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Tristram and Isolde

(Encyclopedia)Tristram and Isolde trĭsˈtrəm, ĭsōlˈdə, ĭzōlˈ– [key], medieval romance. The earliest extant version (incomplete) was written (c.1185) by Thomas of Britain in Anglo-Norman French verse. Abo...

Troilus and Cressida

(Encyclopedia)Troilus and Cressida troiˈləs, krĕsˈĭdə [key], a medieval romance distantly related to characters in Greek legend. Troilus, a Trojan prince (son of Priam and Hecuba), fell in love with Cressida ...

Tonbridge and Malling

(Encyclopedia)Tonbridge and Malling tŭnˈbrĭj [key], district (1991 pop. 99,100), Kent, SE England. The town of Tonbridge is mainly residential with light industry, including printing and sawmilling. It is a rail...

bed and breakfast

(Encyclopedia)bed and breakfast (B&B or BnB), small business that offers guests rooms and breakfast, usually in a private home or apartment. In a B&B, service and meal preparation is typically provided by t...

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...

Bolshevism and Menshevism

(Encyclopedia)Bolshevism and Menshevism bōlˈshəvĭzəm, bŏlˈ–, mĕnˈshəvĭzəm [key], the two main branches of Russian socialism from 1903 until the consolidation of the Bolshevik dictatorship under Lenin ...

Bonnie and Clyde

(Encyclopedia)Bonnie and Clyde, Bonnie Parker, 1910–34, b. Rowena, Tex., and Clyde Barrow, 1909–34, b. Tellice, Tex., notorious American criminals during the Great Depression. Joining forces in 1932, they trave...

Punch and Judy

(Encyclopedia)Punch and Judy, famous English puppet play, very popular with children and given widely by strolling puppet players, especially during the Christmas season. It came to England in the 17th cent. by way...

puts and calls

(Encyclopedia)puts and calls, in securities trading. A call is a contract that gives the holder the right to purchase a given stock at a specific price within a designated period of time. It is the opposite of a pu...