One-Letter Words, a Dictionary Read Online Free PDF

about it.” —Cliff Kuhn, Contesting the New South Order: The 1914–1915 Strike at Atlanta’s Fulton Mills
     
    2. (in film) The title of a ten-minute Spanish short film written and directed by Daniel Vázquez Salles.
     
    3. (in literature) Said of someone’s face: “Fair as a text B in a copy-book.” —William Shakespeare, Love’s Labor’s Lost, V.ii. 42
     
    4. (in literature) “B is the back on the back, the hump.” —Victor Hugo, quoted in ABZ by Mel Gooding
     
    5. (in literature) “B is parkgate.” —James Joyce, Ulysses
     
    6. n. A written representation of the letter.
The villainous girlfriend turned all the way around to show off her [snowsuit] outfit from every angle. Sunny looked up from her cooking and noticed that the letter B was sewn onto the back of it, along with the eye insignia. —Lemony Snicket, The Slippery Slope ( A Series of Unfortunate Events, Book 10 )
     
    7. n. A device, such as a printer’s type, for reproducing the letter.
     
    8. n. A book.
Speaking of the B-word—in my relaxed, between-job languor I actually read one. —Christine Borne, “Nextgen Librarian”
     
     
    SECONDS, ANYONE?
    9. n. The second in a series.
     
    10. n. The second letter of the alphabet.
Reference to the biographies…of all women singers whose name began with B. —Georges Perec, Life: A User’s Manual
     
    11. n. A grade in school indicating “better than average.”
     
    12. n. One graded with a B.
[U]ndue reliance upon grades or law school pedigree may be misguided—in the words of the familiar law school maxim, “The A students make professors, the B students make judges, and the C students make money.” —Ellen Weisbord, Managing People in Today’s Law Firm: The Human Resources Approach to Surviving Change
     
    13. adj. Secondary, inferior.
     
     
    MUSIC AND MUSICIANS
    14. (phrase) The Three B’s: Bach, Beethoven, and Brahms.
[Sir Thomas] Beecham generally tried his best to avoid the three B’s: Bach, Beethoven, and Brahms. In fact he was known to feign sickness before performances of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony. —Steven Staryk, Fiddling with Life: The Unusual Journey of Steven Staryk
     
    15. n. The seventh note in a C-major musical scale.
     
    16. n. A written or printed representation of a musical note B.
     
    17. n. A string, key, or pipe tuned to the note B.
     
    18. n. The second section in a piece of music.
     
     
    SHAPES AND SIZES
    19. n. A large size of shot.
     
    20. n. Something having the shape of a B.
The important thing is that there must be no restriction in the throat and that the lips must remain in the “B” shape as the air is expelled. —Larry Hudson, Bandworld Magazine The squat shirt-sleeved Jew whose tight belt cut his round belly into the letter B turned to the lime-streaked wop—squinted, saw that communication had failed. —Henry Roth, Call It Sleep
     
    21. n. A shoe width size (wider than A, narrower than C). Most men’s shoes are in a D width and women’s in a B width. —Joe Ellis, Running Injury-Free: How to Prevent, Treat, and Recover from Dozens of Painful Problems
     
    22. n. A brassiere cup size.
I didn’t belong around no hungry babies because I’d squeezed inside a B-cup bra so there was three inches of cleavage spilling over. —Yxta Maya Murray, What It Takes to Get to Vegas
     
     
    MISCELLANEOUS
    23. n. Any spoken sound represented by the letter.
The sound vibration of the consonant B means “straight, sacred path.” —Joseph E. Rael, Tracks of Dancing Light: A Native American Approach to Understanding Your Name Her eyes were puffy. Her words were full of the sound of the letter b. She watched Clarence while holding tissues to her nose. —Tracy Kidder, Among Schoolchildren
     
    24. n. (slang) A word used to address a friend.
Yo, chill b.—The Rap Dictionary
     
    25. n. A Roman numeral for 300.
     
    26. n. Something arbitrarily designated B (e.g., a person, place, or other thing).
B said that A is the spy. —Raymond