boa, common name for a variety of nonvenomous constricting snakes. There are more than 40 species of true boas (family Boidae). In addition, boa may also refer to two other groups of snakes: the Mascarene, or split-jawed, boas (family Bolyeriidae) and dwarf boas (ground and wood boas of the family

boa: 8-metre (6-foot) emerald tree boa (Corallus caninus) of tropical South America; the adult is green above, with a white dorsal stripe and crossbars, and yellow below. The rainbow boa (Epicrates cenchria) of Costa Rica to Argentina is not strongly patterned but is markedly iridescent. Except for the…

boa constrictor, (Boa constrictor), large thick-bodied snake of the boa family, Boidae. Its range is wide, from Argentina to northern Mexico. Though it thrives in tropical rainforests, it also inhabits savannas, cane fields, and semiarid scrublands. The snake’s adult length is typically about 10

boa constrictor, (Boa constrictor), large thick-bodied snake of the boa family, Boidae. Its range is wide, from Argentina to northern Mexico. Though it thrives in tropical rainforests, it also inhabits savannas, cane fields, and semiarid scrublands. The snake’s adult length is typically about 10

boa constrictor: The red-tailed boa (Boa constrictor constrictor) is a popular exotic pet.

boa constrictor: The Argentine boa constrictor (Boa constrictor occidentalis) is silvery gray with an unusual network pattern.

boa constrictor: In Boa constrictor ortonii, native to Peru, markings on the tail are red rather than brown, and the tail pattern is distinct. The Argentine boa constrictor (Boa constrictor occidentalis) is silvery gray with an unusual network pattern.

Boa Vista, city, capital of Roraima estado (state), northwestern Brazil. It is situated on the west bank of the Branco River, a tributary of the Negro River. Boa Vista was given city status in 1926 and was made the capital in 1943, when the territory (from 1990, state) was created. The city and its

Boa Vista Island, easternmost island of Cape Verde, in the Atlantic Ocean, 300 miles (500 km) off the western African coast. It rises to an elevation of 1,269 feet (387 metres). The chief town is Sal Rei, on the northwest coast. Salt and archil (a plant yielding a violet dye) are produced. Area 239

Boa Vista Island, easternmost island of Cape Verde, in the Atlantic Ocean, 300 miles (500 km) off the western African coast. It rises to an elevation of 1,269 feet (387 metres). The chief town is Sal Rei, on the northwest coast. Salt and archil (a plant yielding a violet dye) are produced. Area 239

baobab: gregorii, called boab, or bottle tree, is found throughout the Kimberley region of Western Australia. Reaching heights of about 12 metres (39 feet), the tree features the characteristically swollen trunk of the genus and bears compound leaves that are completely shed during drought periods. The white flowers…

Muḥammad XII was the last Naṣrid sultan of Granada, Spain. His reign (1482–92) was marked by incessant civil strife and the fall of Granada to Ferdinand and Isabella, the Roman Catholic rulers of Aragon and Castile. Instigated by his mother, a jealous wife, Boabdil rebelled against his father, the

John Charles Walsham Reith, 1st Baron Reith: …with British Airways, forming the British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC), of which he became chairman. He was made a peer in 1940. During World War II he held ministerial and other appointments and was director of Combined Operations Material at the Admiralty (1943–45). As chairman of the new Commonwealth Telecommunications…

Boaco, town, central Nicaragua, situated on the western flanks of the central highlands. Boaco is a commercial and manufacturing centre for the agricultural and pastoral hinterland. Dairying and the processing of livestock products are the town’s most important activities. Soap, bricks, mineral

Boudicca was an ancient British queen who in 60 ce led a revolt against Roman rule. Boudicca’s husband, Prasutagus, was king of the Iceni (in what is now Norfolk) as a client under Roman suzerainty. When Prasutagus died in 60 with no male heir, he left his private wealth to his two daughters and to

George Weah: Political aspirations: …his nearest challenger, Vice President Joseph Boakai, who represented the UP and received about 29 percent of the vote, advanced to the November 7 runoff election. The election was indefinitely postponed, however, after the Supreme Court ruled on November 6 that the electoral commission could not hold the poll until…

