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1. Aaron's rod, n. View full entry 1631
...In similative and allusive use: a powerful force which devours or overwhelms everything around it....
2. acceptance world in acceptance, n. View full entry 1955
...(originally, in Anthony Powell's novel of that title, with reference to sense 7) life ‘accepted’ as a debt which must eventually be repaid (cf. quot. 1955); (hence, in...
3. Achates, n. View full entry 1582
...allusively. A person likened to Achates, esp. a loyal friend or companion. Cf. fidus Achates...
4. Adam, n.1 View full entry a1569
...allusively. Sinful and unregenerate human nature; = old Adam Also in extended use....
5. Aganippe, n. View full entry a1586
...Used allusively to denote the source of poetic inspiration, or a person's poetic power, voice, or method. Also attrib., as Aganippe spring, Aganippe well, etc....
6. alexander, v.1 View full entry 1666
...trans. Used allusively with reference to the harsh sentences customarily imposed by Judge Alexander: to hang (a person)....
7. Alsatia, n. View full entry 1697
...allusively. A sanctuary for criminals; a lawless place....
8. altar, n. View full entry 1653
...In allusive use. This structure, or the area around it, as the place at which the marriage service is conducted. Freq. in to lead (a person, typically a woman)...
9. Ananias, n. View full entry 1876
...Name of a man who, ‘with Sapphira his wife, sold a possession and kept back part of the price’ (Acts v. 1, 2); used allusively for a liar....
10. apple, n. View full entry OE
...According to post-biblical Christian tradition: the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil eaten by Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden in defiance of God's commandment; the...
11. apple-eating in apple, n. View full entry 1620
...that eats or is inclined to eat apples; also fig. and allusive....
12. Armageddon, n. View full entry 1811
...The place of the last decisive battle at the Day of Judgement; hence used allusively for any ‘final’ conflict on a great scale. Also attrib....
13. arrow, n. View full entry 1859
...The figure of an arrow-head having the point upwards, with which the clothes of convicts were formerly marked. Also allusively. Hence broad-arrowed...
14. Artful Dodger in artful, adj. (and n.) View full entry 1839
...allusive a (young) thief or pickpocket; a delinquent; cf. Fagin;rhyming slang = lodger1c (rare)....
15. Babbitt, n.2 View full entry 1921
...A person likened to the character George Babbitt, esp. a materialistic, complacent businessman who conforms unthinkingly to the views and standards of his social set. Usu. in pl....
16. Babbitty in Babbitt, n.2 View full entry 1925
...resembling the character George Babbitt; characterized by people like Babbitt....
17. babe in the wood in babe, n. View full entry 1795
...a person likened in some way to the ‘babes in the wood’, esp. in being an innocent or naive person in a potentially dangerous situation; usu. in pl....
18. Babel, n. View full entry a1529
...A confused or discordant medley of sounds, esp. of voices; a hubbub, a din. Perh. influenced by babble2 in later use....
19. Babel, n. View full entry 1537
...A scene of noisy confusion; (also) a jumbled, disparate, or discordant collection of people or things....
20. Babel, n. View full entry 1554
...A tall or imposing structure, often one (esp. in early use) which may collapse; also fig....
