Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Brown, Helen Gurley

(Encyclopedia)Brown, Helen Gurley, 1922–2012, American writer and editor, b. Green Forest, Ark. A child of poverty, she became a successful advertising copywriter and wrote the best-selling Sex and the Single Gir...

YWCA

(Encyclopedia)YWCA: see Young Women's Christian Association. ...

Y, the

(Encyclopedia)Y, the: see Young Men's Christian Association. ...

YMCA

(Encyclopedia)YMCA: see Young Men's Christian Association. ...

pixie

(Encyclopedia)pixie, in English folklore, spirit or fairy. The pixie is commonly represented as a mischievous imp who delights in flustering young maidens and leading travelers astray. ...

killifish

(Encyclopedia)killifish, any of more than a thousand species of small fish of the several families of the order Cyprinodontiformes (toothed minnows or toothed carps), a group that includes also the topminnows and m...

San Jose scale

(Encyclopedia)San Jose scale, common name for a scale insect, Aspidiotus perniciosus, introduced from China into San Jose, Calif., c.1870 on nursery stock. The insect has since spread throughout much of the United ...

prodigal son

(Encyclopedia)prodigal son, in the New Testament, parable of Jesus about heaven and the sinner who repents. A young man leaves home and becomes a wastrel; repentant, he returns to be received with joyful welcome. ...
 

Browse by Subject