Michaela Coel is a British screenwriter, actress, and producer who gained acclaim for the award-winning television series Chewing Gum (2015–17) and I May Destroy You (2020), both of which she wrote, starred in, and produced. For the latter she became the first Black woman to win an Emmy Award for

Serbia: Economy of Serbia: …Yugoslav worker belonged to a Basic Organization of Associated Labour (BOAL) that was based on the precise role played by the worker in the production process. The BOALs elected representatives to workers’ councils, which in turn created management boards and determined pay levels, investment policies, and specific goals for production.…

Augusto Boal was a Brazilian dramatist who created the Theatre of the Oppressed, a form of interactive theatre intended to transform lives as spectators become performers, acting out solutions to social problems. Boal grew up in Rio de Janeiro and earned a degree in chemical engineering in 1952.

Boann, in Irish mythology, sacred river personified as a mother goddess. With Dagda (or Daghda), chief god of the Irish, she was the mother of Mac ind Óg (“Young Son” or “Young Lad”), known also as Oenghus; mother, father, and son together formed one version of the divine triad familiar from Celtic

boar, any of the wild members of the pig species Sus scrofa, family Suidae. The term boar is also used to designate the male of the domestic pig, guinea pig, and various other mammals. The term wild boar, or wild pig, is sometimes used to refer to any wild member of the Sus genus. The wild

Boar’s Head Inn, London inn, the yard of which was used to stage plays in the 16th and early 17th centuries. It was situated in Whitechapel, just outside Aldgate. The first record of its use as a playhouse was in 1557. In 1595 Oliver Woodliffe began a four-year renovation of the inn, which marked

Board of Education v. Allen, case in which the U.S. Supreme Court on June 10, 1968, ruled (6–3) that a New York state statute that required public school authorities to lend textbooks to private schools, including those with religious affiliations, did not violate the establishment or free-exercise

Board of Education of Independent School District No. 92 of Pottawatomie County v. Earls, case in which the U.S. Supreme Court on June 27, 2002, ruled (5–4) that suspicionless drug testing of students participating in competitive extracurricular activities did not violate the Fourth Amendment,

Board of Education of the Hendrick Hudson Central School District v. Rowley, legal case in which the U.S. Supreme Court on June 28, 1982, held (6–3) that the Education of the Handicapped Act of 1974 (EHA; renamed the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act [IDEA] in 1990), as amended by the

Board of Education v. Allen, case in which the U.S. Supreme Court on June 10, 1968, ruled (6–3) that a New York state statute that required public school authorities to lend textbooks to private schools, including those with religious affiliations, did not violate the establishment or free-exercise

Board of Education, Island Trees Union Free School District No. 26 v. Pico, case (1982) in which the U.S. Supreme Court, for the first time, addressed the removal of books from libraries in public schools. A plurality of justices held that the motivation for a book’s removal must be the central

Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System v. Southworth, legal case in which the U.S. Supreme Court ruled unanimously (9–0) on March 22, 2000, that officials at public colleges and universities may impose mandatory student fees as long as they distribute the proceeds to student

Board of Regents v. Roth, case in which the U.S. Supreme Court on June 29, 1972, ruled (5–3) that nontenured educators whose contracts are not renewed have no right to procedural due process under the Fourteenth Amendment unless they can prove they have liberty or property interests at stake. The

Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT), the first grain futures exchange in the United States, organized in Chicago in 1848. The Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) began as a voluntary association of prominent Chicago grain merchants. By 1858 access to the trading floor, known as the “pit,” was limited to

stool: …resembled small benches, were called board, or slab-ended, stools; they were made obsolete by the standard joint stool, which was produced, in the 17th century, in upholstered sets with chairs and footstools.

stringed instrument: Zithers: …which strings are fastened (board zither) or from individual narrow canes lashed together, each having one idiochordic string (raft zither). The typical box zither is a rectangular or, more often, trapezoid-shaped hollow box, with strings that are either struck with light hammers or plucked. Examples of the former are…

