18 September 2014

allusion

[uh-loo-zhuh n]

noun

1. a passing or casual reference; an incidental mention of something, either directly or by implication:
The novel’s title is an allusion to Shakespeare.
2. the act or practice of making a casual or indirect reference to something; the act of alluding :
The Bible is a fertile source of allusion in art.
3. Obsolete. a metaphor; parable.

Origin

Late Latin

1540-1550; < Late Latin allūsiōn- (stem of allūsiō), equivalent to allūs (us), past participle of allūdere (see allude; al- al- + lūd- play + -tus past participle suffix) + -iōn- -ion

Related forms

preallusion, noun

Can be confused

allusion, reference.
allusion, delusion, elusion, hallucination, illusion (see synonym study at illusion )

Dictionary.com

Examples from the web for allusion
– This is an enormous collection of the allusion s to Shakespeare from 1591 to 1700.
– This was a startling allusion to several bodies of knowledge simultaneously.
– Belief is the process where the brain converts illusion to allusion, and allusion into certainty.

Anagram

soul nail

Today’s aphorism

It is not in the stars to hold our destiny but in ourselves.

– William Shakespeare

On this day

18 September 1873 – ‘The panic of 1873′ – a severe economic crisis in Europe and the United States caused by a drop in demand for silver following Germany’s decision to abandon the silver standard after the Franco-Prussian Wars. ‘The Panic’ lasted until 1879. It was known as the ‘Great Depression’, until the financial crisis of the 1930s.

18 September 1965 – ‘Get Smart’ premieres on U.S. television.

18 September 1970 – death of Jimi Hendrix. American guitarist and singer-songwriter. He was 27.