(Encyclopedia) Guillaume de LorrisGuillaume de Lorrisgēyōmˈ də lôrēsˈ [key], c.1215–c.1278, French poet, author of the first part of the Roman de la Rose. He handled the chivalric conventions with…
(Encyclopedia) chapbook, one of the pamphlets formerly sold in Europe and America by itinerant agents, or “chapmen.” Chapbooks were inexpensive—in England often costing only a penny—and, like the…
(Encyclopedia) vodkavodkavŏdˈkə [key], traditional spirituous drink of Russia, the Baltic states, and Poland; it is now consumed internationally. The best vodka is distilled from rye and barley malt…
(Encyclopedia) Berenson, BernardBerenson, Bernardbĕrˈənsən [key], 1865–1959, American art critic and connoisseur of Italian art, b. Lithuania, grad. Harvard, 1887. An expert and an arbiter of taste,…
(Encyclopedia) Victorian style, in British and American architecture, an eclectic mode based on the revival of older styles, often in new combinations. Although the style is named after the reign (…
As humans, we get by with five senses: touch, taste, sight, smell, and hearing. They work well for us, but other animals have developed many other strange and wonderful ways to find their way…
The Good, the Bad, the UglyCommon Usage DilemmasIntroductionDangling Modifiers: CounterintelligenceMisplaced Modifiers: Lost and FoundMixed Metaphors: A Dollar Late and a Day ShortSplit Infinitives:…
(Encyclopedia) Legros, AlphonseLegros, AlphonseälfôNsˈ ləgrōˈ [key], 1837–1911, French etcher, painter, and sculptor. Legros's draftsmanship was similar to that of Ingres, but his approach was…
(Encyclopedia) Milstein, Nathan, 1904–92, Russian violinist, b. Odessa. Milstein attended the music school in Odessa before entering the St. Petersburg conservatory, where he studied under Leopold…
(Encyclopedia) ammoniac or gum ammoniacgum ammoniacəmōˈnēăkˌ [key], yellowish substance with a sickening, bitter taste, obtained from the milky exudate of the injured stem of a plant (Dorema…