New South Wales: Federation of New South Wales: …was reformed after 1904 by Peter Board, the celebrated director general of education. He established Sydney Teachers’ College in 1905–06 and sought to ensure that teaching and courses were adapted to the needs of children. In 1911 he laid the basis for an improved secondary school system that was designed…

snowboarding: Snowboard cross (boardercross): Snowboard cross (originally and still frequently called boardercross) is an event where multiple riders (four in Olympic competition) race simultaneously down the same inclined course with banked turns, jumps, berms, drops, and other artificial features that test the competitors’ balance and control at maximum speeds.…

Jack White: The eclectic Boarding House Reach (2018) featured a variety of genres, including funk and rap. Also in 2018 White released the concert film Jack White: Kneeling at the Anthem D.C.

boarding school, school where students receive a primary or secondary education while living on the school’s grounds. The first documented use of the term boarding school dates to 1665, although references in literature and the historical record make clear that boarding schools (in the sense of

Catherine Helen Spence: Advocating for women’s right to vote and other social issues: …Caroline Emily Clark founded the Boarding-Out Society, one of Australia’s first foster-care systems. Spence stayed with the organization until 1886, finding homes for orphaned and impoverished children and evolving social welfare practices. In 1886 the Boarding-Out Society was incorporated into the new State Children’s Council, of which Spence continued to…

Mabel Thorp Boardman was an American Red Cross leader who reestablished the organization’s funding base and greatly extended its other resources and services. Boardman was from a well-to-do family and was educated privately. She devoted time to various social philanthropies, and during the

windsurfing, sport that combines aspects of sailing and surfing on a one-person craft called a sailboard. The earliest prototypes of a sailboard date back to the late 1950s. Californians Jim Drake (a sailor) and Hoyle Schweitzer (a surfer) received the first patent for a sailboard in 1968. They

Starkville, city, seat (1833) of Oktibbeha county, eastern Mississippi, U.S., 22 miles (35 km) west of Columbus. Founded in 1831, it was originally known as Boardtown for the sawmilling operation there, but it was renamed in 1837 to honour the American Revolution general John Stark. After the

Atlantic City: Its famous Boardwalk, initially 8 feet (2 metres) wide and 1 mile (1.6 km) long, was built in 1870; it was later extended to a width of 60 feet (18 metres) and a length of 5 miles (8 km). Other innovations enhancing the resort’s reputation included the…

Coney Island: 6-km) boardwalk fronted by a sand beach. Numerous concessions were developed with rides, exhibitions, restaurants, and souvenir shops. The amusement areas began to decline after World War II, and only a fraction of the attractions remained by the early 21st century. The Sea Gate district at…

Patricia Arquette: …Florida speakeasy in the series Boardwalk Empire. Arquette later starred in the short-lived CSI: Crime Scene Investigation spin-off CSI: Cyber (2015–16). She then portrayed a weary employee of a maximum-security prison who helps two inmates break out in the miniseries Escape at Dannemora (2018), which was based on true events.…

boarfish, (family Caproidae), any of six species of fishes (order Zeiformes) characterized by red coloration and a laterally compressed body that is as high as it is long. All six species live in deep marine waters, occurring in the Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian oceans. The two genera, Antigonia

Latin American architecture: Art Nouveau: … (1904–34) in Mexico City, by Adamo Boari. It is an example of the aforementioned eclecticism of the late Beaux-Arts period and includes several Art Nouveau elements—notably fan-shaped windows, curvilinear handrails, and an opalescent stained-glass window by Louis Comfort Tiffany. This building was part of an attempt to remodel the city…

Bulldog: Care and upkeep: …the breed especially prone to brachycephalic syndrome—a condition in which the nostril openings (nares) are too small, the soft palate is elongated, and tissue in the airway may partially obstruct airflow. When the dog pants, these tissues can swell, further obstructing airflow and reducing the dog’s ability to cool itself.…

