Flashcards: Allusions 16-30 First Semester
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Created by:
theroberts 
on September 14, 2010
Subjects:
Log in to favorite or report as inappropriate.All 15 terms
Terms | Definitions |
|---|---|
 Icarus/Fly too close to the sun | To fail or to be destroyed because of lack of caution or excessive ambition |
| Bread and circuses | policies designed to prevent unrest by keeping people happy and thus deflecting concern about troubling issues |
| Deus ex machina | surprising turn of events that suddenly makes things turn out all right; an unsatisfying and overly convenient ending |
| Tabula rasa | something or someone entirely unmarked and uninfluenced |
| Tantalus | to be like _____ is to be offered something desirable which is then withheld |
| Nimby | the idea that, while people may be aware of the necessity of some unpleasant realities, such as prisons, landfills, or chemical plants, they insist that these places be located away from where they live |
| Waterloo | an ultimate, decisive defeat |
| Emperor's new clothes | the falseness or pretentiousness of something |
| Left-handed compliment | seemingly positive remark that is insulting or rude in some way |
| Golden calf | idol or any object that is worshipped even though it is not worthy of worship |
| Sword of Damocles | awareness of impending or imminent danger |
| Svengali | person who exercises excessive control or influence over another person |
| Non sequitur | statement that is unrelated to what has been said before; logical fallacy |
| White elephant | object that has no use and may be a financial burden or inconvenience |
| Fiddle while Rome burns | display indifference in the midst of an emergency or disaster |