allusions #2: def.
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Created by:
nbutler703 on January 27, 2011
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15 terms
Terms | Definitions |
|---|---|
 Icarus/fly too close to the sun | fail or be destroyed because of lack of caution or excessive ambition |
| Bread and Circuses | prevent unrest by keeping people happy and thus deflecting concern about troubling issue |
| Deus ex machina | surprising turn of events that sudddenly makes things turn out all right; unsatisfying and overly convenient way to end a story |
| Tabula Rasa | something or someone who is entirely unmarked and uninfluenced |
| Tantalus | to be offered something desirable which is then withheld |
| NIMBY | aware of the necessity of some unpleasant realities in which they insist that these places be located away from where they live |
| Waterloo | to suffer an ultimate, decisive defeat |
| The Emperor's New Clothes | Pointing out the falseness of pretentiousness of something |
| Left-Handed Compliment | despite being a compliment, is insulting or rude in some way |
| Golden Calf | and idol that is worshipped even though it is not worthy |
| sword of damocles | awareness of impending or imminent danger |
| svengali | a person who exercises excessive control or influence over another person |
| non sequitur | A statement that is unrelated to what has been said before; In logic, it is a conclusion that does not logically follow from the premises |
| White Elephant | object that has no use to its owner and may represent a financial burden or an inconvenience |
| Fiddle While Rome Burn | Display indifference in the midst of an emergency or disaster |
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