Franz Boas was a German-born American anthropologist of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the founder of the relativistic, culture-centered school of American anthropology that became dominant in the 20th century. During his tenure at Columbia University in New York City (1899–1942), he

boat, generic term for small watercraft propelled by paddles, oars, sail, or motor, open or partially decked, and usually less than 45 feet (roughly 14 metres) in length. A vessel larger than this is customarily classed as a ship, although the word boat is often applied to certain working

ship: History of ships: Boats are still vital aids to movement, even those little changed in form during that 6,000-year history. The very fact that boats may be quite easily identified in illustrations of great antiquity shows how slow and continuous had been this evolution until just 150 years…

hydrocarbon: Cycloalkanes: …of cyclohexane, designated as chair, boat, and skew (or twist), are essentially free of angle strain. Of these three the chair is the most stable, mainly because it has a staggered arrangement of all its bonds. The boat and skew conformations lack perfect staggering of bonds and are destabilized by…

Commelinales: …plant; and Tradescantia spathacea, or Moses-in-the-cradle, grown as a potted plant for its purple-coloured leaves and unusual flowers.

Poul Anderson: …include A Midsummer Tempest (1974), The Boat of a Million Years (1989), and Genesis (2000), which received the John W. Campbell Award in 2001.

cymbidium, (genus Cymbidium), genus of 50–70 species of tropical and subtropical orchids (family Orchidaceae). The genus is primarily distributed in Asia, though several species are native to northern Australia. The orchids are popular as florists’ plants and ornamentals, and there are several

boat people, refugees fleeing by boat. The term originally referred to the thousands of Vietnamese who fled their country by sea following the collapse of the South Vietnamese government in 1975. Crowded into small vessels, they were prey to pirates, and many suffered dehydration, starvation, and

Fujian: Population composition: The “boat people” (Tanka or Danjia), who live on boats in the streams and estuaries, are not recognized as a separate group.

Portuguese literature: Gil Vicente and the drama: The Boat Plays)—a group of autos, or religious plays (see auto sacramental)—revealed his dramatic power, his fondness for comic relief, and his deft use of popular figures and language. The phenomenon of a potential national theatre, however, died with its founder and did not find…

Ha Jin: Literary works: …mole in the CIA; and The Boat Rocker (2016), in which a Chinese journalist in New York City attempts to expose his novelist ex-wife as a fraud. In A Song Everlasting (2021), a Chinese singer runs afoul of his country’s government and flees to the United States. The Woman Back…

L.P. Hartley: …and fully realized novel is The Boat (1949), in which he explores the struggles of a crowd-avoiding individual in England during World War II, when group effort and identification were the norm. A volume of essays, The Novelist’s Responsibility, appeared in 1967 and The Collected Stories of L.P. Hartley in…

Sweden: Earliest settlements: The so-called Boat-Ax culture (an outlier of the European Battle-Ax cultures) arrived about 2000 bce and spread rapidly. During the Neolithic Period, southern and central Sweden displayed the aspects of a homogeneous culture, with central European trade links; in northern Sweden the hunting culture persisted throughout the…

heron: Another night heron is the boat-billed heron, or boatbill (Cochlearius cochlearius), of Central and South America, placed by some authorities in its own family (Cochleariidae).

grackle: In the great-tailed and boat-tailed grackles (Cassidix mexicanus and C. major), the male has a long, deeply keeled tail: his total length may be 43 cm. These species are found in arid lands of the southwestern United States to Peru and in salt marshes from New Jersey to Texas.…

heron: Another night heron is the boat-billed heron, or boatbill (Cochlearius cochlearius), of Central and South America, placed by some authorities in its own family (Cochleariidae).

