Pop Culture References and Greekisms

Long before planes, trains, and automobiles, there were people. And people still used common phrases and sayings, but they were slightly different. Here are a few examples of lines or other things in the episodes that reference familiar phrases or items in the 20th century.

1.01 Treasure of Zeus

• Reference to the phrase: "No shirt, no shoes, no service."

Kora: I'm gonna have to put up a sign: 'No shirt, no feet, no service.'

1.02 Between Friends

• dinar-counter, a.k.a. bean counter, n. Slang - A person, such as an accountant or financial officer, who is concerned with quantification, especially to the exclusion of other matters. - Answers.com
• bean counter - A disparaging term for an accountant, or anyone who one who is excessively concerned with statistical records or accounts. - The Phrase Finder

Jason: What'd Fiducius want?
Iolaus: What's a dinar-counter like him always want? The academy fees.

1.03 What a Crockery

• It is a dream of most teenagers to borrow the keys to their father's car.

Hercules: What do you talk to dads about?
Jason: Ask him how his day was. See if you can borrow the reins to the chariot.

• Reference to the old "The dog ate my homework" excuse.
  • An excuse kids use at school when they don't have their homework assignment to submit. This excuse is never believed and usually said as a joke. - Idiom Quest
  • A classic and not very credible excuse usually used in cartoons and sitcoms to excuse a student's lack of completed homework when they get to school. - Urban Dictionary

Iolaus: You'd think Cheiron would have accepted my excuse about the God of War vaporizing my homework.

1.12 Battle Lines II

• Reference to the phrase: "This has [insert word] written all over it." chisel, n., a metal tool with a sharpened edge at one end used to chip, carve, or cut into a solid material (as wood, stone, or metal) - Merriam-Webster. chiseled, adj., formed or crafted as if with a chisel - Merriam-Webster.
  • [blank] written all over it - an idiom meaning that the object of the phrase is the epitome of [blank]. If something, such as a plan or idea, has disaster written all over it, it is thought to be heading for complete failure or will cause a lot of trouble, i.e. "Mary's idea of a holiday with her in-laws has disaster written all over it!" - English idioms and idiomatic expressions

Iolaus: Look, I know a con when I see one, and this has 'setup' chiseled all over it.