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Mineral pitch; a black, tarry substance, burning with a bright flame; Jew's pitch. It occurs as an abundant natural product in many places, as on the shores of the Dead and Caspian Seas. It is used in cements, in the construction of pavements, etc. See Asphalt.

r. It burns with a yellow smoky flame. -- Bituminous limestone, a mineral of a brown or black color, emitting an unpleasant smell when rubbed. That of Dalmatia is so charged with bitumen that it may be cut like soap. -- Bituminous shale, an argillaceous shale impregnated with bitumen, often accompanying coal.…

or other parts of animals. See Measle, Cysticercus. -- Bladder wrack (Bot.), the common black rock weed of the seacoast (Fucus nodosus and F. vesiculosus) -- called also bladder tangle. See Wrack.

To whiten; to give a favorable appearance to; to whitewash; to palliate. Blanch over the blackest and most absurd things. Tillotson.

Lacking characteristics which give variety; as, a blank desert; a blank wall; destitute of interests, affections, hopes, etc.; as, to live a blank existence; destitute of sensations; as, blank unconsciousness.

Lacking in perception or penetration; short-sighted; as, a blear- eyed bigot.

To blacken; also, to defile. [Obs. or Dial.] Wyclif.

To shrink; to start back; to draw back, from lack of courage or resolution; to flinch; to quail. Blench not at thy chosen lot. Bryant. This painful, heroic task he undertook, and never blenched from its fulfillment. Jeffrey.

A mineral, called also sphalerite, and by miners mock lead, false galena, and black-jack. It is a zinc sulphide, but often contains some iron. Its color is usually yellow, brown, or black, and its luster resinous.

ally, ironically, or intensively. Not a blessed man came to set her [a boat] free. R. D. Blackmore.

es were very blue and well informed. Thackeray. Blue asbestus. See Crocidolite. -- Blue black, of, or having, a very dark blue color, almost black. -- Blue blood. See under Blood. -- Blue buck (Zoöl.), a small South African antelope (Cephalophus pygmæus); also applied to a larger species (Ægoceras leucophæus); the b…

The State of Delaware; -- a popular sobriquet. It is said, though the story lacks proof, to have taken its origin from the insistence of a Delaware Revolutionary captain, named Caldwell, that no cock could be truly game unless the mother was a blue hen, whence Blue Hen's Chickens came to be a nickname for the people of…

A large grackle or blackbird (Quiscalus major), found in the Southern United States.

An American singing bird (Dolichonyx oryzivorus). The male is black and white; the female is brown; -- called also, ricebird, reedbird, and Boblincoln. The happiest bird of our spring is the bobolink. W. Irving.

The wood of trees, esp. of oaks, dug up from peat bogs. It is of a shining black or ebony color, and is largely used for making ornaments.

Bohea tea, an inferior kind of black tea. See under Tea.

free and easy. [Modern] Hers was a pleasant Bohemian life till she was five and thirty. Blackw. Mag. Artists have abandoned their Bohemian manners and customs nowadays. W. Black. Bohemian chatterer, or Bohemian waxwing (Zoöl.), a small bird of Europe and America (Ampelis garrulus); the waxwing. -- Bohemian glass, a v…

orange (Maclura aurantiaca). The bois d'arc seems to be the characteristic growth of the black prairies. U. S. Census (1880).

In a bad sense, too forward; taking undue liberties; over assuming or confident; lacking proper modesty or restraint; rude; impudent. Thou art too wild, too rude and bold of voice. Shak.

Somewhat impudent; lacking modesty; as, a bold-faced woman. I have seen enough to confute all the bold-faced atheists of this age. Bramhall.