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allusive

   Also found in: Wikipedia 0.04 sec.
al·lu·sive  (-lsv)
adj.
Containing or characterized by indirect references: an allusive speech.

al·lusive·ly adv.
al·lusive·ness n.
ThesaurusLegend:  Synonyms Related Words Antonyms
Adj.1.allusive - characterized by indirect references; "allusive speech is characterized by allusions"
indirect - extended senses; not direct in manner or language or behavior or action; "making indirect but legitimate inquiries"; "an indirect insult"; "doubtless they had some indirect purpose in mind"; "though his methods are indirect they are not dishonest"; "known as a shady indirect fellow"

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? Mentioned in ? References in classic literature
 
Hesiod's diction is in the main Homeric, but one of his charms is the use of quaint allusive phrases derived, perhaps, from a pre- Hesiodic peasant poetry: thus the season when Boreas blows is the time when `the Boneless One gnaws his foot by his fireless hearth in his cheerless house'; to cut one's nails is `to sever the withered from the quick upon that which has five branches'; similarly the burglar is the `day-sleeper', and the serpent is the `hairless one'.
Mr Verloc was not a well-read person; his range of allusive phrases was limited, but there was a peculiar aptness in circumstances which made him think of rats leaving a doomed ship.
And the following, recast in a less allusive and conversational manner, is the story that he told.
 
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