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birling

(Encyclopedia)birling bûrˈlĭng [key], sport in which two competitors try to maintain balance on a floating log, each seeking to rotate the log and spill the other into the water. With origins in the spring log d...

Whistler, town, Canada

(Encyclopedia)Whistler, town (1990 est. pop. 4,459), SW B.C., W Canada, 60 mi (97 km) N of Vancouver, near Alta and Green lakes in Whistler Valley in the Coast Mts. A popular summer resort area since the 1920s, it ...

Kedah

(Encyclopedia)Kedah kĕˈdə, kāˈdä [key], state (1991 pop. 1,304,800), 3,660 sq mi (9,479 sq km), central Malay Peninsula, Malaysia, on the Strait of Malacca. It is bordered on the N and NE by Thailand. The cap...

John II, king of Poland

(Encyclopedia)John II (John Casimir), 1609–72, king of Poland (1648–68), son of Sigismund III. He was elected to succeed his brother, Ladislaus IV. The turbulent period of his reign is known in Polish history a...

Adenauer, Konrad

(Encyclopedia)Adenauer, Konrad kônˈrät äˈdənouˌər [key], 1876–1967, West German chancellor. A lawyer and a member of the Catholic Center party, he was lord mayor of Cologne and a member of the provincial ...

Bashkortostan

(Encyclopedia)Bashkortostan băshkĭrˈ [key], constituent republic, 55,444 sq mi (143,600 sq km), E European ...

La Mesa

(Encyclopedia)La Mesa lə māˈsə [key], city (1990 pop. 52,931), San Diego co., S Calif., a suburb of San Diego; inc. 1912. It is a retail center and a popular residence for upper- and middle-income professionals...

Lesueur, Jean François

(Encyclopedia)Lesueur or Le Sueur, Jean François zhäN fräNswäˈ [key], 1760–1837, French composer. During the French Revolution his operas, such as La Caverne (1793) and Paul et Virginie (1794), were highly p...

Llandudno

(Encyclopedia)Llandudno hländĭdˈnō, lăndŭdˈnō [key], town (1981 pop. 13,202), Conwy, NW Wales, on a point of land jutting into the Irish Sea. Llandudno is a popular seaside resort with a mild climate. It is...

Longus

(Encyclopedia)Longus lôngˈgəs [key], fl. 3d cent. a.d., Greek writer. The pastoral romance Daphnis and Chloë is attributed to him. Idyllic in nature, the poem tells the charming story of the love of a goatherd ...