Definition: (noun) A complex carbohydrate found chiefly in seeds, fruits, tubers, roots and stem pith of plants, notably in corn, potatoes, wheat, and rice.
Synonyms: starch.
Usage: She was on a strict diet and avoided foods with high levels of amylum, sugar, and saturated fat.
Discuss
Source: The Free Dictionary
After her husband’s assassination in 1959, Bandaranaike became the first woman in the world to serve as a nation’s prime minister. She led two coalition governments, from 1960–65 and from 1970–77, and promoted a new constitution that proclaimed a republic and changed the country’s name from Ceylon to Sri Lanka. She was later stripped of her civil rights because of abuses as prime minister but reentered politics in the late 1980s. In the 1990s, she was again appointed prime minister by whom? Discuss
Source: The Free Dictionary
The tradition of marking newborn swans goes back six centuries, when most of the swans on England’s public waters were owned by the Queen. Every year since 1363, the Queen’s swan master and the swan wardens of the two livery companies row up the Thames, starting at Blackfriars and continuing upstream to Abingdon, and “up” all the swan families into the boats, where they are marked with identification numbers. There are very specific rules governing how ownership is decided, and the six boats, each flying a large silk flag, form a procession that has changed little over the centuries. Discuss
Source: The Free Dictionary
Knotts was an American comedic actor best known for his portrayal of the bumbling but earnest sheriff’s deputy Barney Fife on the 1960s sitcom The Andy Griffith Show. When the show first aired, Griffith—as Sheriff Andy Taylor—was to be the comedic lead, and Knotts was to play his straight man, but Knotts’s Fife proved so funny that this was soon reversed. The role earned Knotts 5 Emmy Awards for Best Supporting Actor in a Television Comedy. In what film did he first appear with Griffith? Discuss
Source: The Free Dictionary
Lerner, an American lyricist and librettist, began his musical theater career with collegiate contributions to the annual Harvard Hasty Pudding musicals. After two years as a radio scriptwriter, he was introduced to composer Frederick Loewe. Their collaboration resulted in the 1947 musical hit Brigadoon. Their crowning achievement, however, was My Fair Lady (1956), whose film version won eight Oscars. My Fair Lady is adapted from which novel? Discuss
Source: The Free Dictionary
Definition: (noun) A loose coverall (coat or frock) reaching down to the ankles.
Synonyms: dust coat, smock, duster.
Usage: He was an unshaven little man in a threadbare coat like a gaberdine, with his feet in slippers, and I thought him a harmless fool.
Discuss
Source: The Free Dictionary
In the spring of 1864 during the American Civil War, Union General William T. Sherman began preparing his troops for their first major attack on the defenses of Atlanta, Georgia. Just days after taking command of a Confederate army in that area, General John Bell Hood unsuccessfully attacked Sherman’s troops as they crossed the nearby Peachtree Creek. Most historians consider the attack a grave error, as the Union troops routed Hood’s army. What went wrong for Hood? Discuss
Source: The Free Dictionary
Mt. Osore, located on the Shimokita Peninsula in the north of Honshu, Japan, is a spiritual center for many Japanese. It is known as a place where departed souls congregate. During the Osorezan Taisai Festival, or Osorezanrei Grand Festival, people flock to the mountain at Mutsu City, Aomori Prefecture, where psychics endeavor to summon the spirits of the dead by chanting. The priests who cross the weathered slopes of the mountain in procession add to the festival’s grim and ghostly atmosphere. Discuss
Source: The Free Dictionary
Mendel was an Austrian monk who laid the mathematical foundation for the science of genetics. While working in his monastery’s garden in 1854, he began planning the experiments that led him to identify the basic principles of heredity. By crossing different varieties of pea plants, he determined that each parent plant contributes a “factor”—now known as a gene—to its offspring for a particular trait. His findings went unrecognized until the 20th century, when they were rediscovered by whom? Discuss
Source: The Free Dictionary
The Young Men’s Christian Organization (YMCA) was founded in London in 1844 and has as its objective the development of values and behaviors that are consistent with Christian principles; membership is not limited to Christians, however, and women and girls have been accepted as members since World War II. In North America, the YMCA is usually perceived to be primarily a community sports facility, but in practice it utilizes a broad range of other programs, such as what? Discuss
Source: The Free Dictionary