The Oxford Dictionary of Allusions Available to Purchase

We quickly realize, when talking to people whose first language is not English, to young children, or to those whose literacy is poor, how much the English language uses allusions. We can, as the cover blurb from this book proclaims, “suffer like Sisyphus, fail like Canute, or linger like the smile of a Cheshire Cat”. Allusions are powerful tools to enhance meaning and reinforce effect, and our language is the richer for them. But who or what was Sisyphus, Canute, and the Cheshire Cat? Those of you reading this review doubtless know that Sisyphus was a mythological king of Corinth...