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ballad opera

(Encyclopedia)ballad opera, in English drama, a play of comic, satiric, or pastoral intent, interspersed with songs, most of them sung to popular airs. First and best was The Beggar's Opera (1728) by John Gay. The ...

Boscawen, Edward

(Encyclopedia)Boscawen, Edward bŏskōˈən [key], 1711–61, British admiral. He was a popular naval hero, famous for his decisive courage displayed against France and Spain at Portobelo (1739), Cape Finisterre (1...

Boston Mountains

(Encyclopedia)Boston Mountains, most rugged part of the Ozarks, NW Ark. and E Okla., rising to 2,700 ft (823 m). Isolated because of its geographical makeup, the region developed its own lifestyle; mountain people ...

Soho

(Encyclopedia)Soho sōhōˈ, sə– [key], district of Westminster, London, England, known for its continental restaurants. Once a fashionable quarter, it became popular among writers and artists in the 19th cent. ...

Ystad

(Encyclopedia)Ystad üˈstäd [key], city (1990 pop. 15,670), Malmöhus co., S Sweden, a seaport on the Baltic Sea. It is a commercial and industrial center and a popular summer resort. Iron, steel, and dairy produ...

Brocken

(Encyclopedia)Brocken brôkˈən [key], granite peak, 3,747 ft (1,142 m) high, central Germany; highest peak of the Harz Mts. Popular legend makes it the meeting place of the Walpurgis Night or Witches' Sabbath. Th...

Muñoz Marín, Luis

(Encyclopedia)Muñoz Marín, Luis lo͞oēsˈ mo͞onyōsˈ märēnˈ [key], 1898–1980, Puerto Rican political leader, governor of Puerto Rico (1949–65). He abandoned a career as poet and journalist in New York C...

holly

(Encyclopedia)holly, common name for members of the Aquifoliaceae, a family of widely distributed trees and shrubs, most numerous in Central and South America. The evergreen English holly (Ilex aquifolium), the com...

Greeley, Andrew Moran

(Encyclopedia)Greeley, Andrew Moran, 1928–2013, American Roman Catholic priest, sociologist, and author, b. Oak Park, Ill.; studied St. Mary of the Lake Seminary, Mundelein, Ill. (ordained 1954). He was (1954–6...

initiative

(Encyclopedia)initiative, the originating of a law or constitutional amendment by popular petition. It is intended to allow the electorate to initiate legislation independently of the legislature. This direct form ...