Oxford Dictionary of Reference and Allusion (Oxford Quick Reference);

Allusions are a marvelous literary shorthand. A miser is a Scrooge, a strong man a Samson, a beautiful woman a modern-day Helen of Troy. From classical mythology to modern movies and Tv shows, this revised and updated third edition explains the meanings of more than 2,000 allusions in use in modern English, from Abaddon to Zorro, Tartarus to Tarzan, and Rambo to Rubens. Based on an extensive reading program that has identified the most commonly used allusions.