How do you use allusion in everyday life?

Answer 1

If you allude to something, I think it means you try to find something similar or reference something. In music the use of samples could be considered allusion, eg the use of Bowie and Queen's "Under Pressure" in the tune "Ice Ice Baby", or in literature reference may be made indirectly to the content or structure of another work, eg Under Milk Wood by Dylan Thomas opens with "to begin in the beginning..." - compare with the first verse of King James Bible "in the beginning (was the Word)".

In everyday life, you may want to use allusion to help someone understand something by relating it to an entirely different subject which they would be familiar with, eg suggesting a connection with a song. An example might be if someone asks you what that girl's name is. You could answer - "Anne-Marie's the name". This would be an allusion to the song where Elvis sing "And Marie's the Name (of his latest flame)". Making this connection helps the name stick in the person's mind. (Particularly if you sing it, as the brain remembers rhythms better because it forces physical reaction.)