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Black English

(Encyclopedia) Black English, distinctive dialect spoken at times by as many as 80% to 90% of African Americans; also called ebonics [from ebony and phonics]. Long considered merely substandard…

black fly

(Encyclopedia) black fly, name for any of the flies of the family Simuliidae. The black fly is about 1&fslsh;8 in. (3.2 mm) long and has large eyes, short legs, a stout, humped back, broad gauzy…

Black Forest

(Encyclopedia) Black Forest, Ger. Schwarzwald, mountain range, SW Germany, extending 90 mi (145 km) between the Rhine and Neckar rivers. Feldberg is the highest (4,898 ft/1,493 m) peak. The range is…

black gum

(Encyclopedia) black gum, ornamental deciduous tree (Nyssa sylvatica family Nyssaceae) native to E North America. The leaves turn bright scarlet in the fall. The very tough wood was used for wheel…

Black Hand

(Encyclopedia) Black Hand, symbol and name for a criminal and terroristic secret society, and especially associated with the Mafia and the Camorra. The Black Hand flourished in Sicily in the late…

black haw

(Encyclopedia) black haw: see honeysuckle.

Black Hills

(Encyclopedia) Black Hills, rugged mountains, c.6,000 sq mi (15,540 sq km), enclosed by the Belle Fourche and Cheyenne rivers, SW S.Dak. and NE Wyo., and rising c.2,500 ft (760 m) above the…

black humor

(Encyclopedia) black humor, in literature, drama, and film, grotesque or morbid humor used to express the absurdity, insensitivity, paradox, and cruelty of the modern world. Ordinary characters or…