SAT Words and Allusions List #6

(Origin) Old Testament, ________ enemies of the Israelites. David fought off ________ warrior, Goliath.

(Meaning) Refers to a person with no appreciation for culture and whose tastes are commonplace.

(Origin) Subject of plays by Christopher Marlowe (Dr. ______) and Goethe, (_______). He strikes bargain with Mephistopheles (the devil). Sells his soul in exchange for twenty-four years where he can have everything he desires. He spends much of his time in despair.

(Meaning) Refers to sacrificing one's self or one's values in exchange for getting what one desires, often material wealth

(Origin) _______ is a coal-mining city in northern England. Carrying coals to this city is superfluous.

(Meaning) Refers to giving a superfluous gift or making a contribution that is gratuitous and unnecessary.

(Origin) Sigmund _____ was Austrian physician and psychotherapist who studied subconscious mind in human behavior.

(Meaning) An unintentional or accidental error, either in speech or action that apparently reveals one's subconscious thoughts or desires.

(Origin) Greek mythology, ________ was a king who offended Zeus. Punished to Hades, rolling a giant boulder up a hill. Boulder rolled back down to the bottom, he had to start his task over.

(Meaning) Refers to a seemingly endless, perhaps futile task

(Origin) Oldest of the patriarchs in the Bible, 969 years old.

(Meaning) proverbially refers to an extremely old person

(Origin) Greek mythology, ______ was a many-headed sea monster living in cave on one side of a narrow strait. ___________ was a whirlpool on the opposite side of the strait. Sailors had to steer their ships very carefully between the two to avoid them.

(Meaning) Means to be caught between two equal dangers in which avoiding one means getting closer to the other. Has the same meaning as "between a rock and a hard place"

(Origin) Medieval legend, ____ ______ was an object of quest. A cup from which Jesus drank at the Last Supper. Associated with legends of King Arthur and Knights of the Round Table. Represented perfection.

(Meaning) Object that is extremely desirable or valuable and which is attainable only after a long and difficult quest

(Origin) British laborers in the early 1800s. Opposed industrialization, feared machinery would threaten their jobs. Workers smashed textile machinery in protest.

(Meaning) Someone who opposed change, especially industrial or technological advances

(Origin) In poker, "____" was a marker that was passed to the person whose turn it was to deal. President Harry Truman kept a sign on his desk "__________ stops here."

(Meaning) To shift responsibility (and often blame) to another person

(Origin) Capital of the ancient _____________ Empire. City known for luxury and corruption. Jews were exiled and prophet Daniel became counselor to the King.

(Meaning) Refers to a place of decadence and corruption

(Origin) Mythological bird that was one of a kind. Lived for five or six hundred years, after which it would burn itself to death and then rise from its own ashes as a youthful bird.

(Meaning) Symbolizes rebirth or resurrection and "_______" can describe surmounting great obstacles

(Origin) Ancient city in Mongolia where Mongol emperor of China, Kublai Khan had a magnificent palace. Made famous by poem "Kubla Khan" (1816) by Samuel Taylor Coleridge.

(Meaning) Refers to any magnificent, beautiful, almost magical place.

(Origin) President Theodore Roosevelt criticized reform-minded journalists, journalists adopted term _______ as a badge of honor referring to those who exposed corruption or promoted needed reforms.

(Meaning) Term applied to authors or journalists who expose corruption in government, business, or other arenas.

(Origin) In Latin this phrase means "without which, nothing."

(Meaning) Refers to the essential ingredient without which an endeavor or situation would be impossible

raider; intruder

to send or give aid; to express, utter; to put in circulation as money

surround or enclose completely

sense of injury or insult; to take offense, displeasure

extreme hatred; loathing; something dispised

something that fastens two parts together; also to hold the attention of

basic, crude, underdeveloped; fundamental principles or skills

to shorten; to condense; to diminish; to curtail

to generate pus; to become a source of resentment or irritation

to place in or as if in a tomb; or in a grave