Big Brother is watching you In his novel 1984, George Orwell satirizes murderous Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin and the totalitarian rule of Communism in the Soviet Union. Posters everywhere remind the terrorized populace that “Big brother is watching you.” Orwell feared that this could occur in other societies, if people were not careful. Today, Big brother has come to mean any authority that has you under observation.
Brave New World Is the title of a satirical novel by Aldous Huxley, in which science and technology have stripped the world of humanity. The phrase is often used to comment on advances that have both positive and negative results. The words are themselves an allusion to a line in Shakespeare’s play The Tempest. When the innocent daughter of Prospero sees a group of people who are, in fact, her father’s enemies, but who delight her because they are new to her, she blurts out “O brave new world that has such people in it.”
Catch-22 In Joseph Heller’s satirical novel, Catch-22, the main character, Captain John Yossarian, tries to get out of fighting during World War II by proving that he is insane. The “catch” is that, according to regulations, wanting to avoid fighting proves you are not insane. Only going happily into battle would make him look insane. The book became a cult classic, and the term catch-22 entered the English language as a reference to any situation where you lose regardless of which decision you make.
Green-eyed monster This term was originally used by the villain Iago in Shakespeare’s play Othello. It refers to jealousy, which Iago used to destroy Othello and his wife.
Last hurrah Taken from the title of Edwin O’Connor’s book The Last Hurrah, which was inspired by the life of unconventional Boston politician James Curley. The expression last hurrah now refers to the last effort or action, sometimes triumphant and sometimes tragic, of someone coming the end of his or her career.
Pandemonium The name John Milton gave to Satan’s palace in Hell in his epic poem Paradise Lost. The word is now used to denote any wild, unrestrained uproar or lawless tumult.
Sour grapes An allusion to a fable by Aesop, in which a fox tries but fails to get a bunch of grapes, and then states that they were probably sour anyway. So “sour grapes” is devaluing something just because you can’t get it.
So shines a good deed in a weary world. This famous line from the first Willy Wonka move alludes to Shakespeare’s play The Merchant of Venice. The original line is “So shines a good deed in a naughty world.”
Ugly American Allusion to a book by William Lederer and Eugene Burdick about the U.S. presence in Southeast Asia. The Ugly American of the title is both a physically ugly individual who cares about the people and the handsome but morally ugly individuals who do not care, and who create problems. Today, the term has come to refer only to Americans who behave badly in foreign countries and represent America poorly.
