An allusion is like an inside joke. Only the people who know what it's referring to get it.
They are the "intended audience."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pRW44uCUTN4 -- an allusion in The Emperor's New Groove from an old horror movie
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c_53YsFkFZ4 -- Samples of Allusion from Toy Story
al·lu·sion
əˈlo͞oZHən/
noun
Definition:
1. an expression designed to call something to mind without mentioning it explicitly; an indirect or passing reference.
"an allusion to Shakespeare"
synonyms: reference to, mention of, suggestion of, hint to, intimation of, comment on, remark on
"the town's name is an allusion to its founding family"
Samples of allusions:
• “If you want to do well in class, and can choose where you sit, pick a seat by the class Hermione or by the class Einstein.” -- These are allusions to the Harry Potter books and to a famous real-life person.
• “I was surprised his nose was not growing like Pinocchio’s.” -- This refers to the story of Pinocchio, where his nose grew whenever he told a lie. It is fromThe Adventures of Pinocchio, written by Carlo Collodi.
• “When she lost her job, she acted like a Scrooge, and refused to buy anything that wasn’t necessary.” -- Scrooge was an extremely stingy character from Charles Dickens’, A Christmas Carol.
• “I thought the software would be useful, but it was a Trojan Horse.” -- This refers to the horse that the Greeks built that contained all the soldiers. It was given as a gift to the enemy during the Trojan War and, once inside the enemy's walls, the soldiers broke out. By using trickery, the Greeks won the war.
• “He was a real Romeo with the ladies.” -- Romeo was a character in Shakespeare’s play, Romeo and Juliet, and was very romantic in expressing his love for Juliet.
• “Chocolate was her Achilles’ heel.” -- This means that her weakness was her love of chocolate. Achilles is a character in Greek mythology who was invincible. His mother dipped him in magical water when he was a baby, and she held him by the heel. The magic protected him all over, except for his heel.
Biblical Allusions
There are many biblical allusions that are used in our everyday language and in writing.Here are a few examples:
- “He was a Good Samaritan yesterday when he helped the lady start her car.” This refers to the biblical story of the Good Samaritan.
- “She turned the other cheek after she was cheated out of a promotion.” This comes from teaching of Jesus that you should not get revenge.
- “This place is like a Garden of Eden.” The Garden of Eden was the paradise God made for Adam and Eve.
- “You are a Solomon when it comes to making decisions.” This refers to King Solomon, who was very wise.
- “When the volcano erupted, the nearby forest was swallowed up in dust and ash like Jonah.” Jonah was a person who was swallowed alive by a whale.
- “It is raining so hard, I hope it doesn’t rain for 40 days and 40 nights.” This makes a reference to the biblical story of Noah and the ark he built. He was told by God that it would rain for 40 days and 40 nights and flood the land.
Some of the examples are from http://examples.yourdictionary.com/examples-of-allusion.html
