The Beijing Olympics have been described as China’s “moon landing.”
A crushing defeat is referred to as a “waterloo.”
And of course many scandals have been called a “. . . -gate.”
And I imagine some future terrorist attack may be described as “another 9/11.”
What other historical events have become (or may become) common metaphors? I don’t mean events that are known by already-existing words (like the Depression or the Holocaust), but where the events themselves have become metaphors.
Darmok and Jalad at Tanagra.
d&r
I’ve heard traitors referred to as Benedict Arnolds.
[QUOTE=5-4-Fighting]
I’ve heard traitors referred to as Benedict Arnolds.
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And Quislings.
Witch hunts and the Spanish Inquisition.
[QUOTE=Johnny L.A.]
Darmok and Jalad at Tanagra.
d&r
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Good one. I forgot about that.
“Crossing the Rubicon” was always one of my favorites.
[QUOTE=Manda JO]
Witch hunts and the Spanish Inquisition.
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Didn’t expect that.
pyrrhic victories
[QUOTE=panache45]
The Beijing Olympics have been described as China’s “moon landing.”
[/QUOTE]
[Hijack] What are they going to call it when the Chinese actually land on the moon in 2020? [/Hijack]
A fake, of course. Nobody can make it to the moon. They’ll make a movie about the hoax called Rat One.
“Trojan Horse” seems very popular these days. I just cleared three from my computer.
[QUOTE=silenus]
A fake, of course. Nobody can make it to the moon. They’ll make a movie about the hoax called Rat One.
[/QUOTE]
Unless they can do it three years early. Then the movie will be Cock One.
Pearl Harbor and Munich are two common ones.
[QUOTE=runner pat]
Didn’t expect that.
[/QUOTE]
NOBODY expects the Spanish Inquistion. The one main thing about the Spanish Inquisition is surprise..and terror… TWO things about the …
“Going down like the Titanic.”
[QUOTE=Manda JO]
Witch hunts and the Spanish Inquisition.
[/QUOTE]
In the same vein as “witch hunts,” the term “McCarthyism” is often used to describe threats to freedom of thought and speech.
There are a lot of love-based ones from famous couples. I guess they’re mostly similes: “like Antony and Cleopatra,” for example.
Stalingrad has become synonymous with brutal urban warfare, as we saw in commentaries during the invasion of Iraq.
[QUOTE=Diogenes the Cynic]
“Going down like the Titanic.”
[/QUOTE]
As well as the related “like rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic” used to describe actions pointless in the face of disaster.
[QUOTE=Diogenes the Cynic]
“Going down like the Titanic.”
[/QUOTE]
I thought it was “going down like Paris Hilton.” 
“Donnybrook” was in use at one time. Donnybrook Definition & Meaning - Merriam-Webster