Heiner 1

Carly Heiner

Snyder

English II Pre-AP 3B

17 October 2009

Allusion Assignment

Allusion: Faustian Bargain

Example: “One oil supplier has been good for the Saudi princes but a Faustian

bargain for the rest of us”—from “Crude World” by Michael Hirsh, USA Today.

Meaning: It’s easy for the Saudi princes to access oil, but for the rest of the

civilization they have to sacrifice a lot more than just money.

Allusion: Freudian slip

Example: “There’s no Freudian slip like a John Galliano dress”—from “The Moment

Blog” by Alison S. Cohn, New York Times.

Meaning: John Galliano dresses are an error in fashion choice, hopefully a choice

made unintentionally or on accident.

Allusion: Holy Grail

Example: “Don't you know that I hope you find your holy grail, suffered in silence

so long”—from the lyrics “Holy Grail” by Badly Drawn Boy.

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Meaning: Hopes they find what they’ve been looking for after they’re struggle to get

to it.

Allusion: Lamb

Example: “’And so the lion fell in love with the lamb’…’What a stupid lamb’…’What a

sick masochistic lion’”—from Chapter 13, page 274 in Twilight by Stephanie Meyer.

Meaning: The innocent girl fell in love with the dangerous boy.

Allusion: Lamb to the Slaughter

Example: “I am going like a lamb to the slaughter; but I am calm as a summer’s

morning; I have a conscience void of offense towards God, and towards all men. I

shall die innocent, and it shall yet be said of me—he was murdered in cold blood”—

Joseph Smith speaking in Doctrine and Covenants 135:4 in the Book of Mormon.

Meaning: Smith says this to show that he understands his innocence, but knows he

will be killed despite it.

Allusion: Lamb to the Slaughter

Example: “She was a lamb to the slaughter as a bride, clueless about the man she

was marrying”—from “Tina Does Di” by Maria Puente, USA Today.

Meaning: The ignorant bride to who her groom really is will be her downfall,

considering she is spending the rest of her life with this man.

Allusion: Luddite
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Example: “He was a charming, self-proclaimed luddite who wrote with paper and a

pen”—from “Norman Mailer Dies at 84” by Bob Minzesheimer, USA Today.

Meaning: He willingly chose to not be apart of technological trends such as using a

computer, by using the old-fashioned writing method of a paper and pen.

Allusion: Methuselah

Example: “To use our Methuselah-like furnaces until they wear out and die keeps

wasting gas”—from “Freakonomics Blog” by Eric A. Morris, New York Times.

Meaning: These extremely old and outdated furnaces are wasting gas when you can

upgrade to more modern appliances.

Allusion: Methuselah

Example: “That book is as old as Methuselah”—said by Tracie Heiner on October

21, 2009.

Meaning: The book is extremely old.

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Allusion: Riddle of the Sphinx

Example: “With its first regular-season NHL coverage since 1975, NBC is the latest

to try to solve the sports world’s Riddle of the Sphinx: How can hockey draw

national TV ratings significantly higher than what you would get with a blank

screen?”—from the article “NBC set to take shot at NHL” by Michael Hiestand, USA

Today.
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Meaning: NBC is attempting to solve making hockey TV rating higher, which is

problem puzzling others.