AP Language and Composition Allusions Flashcards

9676160156	thrown down the gaundlet	to issue an open challenge; knights would throw down their gaundlets (gloves)	0
9676177837	loose cannon	dangerously uncontrollable person or thing; cannons became loose on a naval ship	1
9676219842	meltdown	rapid or disastrous decline, particularly of individuals, institutions, and systems; derived from nuclear meltdowns	2
9676233539	promised land	place or condition believed to promise final satisfaction or realization of hopes; derived from Genesis	3
9676246678	primrose path	path of ease, usually without much difficulty, focusing on pleasure which leads to probable failure or ruin; derived from Shakespeare	4
9676259785	friendly fire	damaging or lethal impact accidentally inflicted on one's own side or team	5
9676275023	march to the beat of a different drummer	Denotes an individual pursuing a non-conformist course, to act and/or think independently often in conflict with the habits, thoughts, or actions of the mainstream; Henry David Thoreau	6
9676290692	don't look a gift horse in the mouth	applied as an analogy to any gift: Don't inspect it to make sure it matches some standard; bad manners to inspect a gift horses teeth	7
9676316819	Murphy's law	idea that "if anything can go wrong, it will"	8
9676332507	salad days	time of youthful vigor, strength, and, perhaps, reckless passion; Shakespeare	9
9676360433	elephant in the room	obvious problem or risk that no one wants to discuss, or a condition of group think that no one wants to challenge	10
9676374544	15 minutes of fame	when someone receives a significant amount of media attention for something fairly trivial	11
9676393454	ivory tower	denotes someone being out of touch with reality, secluded or protected from the real world; Alfred deVigny isolated himself	12
9676410598	sacred cow	denotes an idea, custom, or institution held, especially unreasonably, to be above criticism; Indians think cows are sacred	13
9676421725	all that glitters is not gold	denotes the idea that just because something looks valuable on the outside, it may, in fact, be less than so, that appearances can be deceptive	14
9676581879	left-handed compliment	denotes that despite being a form of praise, it is insulting or rude in some way; left hand is associated with negativity	15
9676622286	a chip on one's shoulder	someone inclined to be resentful or looking for an excuse to quarrel; kids would put wood on their shoulders and attempt to knock each other's off	16
9676643248	once in a blue moon	something that occurs very rarely; blue moons don't occur frequently	17
9676667637	tabula rasa	denotes the idea of something or someone entirely unmarked and uninfluenced; "blank slate"	18
9676685151	noble savage	claims that people are born good and innocent but that influences from civilization cause them to lose both traits	19
9677097361	svengali	denotes a person who insidiously exercises excessive control or influence on another person; singing master	20
9677109937	sound and fury	denotes a great, tumultuous, and passionate uproar that is actually unimportant or meaningless; Shakespeare	21
9677119417	nimby	idea that, while people may be aware of the necessity of some unpleasant realities, they insist that these places be located away from where they live; "not in my backyard"	22
9677133582	crocodile tears	denotes showing false sympathy for someone; crocodiles cry before eating their prey	23
9677154426	catch-22	denotes an absurd, no-win situation	24
9677164061	last hurrah	denotes a final, often farewell effort, production or appearance	25
9677174349	under the weather	being unwell; sailors	26
9677186013	road less traveled	acting independently, freeing himself from the conformity of others, generally making his own choices, and perhaps leaving a new trail that will become the road more often traveled	27
9677199429	in the weeds	denotes when an individual or group is overwhelmed by challenges and difficulties	28
9677206983	rainmaker	denotes who makes things happen, a "go-getter"	29