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irony

(Encyclopedia)irony, figure of speech in which what is stated is not what is meant. The user of irony assumes that his reader or listener understands the concealed meaning of his statement. Perhaps the simplest for...

Helvetia

(Encyclopedia)Helvetia hĕlvĕˈshə [key], region of central Europe, occupying the plateau between the Alps and the Jura mts. The name is derived from the Roman term for its inhabitants, the predominantly Celtic H...

Frontinus

(Encyclopedia)Frontinus (Sextus Julius Frontinus) frŏntīˈnəs [key], fl. a.d. 74, Roman administrator and writer. As governor of Britain from a.d. 74 or a.d. 75 to a.d. 78, he reduced the Silures, a rebellious t...

Paulus

(Encyclopedia)Paulus (Julius Paulus) pôlˈəs [key], fl. c.200, Roman jurist. He was extremely prolific and is thought to have written some 300 books. His surviving work displays keen analysis of the opinions of o...

Buchan, John, 1st Baron Tweedsmuir

(Encyclopedia)Buchan, John, 1st Baron Tweedsmuir bŭkˈən, twēdzˈmyo͞or [key], 1875–1940, Scottish author and statesman. Included among his works are a history (4 vol., 1921–22) of World War I; biographies ...

Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra

(Encyclopedia)Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra, founded in Buffalo, NY in 1935. Since 1940 its home has been the 2,839-seat Kleinhans Music Hall, designed by Eliel Saarinen and Eero Saarinen. Its first conductor was ...

Beust, Friedrich Ferdinand

(Encyclopedia)Beust, Friedrich Ferdinand frēˈdrĭkh fĕrˈdĭnänt boist [key], 1809–86, Saxon and Austrian politician. He held various portfolios in the Saxon ministry and served as premier (1853–66), but hi...

Bialik, Hayyim Nahman

(Encyclopedia)Bialik, Hayyim Nahman hīˈyəm näˈmən byäˈlēk [key], 1873–1934, Hebrew poet, publisher in Odessa, Berlin, and Tel-Aviv, b. Volhynia, Russia. As an editor and publisher Bialik spread the ideas...

acta

(Encyclopedia)acta ăkˈtə [key], official texts of ancient Rome, written or carved on stone or metal. Usually acta were texts made public, although publication was sometimes restricted. Acta were first posted or ...

Isthmian games

(Encyclopedia)Isthmian games ĭsˈmēən [key], athletic events organized c.581 b.c. They were held at Corinth in the spring of the first and third years of the Olympiad, and they honored Palaemon as well as Poseid...