The Oxford Dictionary of Allusions by Andrew Delahunty, Sheila Dignen, Penny Stock
Publisher: OUP Oxford; 2 edition (10 Nov 2005) | 480 Pages | ISBN: 0198609191 | PDF | 9 MB
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 beautiful woman 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…