Lots of BALL words here, which don't mean what you think they might!

This computer restarted on me! Thus, I'll bring you the approximate first half of the "B" words from this book that Jon and Harmony got me for my birthday:

This is from Butt Rot and Bottom Gas: A Glossary of Tragically Misunderstood Words (Eric Groves, Sr.)

B

backhoe: a hydraulically-powered digging machine with a metal bucket attached to an articulated mechanical arm that removes large amounts of soil to create large trenches and excavated spaces for foundations, septic systems, etc.

bagasse: [From the French bagasse and the Spanish bargazo, meaning "pulp"] the refuse remaining after sugarcane is pulped to produce sugar {Crushed bagasse is a renewable biofuel routinely burned in sugar mills to generate electricity and to power machinery.}

bagging: fabric used to make bags

ball change: two-step movement used in a variety of dances, in which the performer shifts a portion of his or her weight onto the ball of one foot, then follows with a step on the opposite foot (often counted in a snappy manner: "A-one and a-two and a-three," etc.) {COMBINED USAGE: kick ball change - a dancer kicks, before executing the ball change; heel ball change - a dancer touches the heel to the floor before the ball change}

ball cock: a valve attached to a floating ball, which opens the valve when elevated; most commonly used in flush toilets

baller: a player in basketball, tennis, or paintball - in basketball, one who scores aggressively for the team; in tennis, one who has a powerful swing; in paintball, any participant

ball-in-hand: the occurrence in billiards or pool of a player placing the cue ball anywhere on the playing table, and hitting any ball desired; typically occurs after an opponent has committed a foul (such as scratching the table)

ballistic entry: a type of entrance that occurs when a vehicle (or spacecraft) entering a planet's atmosphere uses only drag or air friction to reduce speed... this contrasts with spacecraft that use aerodynamic lift, or the directing of airflow downward {The manned Mercury spacecraft (1959-63) were ballistic entry vehicles, whereas the winged space shuttle (1981-present) is an aerodynamic life entry vehicle.}

ball mill: a pulverizing machine used in industry to reduce materials such as ceramics, ores, etc. into fine powder; consists of a horizontal cylinder filled with steel or ceramic balls that rotates mechanically on its axis and can grind materials to tolerances of ten-thousandths of a millimeter; ALSO, a device used to mix materials such as paints and chemicals

ball out: in water polo, a call for a ball to be thrown to the referee

ball-peen hammer: a hammer with a rounded head used for shaping and forming sheet metal; commonly used to repair damaged automobile parts such as fenders

ball whisk: a kitchen utensil often used to whip eggs

banger: an English sausage made with pork meat

bareback: a type of horseback riding without the use of a saddle

BARF: the acronym for Biologically Appropriate Raw Food, a term used in the pet-food industry

barfi: a sweet, cheesecake-like dessert, popular in India and Pakistan, made with condensed milk, mangoes, cashews, and often a bit of edible silver leaf

bastarda: [From the Italian bastarda, "bastard" (akin to "not quite genuine") - often capitalized] an elegant font or typeface used in France and Germany in the 1300s and 1400s that was a hybrid of earlier scripts, and a simplified version of more elaborate Gothic scripts - often used in the hand copying of books deemed to be of lesser significance than the Bible or other religious treatises

bastardane: an alternative term for ethano-bridged noradamante, a chemical compound similar in composition, odor, and appearance to adamantane, a crystalline chemical compound {The chemical structure of bastardane contains a unique ethanol bridge, or connection between molecules, which differentiates it from other hydrocarbons - chemical compounds made of hydrogen and carbon. Bastardane gets its name from the fact that its ethanobridge varies from ordinary hydrocarbons, making it an irregular compound.}

bastard sword: a type of sword used in Europe from about 1350 to 1550; almost a true longsword, it is a hybrid between a longsword (two-handed sword about four feet long) and a shorter one-handed arming sword, about two to three feet long

batarde: a French sauce made with butter and egg yolks

Bath bun: a type of yeast bread, colored with saffron, that originated in the city of Bath, England

beat around the bush: to delay, procrastinate; to fail to get to the point

beaver: a land-dwelling and an aquatic mammal, a member of the order Rodentia and one of the largest rodents on Earth, weighing an average 55 pounds {Characterized by sleek brown fur and wide tails, beavers abound in forests throughout North America, and are known for building dams and lodges or hut-like shelters across streams and rivers, creating beneficial wetlands.}

beaver hat: a type of hat made from beaver pelts that was popular in Europe from 1550 to 1850; the hat was prized for its softness and durability {demand for pelts to make beaver hats caused a temporary disappearance of the beaver in western Europe}

["On the top of the Crumpetty Tree
The Quangle Wangle sat,
But his face you could not see,
On account of his Beaver Hat."
- Edward Lear, The Quangle Wangle's Hat]


bedfellow: an ally or friend

bedhug: an Indonesian drum used in traditional musical performances

bed load: particles of gravel carried along a streambed by the current

beefeaters: (often capitalized) the 36 royal guards of the Tower of London, a large castle built along London's Thames River; also called the Yeoman Warders of Her Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress, the Tower of London {The name Beefeaters probably came from the large ration of beef given to the guards as partial payment for the performance of their royal duties. For most of their history, dating back to the 1300s, the Beefeaters guarded prisoners in the Tower. Today, they escort approximately 1.3 million visitors annually to view the famed British Crown Jewels, which are stored in the Tower.}

beefwood: a pinelike tree native to Australia

between a rock and a hard place: to be in a difficult predicament that offers only unpleasant options for getting out

BFOQ: the acronym for Bona Fide Occupational Qualification - or a legitimate job requirement - as described in the United States Code of Federal Regulations, title 20, volume 3, chapter 5, part 651, section 651.10 {a BFOQ is an exception to the general prohibition against employment discrimination based on age, disability, gender, race, etc., because it may (in certain circumstances) prevent individuals from physically performing a job... therefore, the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission must determine that the BFOQ is legitimate, and not simply a ruse to prevent select individuals from gaining a particular job}

billycock: a derby hat

bissextile: [From the Latin word bissextus, meaning "two sixes" and referring to ancient Roman leap-year calendars in which two consecutive days were dated March 6] a leap year, or a year with an extra day added to maintain accuracy {because a solar year consists of 365 and a quarter days, our calendar would be inaccurate if it maintained the same number of days each year... by alternately adding an extra - or intercalcating - day in February, accuracy is maintained}

blackball: a vote against someone or something that is taken or assumed in a secret or underhanded manner

blackcock: in the black grouse family of birds, the male of the species

bloviate: to speak for quite a while in a pompous manner

blowball: a herb of the genus Taraxacum having bright yellow flowers

blowfish: a type of fish; also called pufferfish

blowhard: an obnoxious braggart

blowhole: a nostril-like opening in the heads of cetaceans such as whales and dolphins

blow valve: a valve in one of the cylinders of a steam engine

blow your own horn: to boast about oneself

blue ball: a blue-colored ball worth five points that is used in snooker, a type of billiard game

blue peter: a nautical signal flag, with a white square centred on a blue field, hoisted by a docked ship to indicate a readiness to get under way

blue sucker: a species of freshwater fish

blue tit: a member of the family Paridae (also called tits) and a small tree-perching songbird with an attractive blue crest, wings, and tail that is found throughout forests in Europe and Asia; also called Parus caeruleus {the blue tit has always been popular among bird watchers due to its lively antics while feeding on wild nuts, and its shrieking "Tee, tee, tee!"}

boner: a kitchen knife used to remove bones from meat and poultry