Paul Boateng is a British politician who became the first person of African descent to serve in a British cabinet when he was appointed (2002) chief secretary to the Treasury. He was the son of Kwaku Boateng, a lawyer who served as a cabinet minister in the Ghanaian government of Kwame Nkrumah, and

Paul Boateng is a British politician who became the first person of African descent to serve in a British cabinet when he was appointed (2002) chief secretary to the Treasury. He was the son of Kwaku Boateng, a lawyer who served as a cabinet minister in the Ghanaian government of Kwame Nkrumah, and

Jay Macpherson: …Return (1954), were followed by The Boatman and Other Poems (1957, reissued with additional poems, 1968), a collection of short poems under six subtitles that established her reputation as a poet. For the latter work, she was awarded the Governor General’s Literary Award for poetry. Her lyrics, often ironic and…

boatswain, ship’s officer responsible for maintenance of the ship and its equipment. Before the Royal Navy was established, the term boatswain was applied to the expert seaman on an English merchant vessel. Each ship had a master, who was proficient in navigation, and a boatswain, who was second in

pendulum: …caused the suspended body, or bob, to swing along the arc of a cycloid rather than that of a circle.

bobsledding: …four-runner sled, called a bobsled, bobsleigh, or bob, that carries either two or four persons.

Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice, American comedy film, released in 1969, that lampooned the trendy aspect of the decade’s sexual liberation. Natalie Wood and Robert Culp played Carol and Bob, a pretentious wealthy and bored couple in southern California. After attending an enlightened New Age-type

Bob and Ray were American comedians best known for their satirical radio programs. Both Elliott and Goulding served in the U.S. Army during World War II. They met while working for radio station WHDH in Boston, Elliott as a disk jockey and Goulding as a news broadcaster on Elliott’s program. The

bob and wheel, in alliterative verse, a group of typically five rhymed lines following a section of unrhymed lines, often at the end of a strophe. The bob is the first line in the group and is shorter than the rest; the wheel is the quatrain that follows the

Bob Beamon’s breathtaking long jump was one of the unforgettable moments of the 1968 Olympic Games in Mexico City. This 22-year-old long-legged athlete from Queens, New York, was able to fly 29 feet 2.5 inches (8.9 metres), surpassing the world record by an amazing 21.65 inches. No one before had

Sean Penn: …Penn published his first novel, Bob Honey Who Just Do Stuff, a satire about a divorced assassin.

Television in the United States: Rural humour: …1965–66 season, only one anthology, Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theater (NBC, 1963–67), remained on the air, and it had only one remaining season.

Bob Jones University v. United States: …practices of institutions such as Bob Jones University did not serve a legitimate public purpose and therefore precluded tax-exempt status.

Bob Jones University v. United States: …practices of institutions such as Bob Jones University did not serve a legitimate public purpose and therefore precluded tax-exempt status.

Bob Jones University v. United States, legal case in which the U.S. Supreme Court ruled (8–1) on May 24, 1983, that nonprofit private universities that prescribe and enforce racially discriminatory admission standards on the basis of religious doctrine do not qualify as tax-exempt organizations

Omaha: The contemporary city: …opening in 2008 of the Bob Kerrey Pedestrian Bridge, a serpentine suspension structure linking Omaha to Council Bluffs, may have provided that distinguishing landmark.

Penny Marshall: …two years she performed on The Bob Newhart Show. In 1975 a guest appearance with Cindy Williams on the television series Happy Days led to the spin-off Laverne and Shirley in 1976. The comedy, which centred on two blue-collar women (Marshall played Laverne) working in a Milwaukee, Wisconsin, brewery during…

Tim Robbins: …Senate candidate in the mockumentary Bob Roberts (1992), which he also wrote and directed.

bobsledding: The bob run used in international competition is between 1,200 and 1,600 metres (1,312 and 1,750 yards) long, with an average slope of between 8 and 15 percent. There are generally from 15 to 20 turns per course, ranging in size up to huge hairpins of…

meat processing: Veal fabrication: Baby veal (bob veal) is 2–3 days to 1 month of age and yields carcasses weighing 9 to 27 kilograms. Vealers are 4 to 12 weeks of age with carcasses weighing 36 to 68 kilograms. Calves are up to 20 weeks of age with carcasses…

Keegan-Michael Key: Career: …roles in the animated sitcoms Bob’s Burgers (2014–17) and Archer (2016–17) and in the animated films Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation (2018) and Toy Story 4 (2019).

