Eponym substitutes for a particular attribute the name of a famous person recognized for that attribute. By their nature eponyms often border on the cliche, but many times they can be useful without seeming too obviously trite. Finding new or infrequently used ones is best, though hard, because the name-and-attribute relationship needs to be well established. Consider the effectiveness of these:
- Is he smart? Why, the man is an Einstein. Has he suffered? This poor Job can tell you himself.
- That little Caesar is fooling nobody. He knows he is no Patrick Henry.
- When it comes to watching girls, Fred is a regular Argus.
- You think your boyfriend is tight. I had a date with Scrooge himself last night.
- We all must realize that Uncle Sam is not supposed to be Santa Claus.
- An earthworm is the Hercules of the soil.
Some people or characters are famous for more than one attribute, so that when using them, you must somehow specify the meaning you intend:
- With a bow and arrow, Kathy is a real Diana. [Diana was goddess of the moon, of the hunt, and of chastity.]
- Those of us who cannot become a Ulysses and see the world must trust our knowledge to picture books and descriptions. [Ulysses was a hero in the Trojan War as well as a wanderer afterwards.]
In cases where the eponym might be less than clear or famous, you should add the quality to it:
- The wisdom of a Solomon was needed to figure out the actions of the appliance marketplace this quarter.
Eponym is one of those once-in-awhile devices which can give a nice touch in the right place.
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