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block and tackle

(Encyclopedia)block and tackle: see pulley.

Blues and Greens

(Encyclopedia)Blues and Greens, political factions in the Byzantine Empire in the 6th cent. They took their names from two of the four colors worn by the circus charioteers. Their clashes were intensified by religi...

Urim and Thummim

(Encyclopedia)Urim and Thummim yo͞oˈrĭm, thŭmˈĭm [key], in the Bible, name of sacred instruments used for casting lots. The meaning of the two names is uncertain, as is the nature of the lots. They were in so...

Weber and Fields

(Encyclopedia)Weber and Fields wĕbˈər [key], American comedy team. The partners were Joe Weber (Joseph Maurice Weber), 1867–1942, and Lew Fields (Lewis Maurice Schanfield), 1867–1941, both born in New York C...

weights and measures

(Encyclopedia)CE5 weights and measures, units and standards for expressing the amount of some quantity, such as length, capacity, or weight; the science of measurement standards and methods is known as metrology...

Turkish language

(Encyclopedia)Turkish language, member of the Turkic subdivision of the Altaic subfamily of the Ural-Altaic family of languages (see Uralic and Altaic languages). Turkish is the official language of Turkey and one ...

Alaşehir

(Encyclopedia)Alaşehir äläˈshĕhērˌ [key], town, W Turkey, at the foot of the Tmolus Mts. (Boz Dağ). It is the trade center for a region where tobacco, fruit, and mineral water a...

extraterritoriality

(Encyclopedia)extraterritoriality or exterritoriality, privilege of immunity from local law enforcement enjoyed by certain aliens. Although physically present upon the territory of a foreign nation, those aliens po...

Cenozoic era

(Encyclopedia)Cenozoic era sēnəzōˈĭk, sĕn– [key], last major division of geologic time (see Geologic Timescale, tablegeologic timescale, table) lasting from 65 million years ago to the present. The Cenozoic...

Uzbekistan

(Encyclopedia)CE5 Uzbekistan o͝ozbĕkĭstänˈ [key], Uzbek Ozbekiston, officially Republic of Uzbekistan, republic (2015 est. pop. 29,200,000), 173,552 sq mi (449,500 sq km), central Asia. The republic, which ...