| AA |
abbreviation of "Alcoholics Anonymous," a world-wide recovery program for alcoholics, administered through chapters. |
| abstract expressionism |
(sometimes cap.) a school of painting that arose after World War II and that was marked by expressive but nonrepresentational images formed by an apparently random and often unconventional application of paint. |
| age |
the contemporary world. [1/11 definitions] |
| Ahura Mazda |
in Zoroastrianism, the supreme deity and creator of the world; Ormazd. |
| alien |
belonging to another country in the world. [1/6 definitions] |
| alienation |
a state of profound disaffection from the world of objective reality. [1/3 definitions] |
| allied |
(cap.) of the Allies in World War I or II. [1/3 definitions] |
| Allies |
in World War I, the alliance of France, Great Britain, Russia, and other nations against the Central Powers. [2 definitions] |
| Althea Gibson |
U.S. professional tennis player, who was the first African-American woman to win all the major world singles tennis titles (b.1927--d.2003). |
| Anzac |
a soldier in the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps during World War I (acronym for "Australia and New Zealand Army Corps"). [1/2 definitions] |
| apocalypse |
any instance of terrible destruction and devastation, esp. on a scale that could bring about an end to the world. [1/3 definitions] |
| Armistice Day |
November 11, the anniversary of the armistice ending World War I, called Veterans Day in the United States. |
| axis |
(cap.) the alliance of Germany, Italy, Japan, and other nations during the Second World War (prec. by "the"). [1/4 definitions] |
| B-17 |
a four-engine U.S. bomber extensively used in World War II; Flying Fortress. |
| B-29 |
a heavy U.S. bomber used late in World War II; Superfortress. |
| baby boom |
the dramatic population increase in the United States during the decade following World War II. |
| baby boomer |
a person born in the United States during the decade following World War II, in which the population increased dramatically. |
| beau monde |
the world of high and fashionable society. |
| blitz |
(cap.; prec. by "the") the bombing attacks on Britain carried out by the German air force in 1940 and 1941 during World War II. [1/4 definitions] |
| Bren gun |
a .303 caliber gas-operated submachine gun used by the British army in World War II. |
| Caribbean |
the region of the world that consists of the Caribbean Sea and the islands located in it (prec. by "the"). [1/4 definitions] |