Oxford Dictionary of Reference and Allusion

Oxford Dictionary of Reference and Allusion PDF Author: Andrew Delahunty
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
ISBN: 0199567468
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 418

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Book Description
Allusions are a marvelous literary shorthand. A miser is a Scrooge, a strong man a Samson, a beautiful woman a modern-day Helen of Troy. From classical mythology to modern movies and TV shows, this revised and updated third edition explains the meanings of more than 2,000 allusions in use in modern English, from Abaddon to Zorro, Tartarus to Tarzan, and Rambo to Rubens. Based on an extensive reading program that has identified the most commonly used allusions, this fascinating volume includes numerous quotations to illustrate usage, drawn from sources ranging from Thomas Hardy and Charles Dickens to Bridget Jones's Diary. In addition, the dictionary includes a useful thematic index, so that readers not only can look up Medea to find out how her name is used as an allusion, but also can look up the theme of "Revenge" and find, alongside Medea, entries for other figures used to allude to revenge, such as The Furies or The Count of Monte Cristo. Hailed by Library Journal as "wonderfully conceived and extraordinarily useful," this superb reference--now available in paperback--will appeal to anyone who enjoys language in all its variety. It is especially useful for students and writers.

Oxford Dictionary of Reference and Allusion

Oxford Dictionary of Reference and Allusion PDF Author: Andrew Delahunty
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
ISBN: 0199567468
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 418

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Book Description
Allusions are a marvelous literary shorthand. A miser is a Scrooge, a strong man a Samson, a beautiful woman a modern-day Helen of Troy. From classical mythology to modern movies and TV shows, this revised and updated third edition explains the meanings of more than 2,000 allusions in use in modern English, from Abaddon to Zorro, Tartarus to Tarzan, and Rambo to Rubens. Based on an extensive reading program that has identified the most commonly used allusions, this fascinating volume includes numerous quotations to illustrate usage, drawn from sources ranging from Thomas Hardy and Charles Dickens to Bridget Jones's Diary. In addition, the dictionary includes a useful thematic index, so that readers not only can look up Medea to find out how her name is used as an allusion, but also can look up the theme of "Revenge" and find, alongside Medea, entries for other figures used to allude to revenge, such as The Furies or The Count of Monte Cristo. Hailed by Library Journal as "wonderfully conceived and extraordinarily useful," this superb reference--now available in paperback--will appeal to anyone who enjoys language in all its variety. It is especially useful for students and writers.

The Oxford Dictionary of Allusions

The Oxford Dictionary of Allusions PDF Author: Andrew Delahunty
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
ISBN:
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 492

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Book Description
Allusions form a colourful extension to the English Language, drawing on our collective knowledge of literature, mythology, and the Bible to give us a literary shorthand for describing people, places, and events. So a miser is a Scrooge, a strong man is a Samson or a Hercules, a beautifulwoman is a Venus or a modern-day Helen of Troy-we can suffer like Sisyphus, fail like Canute, or linger like the smile of the Cheshire Cat. This completely new reference work explains the meanings of the allusions in use in modern English, from Abaddon to Zorro, Tartarus to Tarzan, and Rubens to Rambo. The fascinating book is based on an extensive reading programme that has identified the most commonly-used allusions, and quotations areincluded at most entries to illustrate usage, from a range of authors and sources, from Thomas Hardy to Ben Elton, Charles Dickens to 'Bridget Jones's Diary'.

The Oxford Dictionary of Allusions

The Oxford Dictionary of Allusions PDF Author: Andrew Delahunty
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
ISBN: 9780198609193
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 472

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Book Description
Allusions form a colourful extension to the English language, drawing on our knowledge of literature and mythology to give a shorthand for describing people, places, and events. This text explains the meanings of the allusions in use in modern English. Originally published: 2001.

Oxford Dictionary of Reference and Allusion

Oxford Dictionary of Reference and Allusion PDF Author: Andrew Delahunty
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Allusions
Languages : en
Pages :

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Book Description
Over 1,900 entries. Allusions form a colourful extension to the English language, drawing on our collective knowledge of literature, mythology, and the Bible to give us a literary shorthand for describing people, places, and events. So a cunning crook is an Artful Dodger, a daydreamer is like Billy Liar, a powerful woman is a modern-day Amazon. This absorbing and accessible A-Z explains the meanings of allusions in modern English. Fascinating to browse through, the book is based on an extensive reading programme that has identified the most commonly-used allusions. For the third edition all entries have been reviewed, revised, and thoroughly updated to ensure the consistency of coverage of allusions and references. New to this edition is the inclusion within each entry of a short summary definition for the allusion or reference, ideal for quick reference, and at least one illustrative citation from a wide range of source materials in almost every entry. The Oxford Dictionary of Reference and Allusion is both a useful and user-friendly reference work for students of English literature and language, as well as for non-native English speakers for aid with unusual references, and an absorbing volume for all lovers of literature and culture in general.

