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APLC Vocab/Allusions > Allusions > Flashcards

Allusions Flashcards

1
Q

Stealing someone’s thunder

A

Take credit for the idea of another

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2
Q

Witch hunt

A

Campaign against a particular group of people.

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3
Q

Throw down the gauntlet

A

Issuing a challenge in a dramatic manner.

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4
Q

The Muses

A

Souce of inspiration.

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5
Q

Kafkaesque

A

A situation that is bizarre or surreal.

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6
Q

Tower of Babel

A

Noisy confusion.

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7
Q

Pollyanna

A

Unusually optimistic or always looking at the bright side.

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8
Q

Pavlov’s Dogs

A

Someone who automatically responds to a signal

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9
Q

Bedlam

A

Wildly chaotic or extremely raucous and noisy.

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10
Q

The handwriting on the wall

A

Indication that doom or misfortune is coming.

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11
Q

Albatross around one’s neck

A

Burdensome, ongoing problem.

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12
Q

Prometheus

A

Valiant resistance to authority or rebllion against the established order of the universe.

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13
Q

Juggernaut

A

Any force, especially a destructive force, that defies oposition.

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14
Q

Red herring

A

Diverting someone onto a dalse trail, or distracting a person from the true issue.

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15
Q

Pharisees/Pharisaical

A

Hypocrite who upholds the letter of the law, but not its spirit; hypocritical act.

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16
Q

Sour grapes

A

Attitude of a person who has been dissapointed or thwarted.

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17
Q

Sold down the river

A

Betrayed by someone trusted.

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18
Q

Nemesis

A

Causes his/her downfall.

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19
Q

Pyrrhic Victory

A

Winner’s victory comes at such a great expense that it’s scarcely better than losing.

20
Q

Flash in the pan

A

Something/someone that initially shows great promise but soon fails to meet expectations.

21
Q

Scapegoat

A

A person who’s blamed for someone else’s misdeeds.

22
Q

Don Quixote/Quixotic/Tilting at Windmills

A

Foolishly or impractically idealistic.

Naive attempt to be heroic.

23
Q

Benedict Arnold

A

Traitor.

24
Q

Delphic Oracle

A

A message is one that is ambiguous and difficult to interpret.

25
Q

Over a barrel

A

Unable to act independently and must do the bidding of someone else.

26
Q

Shibboleth

A

A slogan/catchword use ny a particular party, group, or sect.

27
Q

Doublespeak

A

Deliberate use of evasive or ambiguous language.

28
Q

Murphy’s law

A

Something goes wrong and there is a snese of inevitability about it.

29
Q

Medusa

A

Repulsive or terrifying woman.

30
Q

Hoist with one’s own petard

A

Being caught in one’s own trap or beaten at one’s own game.

31
Q

Philistines

A

No appeciation for culture.

32
Q

Faust

A

Sacrificing one’s self/values in exchange for getting what one desires, often material wealth.

33
Q

Coals to Newcastle

A

Making a contribution that’s unnecessary.

34
Q

Freudian Slip

A

Accidental error, either in speech or action that reveals one’s subconscious thoughts/desires.

35
Q

Sisyphus

A

Endless, futile task.

36
Q

Methuselah

A

Extremely old person.

37
Q

Scylla & Charybdis

A

B/w a rock & a hard place.

38
Q

Holy Grail

A

An object that’s extremely valuable & which is atrainable only after a long & difficult quest.

39
Q

Luddites

A

Someone who opposes change, especially industrial/technological advances.

40
Q

Pass the Buck

A

Shifting responsiblity & often blame to another person.

41
Q

Babylon

A

Place of decadence and corruption.

42
Q

Phoenix

A

Represents rebirth

43
Q

Xanadu

A

Any beautiful magical place

44
Q

Sine qua non

A

Essential ingredient w/o which an endeavor or a situation would be possible

45
Q

Muckraker

A

Journalists who expose corruption in gov’t, business, and other arenas.

APLC Vocab/Allusions (2 decks)

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