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Amis
British writer and critic. The son of K. Amis, he graduated from Oxford Univ. in 1971. He worked for the Times Literary Supplement and the New Statesman before becoming a full-time writer. His works--incl. the novels The Rachel Papers (1973), Money (1984), London Fields (1989), Time's Arrow (1991), The Information (1995), and Night Train (1998), and the short-story collection Heavy Water (1999)--feature inventive word play and often scabrous humor as they satirize the horrors of modern urban life.
Amish
Member of a conservative Christian group in N. America known as the Old Order Amish Mennonite Church. The Amish originated in 1693-97 as followers of the Mennonite elder Jakob Ammann (1644?-c.1730) in Switzerland, Alsace, and Germany. He taught that lying was grounds for excommunication (which meant being shunned by all other Mennonites), that clothing should be uniform and beards untrimmed, and that the state church should be avoided. Migration to N. America and assimilation eliminated the Amish in Europe. They settled in Pennsylvania in the 18th cent. After 1850 they split into "Old Order" (traditional) and "New Order" (now the Mennonite churches). Old Order Amish now live in Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, Iowa, Illinois, and Kansas. Adults are baptized and admitted to formal church membership at age 17 to 20. Services are in Pennsylvania Dutch (a German dialect) and some English. Though similar in theology to Mennonites, Amish wear modest, old-fashioned clothing and reject modern technology, incl. automobiles and telephones.
anise
Annual herb (Pimpinella anisum) of the parsley family, cultivated chiefly for its fruit, called aniseed, which tastes like licorice. Native to Egypt and the E Mediterranean region, anise is cultivated throughout the world. Aniseed is used as a flavoring and as a soothing herbal tea. Star anise is the dried fruit of the evergreen tree Illicium verum (magnolia family), native to SE China and Vietnam. Its flavor and uses are similar to those of anise.
Apis
In ancient Egyptian religion, a sacred bull deity worshiped at Memphis. The cult originated at least as early as the 1st dynasty (c.2925-c.2775 BC). Apis was probably at first a fertility god but became associated with Ptah and also with Osiris and Sokaris, gods of the dead. When an Apis bull died, it was buried with great pomp, and the calf that was to be its successor was installed at Memphis. Apis's priests drew omens from the bull's behavior, and his oracle had a wide reputation. The worship of Serapis (a combination of Osiris and Apis) probably arose at Memphis in the 3rd cent. BC and became one of the most widespread oriental cults in the Roman empire.
Boise
City (pop., 1996 est.: 153,000), capital of Idaho. The largest city in the state, it lies on the Boise River. Following the 1862 gold rush to the river basin, Ft. Boise was established in 1863, and a community ...
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