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Glossary Page B

babble      to talk foolishly

Balaclava     village in the Crimea where the Crimean War was fought

balaclava

balderdash     nonsense

bandy legs     bowlegged

banister     a staircase handrail with its supporting posts

banshee    a female spirit in Gaelic folklore whose wailing warns of death

bated breath     to reduce the force or intensity

batty     mentally unstable

bedlam    a place, scene or state of uproar and confusion

befoul     to make dirty

befuddle     to become confused or perplexed

belch     expelling gas suddenly from the stomach

belladonna     a poisonous plant of the nightshade family

bemoaning     to express deep grief or distress over

bemused     lost in thought

benign     harmless

bequeath     to give or leave by means of a will

berate     to scold or condemn vehemently

berserk     frenzied or crazed

bespectacled     wearing glasses

bestow     to convey as a gift

betray     to deliver to an enemy by treachery, to reveal unintenionally

bewilderment     confused, perpelexed

bewitch     to cast a spell over

biased     having a prejudiced outlook

biding     waiting for awhile 

billowing     rising or rolling in waves or surges   

bizarre     strikingly out of the ordinary

blab     to talk idly or thoughtlessly

blackmail     an extortion by threats of public exposure

blanch     taking the colour out of     

blancmange

blandly     dull, insipid

bleary-eyed     dull or dim from fatigue or lack of sleep

blimey     expressing surprise or excitement

bloke     man or fellow

blubber     to weep noisely

blunder    a gross error or mistake caused by stupidity, ignorance or carelessness

blurted     uttered abruptly or impulsively

boisterous     noisy, turbulent, rowdy

bollards

bombard   to assail vigorously or persistently

bonnet

bouillabaise

braggart    a person who engages in empty boasting

brandish     to shake or wave menacingly

brandy 

breach     to break or violate an agreement

breakneck     very fast or dangerous

briskly     sharp in tone or manner

brusque     markedly short and abrupt, blunt in manner

budgerigar     a small Australian parrot

buff     polish

buffeted     battered as waves on the shore

bulging     becoming swollen

bulk     not devided into parts

buoyant   the tendency of a body to float or to rise when submerged in a fluid

burp     to help a baby expel gas from the stomach

burgeon     to grow and expand rapidly

bury the hatchet    settle a disagreement

burrow

bustling     being busily astir