AP Literature Allusions Flashcards

5032137380	Achilles' Heel	refers to a person's area of particular vulnerability	0
5032144117	Horse of a Different Color	a different matter or separate issue altogether from that which was being talked about or considered	1
5032148015	Sacred Cow	something that cannot be interfered with or harmed in any way	2
5032157789	The Rubicon	to cross one's _____________ is to take an irreversible step, often involving a risk of danger	3
5032177697	Pearls before Swine	to offer something precious to someone unable to appreciate its value	4
5032185874	Once in a Blue Moon	to refer yo something that happens very rarely	5
5032187680	Exodus	the expression is used to reference any departure of a large group of people or a mass migration in one area	6
5032205197	Crocodile Tears	to show false sympathy for someone or to cry fake tears	7
5032223319	The Sirens or A Siren Song	anything that tempts a person away from safety toward a destructive path	8
5032227209	Ivory Tower	a person who is secluded fro, or protected from the real world and thus out of touch with reality	9
5032233793	Gordian Knot	complex problem, and solving such a problem in a quick and decisive manner	10
5032244580	Thirty Pieces of Silver or Betrayed with a Kiss	payment received for an act of treachery, or a supposed friend's treachery	11
5032252095	Lothario	a handsome, seductive, ladies man, who successfully deceives women	12
5032256163	Sound and Fury	a great and passionate uproar that is actually unimportant or meaningless in the big picture	13
5032264974	Double-Edged Sword	a situation or policy that cuts both ways, bringing harm to both the proponent and the opponent OR an action that can help and hurt the person involved	14
5032277884	Icarus or Flying too close to the Moon	failure, being destroyed, lack of caution, excessive ambition	15
5032280839	The Apocalypse	overall destruction or universal disaster	16
5032294821	Spill the Beans	revealing secret information intentionally or accidentally	17
5032313044	Tabula Rasa	something or someone can be entirely unmarked or uninfluenced	18
5032328487	Tantalus	offered something desirable that is then withheld	19
5032336087	Nimby	aware of the value of and necessity for some unpleasant realities (such as prisons), insist these places be located away from where they live so other people can deal with them instead	20
5032353598	Waterloo	suffer an ultimate and decisive defeat	21
5032368734	Pandora's Box	creating a source of unexpected and ever-increasing troubles	22
5032377014	Left-Handed Compliment	despite being a compliment, it is insulting or rude in some way	23