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alligator

(Encyclopedia)alligator, large aquatic reptile of the genus Alligator, in the same order as the crocodile. There are two species—a large type found in the S United States and a small type found in E China. Alliga...

caiman

(Encyclopedia)caiman: see alligator.

Morgan City

(Encyclopedia)Morgan City, city (1990 pop. 14,531), St. Mary parish, S La., a fishing port on the Atchafalaya River (connected to the Intracoastal Waterway); inc. 1860 as Brasher, renamed 1876. The city is headquar...

Lacoste, René

(Encyclopedia)Lacoste, René rənāˈ läkôstˈ [key], 1905–96, French tennis player. He won the French singles championship (1925, 1927, and 1929), the British singles championship (1925, 1928), and the U.S. si...

avocado

(Encyclopedia)avocado äˈvəkäˈdo, ăvˈ– [key], tropical American broad-leaved evergreen tree of the genus Persea of the family Lauraceae (laurel family). The fruit, called avocado, alligator pear, or, in Spa...

Fink, Mike

(Encyclopedia)Fink, Mike, 1770?–1823?, American border hero, whose exploits have been so elaborated in legend that the actual facts of his life are difficult to discover. He was born probably at the frontier post...

Abbeville, city, United States

(Encyclopedia)Abbeville ăˈbēvĭl [key], city (2020 pop. 11,760), seat of Vermilion parish, S La., on the Vermilion River, with access to the Intracoastal Waterway; inc. 1850. It is a...

gar

(Encyclopedia)gar, member of the family Lepisosteidae, freshwater fishes found in the warmer rivers and lakes of the S United States, Central America, Mexico, and the West Indies. Gars are highly predacious and des...

tall tale

(Encyclopedia)tall tale, extravagantly and humorously exaggerated story of the backwoods exploits of an American frontiersman. Originating in the 1820s, the genre remained popular well into the 20th cent. One of th...

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