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Queneau, Raymond

(Encyclopedia)Queneau, Raymond rāmôNˈ kĕnōˈ [key], 1903–76, French author and critic. He was an advocate of surrealism during the middle and late 1920s. Queneau is best known for his manipulations of style ...

Wanamaker, John

(Encyclopedia)Wanamaker, John wŏnˈəmāˌkər [key], 1838–1922, American merchant, b. Philadelphia. He went into the men's clothing business in Philadelphia with Nathan Brown, his brother-in-law, in 1861. The f...

Calisher, Hortense

(Encyclopedia)Calisher, Hortense kălˈĭshər [key], 1911–2009, American author, b. New York City, grad. Barnard College, 1932. Her novels are difficult to categorize, blending deft character analysis with compl...

Assinie

(Encyclopedia)Assinie äsēnēˈ [key], town, SE Côte d'Ivoire, on a lagoon off the Gulf of Guinea. Because of its location on the coast and its contacts with the interior, Assinie became an early stopping place f...

Natal, city, Brazil

(Encyclopedia)Natal nətälˈ [key], city (1991 pop. 606,887), capital of Rio Grande do Norte state, NE Brazil, just above the mouth of the Potengi River. A modern city that has retained its colonial flavor and is ...

Abomey

(Encyclopedia)Abomey ăbōmāˈ, əbōˈmē [key], town, S Benin. It is the trade center for an agricultural region where grain, peanuts, and palm products are processed. The town is li...

Ijebu-Ode

(Encyclopedia)Ijebu-Ode ējābo͞oˈ-ōdāˈ [key], town (1991 est. pop. 138,000), SW Nigeria. It is a commercial town and a collection point for cacao, kola nuts, and palm products. Manufactures include textiles, ...

Ilesha

(Encyclopedia)Ilesha ēlāˈshä [key], city (1991 est. pop. 334,000), SW Nigeria. Formerly a caravan trade center, Ilesha is today an agricultural and commercial city. Cacao, kola nuts, palm oil, and yams are ship...

dragon's blood

(Encyclopedia)dragon's blood, name for a red resin obtained from a number of different plants. It was held by early Greeks, Romans, and Arabs to have medicinal properties; Dioscorides and other early writers descri...

double bass

(Encyclopedia)double bass, bowed stringed musical instrument, the contrabass of the modern orchestral string section. It originated as a double-bass viol, an instrument described as early as 1566. A true double-bas...