bubble tea, beverage combining tea, milk, and “bubbles”—chewy gelatinous candies made of tapioca or fruit jelly. Bubble tea is a favourite in its homeland of Taiwan and is now popular worldwide. Bubble tea originated in the city of T’ai-nan, Taiwan, in the mid-1980s. Dozens of variations of the

Francisco de Bobadilla was a Spanish soldier who arrested Christopher Columbus on Santo Domingo (the island of Hispaniola) after dissensions had arisen between Columbus and several of the Spanish adventurers who served under him. Bobadilla was a noble who served the Spanish crown in the wars of

Central African Republic: Early history: …the mid 19th century the Bobangi people from the Ubangi River area, who had become major slave traders, raided the nearby Baya and Mandjia peoples for captives. In exchange for captives, the slave traders received arms, which allowed them to continue to raid for more slaves. Though these raids largely…

fishing: Methods: …cork or plastic, called a float in Britain and a bobber in the United States. The angler attempts to suspend the bait at a depth where foraging fish will notice it and in locations near the natural hiding places of fish—such as sunken weed beds, logs, and underwater rock formations.

bobbin, Elongated spool of thread, used in the textile industry. In modern processes, the spun fibres are wound on bobbins; the weft filling in weaving comes off bobbins. Bobbins are essential to the manufacture of bobbin lace (see lacemaking). The first bobbin lace probably originated in Flanders

bobbin furniture, heavy furniture made in the late 17th century, whose legs and other parts were lathe-turned to ornamental shapes; also lighter, less boldly turned pieces made in 19th-century cottage style (see cottage furniture). Bobbin turning was a type of ornament consisting of a series of

bobbin lace, handmade lace important in fashion from the 16th to the early 20th century. Bobbin laces are made by using a “pricking,” a pattern drawn on parchment or card that is attached to a padded support, the pillow or cushion. An even number of threads (from 8 to more than 1,000) are looped

textile: Net and lace making: Bobbinet lace, essentially a hexagonal net, is used as a base for appliqué work for durable non-run net hosiery, and, when heavily sized, for such materials as millinery and veilings. Barmens lace has a fairly heavy texture and an angular pattern; flowing lines, heavy outline…

textile: Net and lace making: Bobbinet lace, essentially a hexagonal net, is used as a base for appliqué work for durable non-run net hosiery, and, when heavily sized, for such materials as millinery and veilings. Barmens lace has a fairly heavy texture and an angular pattern; flowing lines, heavy outline…

textile: Net and lace making: In the Heathcot, or bobbinet, machine, warp threads were arranged so that the threads moved downward as the beams unwound. Other threads were wound on thin, flat spools or bobbins held in narrow carriages that could move in a groove or comb in two rows. The carriages…

Bobbio, town, Emilia-Romagna region, northern Italy, in the valley of the Trebbia River, southwest of Piacenza. The ancient Bobium, it became famous when the Irish missionary monk St. Columban (Colombano) founded a monastery there c. 612, after fleeing from what is now Switzerland. He died three

Bobbsey Twins, fictional characters, two sets of fraternal twins—the older pair named Bert and Nan, the younger Freddie and Flossie—who are featured in an extended series of children’s books by American author Laura Lee Hope (a collective pseudonym for many writers, including Harriet S. Adams). The

Harry Belafonte: Player (1992), Kansas City (1996), Bobby (2006), and BlacKkKlansman (2018).

bobby, slang term for a member of London’s Metropolitan Police derived from the name of Sir Robert Peel, who established the force in 1829. Police officers in London are also known as “peelers” for the same reason. After becoming home secretary in the British government, between 1825 and 1830 Peel

Sydney Pollack: Film directing: His next film, Bobby Deerfield (1977), with Al Pacino as a race-car driver in love with a dying heiress (Marthe Keller), was a poorly reviewed movie that eventually earned a cult following.

Vidya Balan: …a detective in the thriller Bobby Jasoos (2014).

Frank Sinatra: The band singer: …young female fans—known as “bobby-soxers”—had not been seen since the days of Rudolph Valentino. The singer was soon dubbed “Frankieboy,” “The Sultan of Swoon,” and, most popularly, “The Voice.”