Deceit

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Deceit

Aimwell
pretends to be titled to wed into wealth. [Br. Lit.: The Beaux’ Stratagem]
Ananias
lies about amount of money received for land. [N.T.: Acts 5:1–6]
Ananias Club
all its members are liars. [Am. Lit.: Worth, 10]
angel of light
false apostles are like Satan in masquerade. [N.T.: II Corinthians 11:14]
Apaturia
epithet of Athena, meaning ‘deceitful.’ [Gk. Myth.: Zimmerman, 36]
apples of Sodom
outwardly sound fruit; inwardly rotten. [Class. Myth.: Jobes, 114]
Arbaces
priest who frames Glaucus. [Br. Lit.: The Last Days of Pompeii, Magill I, 490–492]
Archimago
uses sorcery to deceive people. [Br. Lit.: Faerie Queene]
Arnolphe
plans marriage to ward; maintains guardianship under alias. [Fr. Lit.: L’Ecole des Femmes]
bilberry
symbol for falsehood. [Flower Symbolism: Flora Symbolica, 172]
Brunhild
outdone in athletic competition by Gunther with invisible assistance. [Ger. Myth.: Nibelungenlied]
Buttermilk, Little Johnny
fools witch by substituting china for self in sack. [Br. Fairy Tale: Macleod, 21–24]
Camilla, Mrs.
practises deception on Pip. [Br. Lit.: Great Expectations]
clematis
symbol of deception. [Flower Symbolism: Jobes, 347; Flora Symbolica, 173]
Conchis
for his psychological experiments he baits subjects with apparently seducible young women. [Br. Lit.: John Fowles The Magus in Weiss, 279]
dogbane
symbol for deceit. [Flower Symbolism: Jobes, 458]
Hlestakov, Ivan Alexandrovich
dissimulating gentleman hoodwinks town dignitaries as tsar’s inspector. [Russ. Lit.: The Inspector General]
hocus-pocus
magician’s parody of Hoc Est Corpus Domini. [Western Folklore: Espy, 76]
Jingle, Alfred
pretends to be a person of influence and elopes with an old maid for her money. [Br. Lit.: Dickens Pickwick Papers]
Judas goat
decoy for luring animals to slaughter. [Western Folklore: Espy, 80]
Latch, William
Esther’s betrayer; seduces her on marriage pretense. [Br. Lit.: Esther Waters, Magill I, 254–256]
Mak
Falstaffian figure; categorically maintains his innocence. [Br. Lit.: The Second Shepherds’ Play]
Malengin
personification of craftiness. [Br. Lit.: Faerie Queene]
mask
a disguise; hence, symbol of deception. [Art: Hall, 204]
Mme. St. Pé
feigns paralysis for seventeen years to keep her husband away from the woman he loves. [Fr. Drama: Jean Anouilh The Waltz of the Toreadors in On Stage, 383]
Moncrieff, Algernon, and Jack Worthing
both assume fictitious name “Ernest” in wooing belles. [Br. Lit.: The Importance of Being Earnest]
Montoni, Signor
marries Emily’s aunt to secure her property. [Br. Lit.: The Mysteries of Udolpho, Magill I, 635–638]
nightshade
poisonous flower; symbol of falsehood. [Flower Symbolism: Flora Symbolica, 176]
Nimue
cajoles Merlin to reveal secret of power. [Arth. Romance: History of Prince Arthur, Brewer Handbook, 756]
Nixon, Richard
(1913–) 37th U.S. president (1969–1974); nicknamed “Tricky Dicky.” [Am. Hist.: Kane, 523]
Pinocchio
wooden nose lengthens when he lies. [Ital. Lit.: Pinocchio]
Sinon
convinced Trojans to accept wooden horse. [Rom. Lit.: Aeneid]
Trojan Horse
hollow horse concealed soldiers, enabling them to enter and capture Troy. [Gk. Myth.: Iliad]
white flytrap
lures insects with sweet odor. [Flower Symbolism: Flora Symbolica, 178]
winter cherry
inedible fruit symbolizes falsehood. [Plant Symbolism: Jobes, 319]
Allusions—Cultural, Literary, Biblical, and Historical: A Thematic Dictionary. Copyright 2008 The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved.
References in periodicals archive ?
In all, over a period spanning 14 months, she deceitfully obtained PS6,000 in a combination of housing benefit, job seekers allowance and council tax as well as PS1,000 from Mr Anthani.
When contracts are set aside for small businesses in order to foster job creation, competition, innovation and a healthy industrial base, the government has a vested interest in ensuring that the small business performs a significant portion of the work, otherwise, the small business could deceitfully pass through the work to a large contractor."
He is answered: He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who has not taken a false oath by nafsho [literally "his soul"] or sworn deceitfully (Ps.
Over time unbelievers came along and deceitfully took control of education from parents.
"According to the complainant, there was never such an agreement or final decision and the clause referring to June 1, 2009 was deceitfully placed there to avoid paying the e1/46 million," the police investigator said.
In a private manslaughter prosecution of the police officer it was suggested he had "deceitfully and dishonestly" told senior FA officials supporters forced the gate open themselves.
Jerome Kerviel stands accused of deceitfully juggling billions of euros in rogue deals that humiliated a huge bank, but the French ex-trader casts himself as a simple soul caught up in others' greed.
The government then leased the land for resource-extraction purposes and returned the proceeds to the trusts, which were deceitfully and incompetently administered.
Moreover, by using her Florida Bar identification card to misrepresent her status as an attorney, both to enter the jail and obtain immediate and private access to a prisoner and to obtain the prisoner's vehicle from the impound lot, [the lawyer] acted deceitfully and engaged in misrepresentation."
The claimants, who said that they lost their money by investing in shares of the bank, said, 'By pretending deceitfully that Dexia was well protected from subprimes, Dexia led us into error.'
Henry Morgentaler spent many years promoting that right for women but not, as deceitfully misinterpreted by antiabortionists, promoting abortions.
Despite having had our Post Office network decimated through the last round of closures (deceitfully called the "Urban Post Office Reinvention Programme" by the Government), in spring 2008 the Post Office will decide on some more Birmingham branches to axe in the next round.