Chapter 1

Allusions and IdiomsBluntly stolen from Mr. Thom

Allusions• An allusion is a brief

reference to something in the past or something that currently exists.

• Allusions can be made to literature, art, popular culture, religion etc.

• In Harry Potter, Rowling makes an allusion to the Phoenix from Greek Mythology

Chapter One Allusions

• Galiban Mountains:

• a small mountain range situated in central California.

Chapter One Allusions

• Howard street:

• There is a Howard Street in San Francisco, a city in Northern California

Chapter One Allusions

• Sacramento:

• The capital of California, Sacramento is located about eighty miles northeast of San Francisco.

Chapter One Allusions

• Salinas River:

• a river that flows north through Soledad and empties into the Pacific Ocean.

Chapter One Allusions

• Soledad:

• a city in near the coast of California, approximately 130 miles south of San Francisco.

Chapter One Allusions• “watchin' that blackboard”:

• During the depression, employment agencies would post available jobs on a blackboard in front of their offices. Prospective employees would wait in front of the offices, watching the blackboard for any new jobs.

Chapter One Allusions

• Weed:

• A mining town in Northern California, near Mt. Shasta.

Chapter One Allusions

• work cards:

• A job assignment from an employment agency would be written on a work card to be presented by the worker to the employer.

Idioms

• Idiom:

• an expression, word or phrase that is characteristic of an individual, a time period or region

Not to be confused withIdiots...

Chapter One Idioms

• “blow their stake” or

• “blowin' in our jack”:

• Lose and/or spend all their money

Chapter One Idioms

• “bustin' a gut”:

• To bust a gut is to engage in very hard physical labor -- so hard that you ache all over -- even in your gut.

Chapter One Idioms

• “in hot water”:

• to be in hot water is to be in trouble.

Chapter One Idioms• “jungle-up”:

• During the Great Depression, many wanderers (hoboes and tramps) would settle for the night in groups. These areas would be known as hobo jungles. To jungle-up is to camp out for the evening in the company of other like companions of the road.

Chapter One Idioms

• live off the fatta the lan':

• The fat of the land is an expression that refers surviving and prospering by simply relying on what one can grow and raise -- that the land is so "fat" one will need nothing else to be happy.

Things that make you go hmmmm

• Canned: Fired• Jailbait: • Got the eye• Tart• Sore as hell• Clear out

• bindle (n.): a small bundle of items rolled up inside a blanket and carried over the shoulder or on the back; a bedroll.