The Facts On File Dictionary of Classical and Biblical Allusions

The Facts On File Dictionary of Classical and Biblical Allusions PDF Author: Martin H. Manser
Publisher: Infobase Publishing
ISBN: 0816048681
Category : Allusions
Languages : en
Pages : 465

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Book Description
This indispensable work is a comprehensive resource offering abundant information that students and general readers of all ages will find clear and to the point. A useful companion to The Facts On File Dictionary of Cultural and Historical Allusions explains the meanings and origins of allusions from the Bible and classical mythology, including Greek, Roman, Norse, Celtic, and Egyptian. It features approximately 2,000 entries, from Abelard and Heloise to Zeus. It covers biblical and mythological figures (Narcissus, Athena, Daniel), places (Mount Olympus, Gesthemane, Elysian Fields), key concepts (doomsday, utopia), and other references with biblical and mythological origins (judgment of Solomon, salt of the earth, patience of Job, labors of Hercules). It also includes a pronunciation key for difficult words or terms; examples of usage; and extensive cross-references.

The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable

The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable PDF Author: Elizabeth Knowles
Publisher: OUP Oxford
ISBN: 0191578568
Category : Reference
Languages : en
Pages : 816

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Book Description
This Dictionary is part of the Oxford Reference Collection: using sustainable print-on-demand technology to make the acclaimed backlist of the Oxford Reference programme perennially available in hardback format. What is a ham-and-egger? What are Anglo-Saxon attitudes? Who or what is liable to jump the shark? Who first tried to nail jelly to the wall? The answers to these and many more questions are in this fascinating book. Here in one volume you can track down the stories behind the names and sayings you meet, whether in classic literature or today's news. Drawing on Oxford's unrivalled bank of reference and language online resources, this dictionary covers classical and other mythologies, history, religion, folk customs, superstitions, science and technology, philosophy, and popular culture. Extensive cross referencing makes it easy to trace specific information, while every page points to further paths to explore. A fascinating slice of cultural history, and a browser's delight from start to finish. What is the fog of war? Who first wanted to spend more time with one's family? When was the Dreamtime? How long since the first cry of Women and children first? Where might you find dark matter? Would you want the Midas touch? Should you worry about grey goo?

Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Allusions

Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Allusions PDF Author: Elizabeth Webber
Publisher: Merriam-Webster
ISBN: 9780877796282
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 614

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Book Description
A guide to references commonly used in speech and writing. Explains more than 900 allusions. Entries include examples from todays leading media. A must for serious readers, language lovers, and ESL students.

The Oxford Dictionary of Literary Terms

The Oxford Dictionary of Literary Terms PDF Author: Chris Baldick
Publisher: OUP Oxford
ISBN: 019101821X
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 487

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Book Description
The best-selling Oxford Dictionary of Literary Terms (formerly the Concise dictionary) provides clear, concise, and often witty definitions of the most troublesome literary terms from abjection to zeugma. It is an essential reference tool for students of literature in any language. It is now available in a new and expanded edition and includes increased coverage of new terms from modern critical and theoretical movements, such as feminism, and schools of American poetry, Spanish verse forms, life writing, and crime fiction. It includes extensive coverage of traditional drama, versification, rhetoric, and literary history, as well as updated and extended advice on recommended further reading and a pronunciation guide to more than 200 terms. New to this edition are recommended entry-level web links updated via the Dictionary of Literary Terms companion website.

Arts of Allusion

Arts of Allusion PDF Author: Margaret S. Graves
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0190695927
Category : Art
Languages : en
Pages : 320

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Book Description
The art of the object reached unparalleled heights in the medieval Islamic world, yet the intellectual dimensions of ceramics, metalwares, and other plastic arts in this milieu have not always been acknowledged. Arts of Allusion reveals the object as a crucial site where pre-modern craftsmen of the eastern Mediterranean and Persianate realms engaged in fertile dialogue with poetry, literature, painting, and, perhaps most strikingly, architecture. Lanterns fashioned after miniature shrines, incense burners in the form of domed monuments, earthenware jars articulated with arches and windows, inkwells that allude to tents: through close studies of objects from the ninth to the thirteenth centuries, this book reveals that allusions to architecture abound across media in the portable arts of the medieval Islamic world. Arts of Allusion draws upon a broad range of material evidence as well as medieval texts to locate its subjects in a cultural landscape where the material, visual, and verbal realms were intertwined. Moving far beyond the initial identification of architectural types with their miniature counterparts in the plastic arts, Margaret Graves develops a series of new frameworks for exploring the intelligent art of the allusive object. These address materiality, representation, and perception, and examine contemporary literary and poetic paradigms of metaphor, description, and indirect reference as tools for approaching the plastic arts. Arguing for the role of the intellect in the applied arts and for the communicative potential of ornament, Arts of Allusion asserts the reinstatement of craftsmanship into Islamic intellectual history.

The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable

The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable PDF Author: Elizabeth M. Knowles
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
ISBN: 9780192801258
Category : Reference
Languages : en
Pages : 598

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Book Description
The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable is a new reference work, providing a wealth of fascinating and informative background detail for over 10,000 phrases and allusions used in English today. Drawing from Oxford's unrivalled bank of language and quotation on-line resources, this highly browsable pot pourri of allusive terms includes entries from a broad range of topics, from classical mythology, history, religion, folk customs, superstitions, science and technology, philosophy,and popular culture. From African Eve to white van man, from Barbie doll and bunny boiler to the big bang theory, the dictionary gives reliable, up-to-date insights into the origin and history of words and phrases, with ample cross-referencing.