(Encyclopedia) tigernut, nearly cosmopolitan perennial (Cyperus esculentum) of the family Cyperaceae (sedge family) of the same genus as the papyrus plant. The tigernut has been cultivated since…
(Encyclopedia) Töpffer, RodolpheTöpffer, Rodolpherôdôlfˈ töpˈfər [key], 1799–1846, Swiss artist and writer, b. Geneva. Often called the father of the comic strip (or the graphic novel), he wanted to…
(Encyclopedia) Rocky Mountain spotted fever, infectious disease caused by a rickettsia. The bacterium is harbored by wild rodents and other animals and is carried by infected ticks of several species…
(Encyclopedia) AlcestisAlcestisălsĕsˈtĭs [key], in Greek mythology, daughter of Pelias. She was won in marriage by Admetus, who fulfilled her father's condition that her suitor come for her in a…
(Encyclopedia) charleston, social dance of the United States popular in the mid-1920s. The charleston is characterized by outward heel kicks combined with an up-and-down movement achieved by bending…
(Encyclopedia) Deadwood, city (2020 pop. 1,271), seat of Lawrence co., W S.Dak.; settled 1876 after discovery of gold. A Black Hills tourist center, it…
(Encyclopedia) Algren, NelsonAlgren, Nelsonôlˈgrən [key], 1909–81, American novelist, b. Detroit. He grew up in Chicago, and much of his fiction is set in the city's slums. His novels, such as Never…
(Encyclopedia) dodo, a flightless forest-dwelling bird of Mauritius, extinct since the late 17th cent. The dodo was closely related to the Rodrigues solitaire, extinct flightless giant found on…
(Encyclopedia) fauvismfauvismfōˈvĭzəm [key] [Fr. fauve=wild beast], name derisively hurled at and cheerfully adopted by a group of French painters, including Matisse, Rouault, Derain, Vlaminck,…
(Encyclopedia) Queen Anne's lace or wild carrot, herb (Daucus carota) of the family Umbelliferae (carrot family), native to the Old World but naturalized and often weedy throughout North America.…
