was originally the name of a tributary
of the River Thames, after which the settlement
of Tyburn was named. <strong>The</strong> name was
similarly applied to other places of execution
around the country, such as Tyburn in York. His
career of larceny and murder fi nally ended at Tyburn.
Typhoid Mary A carrier of disease. <strong>The</strong> reference
is to Mary Mallon (c. 1870–1938), a household
cook who was a carrier of typhoid fever,
leading to the outbreak of epidemics in various
locations throughout the New York area where
she had worked. Immune to the disease herself,
between 1904 and 1914 she passed it on to at
least 51 other people, of whom three died. “Such