ancients
42
A
ALBATROSS (=a very large seabird). The other sailors think
that this will bring them bad luck, and they force him to wear
the dead albatross on a rope around his neck so that they will
not be punished for his crime. But all the sailors die, and the
Ancient Mariner feels guilty and believes he must tell his
story to anyone who will listen, to warn them to be kind to
all creatures. → see also ALBATROSS
an·cients /'enʃənts/ n [the+P] (often cap) the European
nations of ancient times, especially as represented by the
writers of ancient Greece and Rome: to study the scientific
beliefs of the ancients
an·cil·la·ry /æn'sɪlərɪ|'ænsəleri/ adj providing help, support,
or additional services: the ancillary staff of a hospital (=the
people who do cleaning work, cooking etc) —ancillary n:
hospital ancillaries
and /ænd, ən; strong ænd/ conj 1 (used to join two things,
especially words of the same type or parts of sentences of
the same importance) as well as; also: a knife and fork | John
and I | He started to shout and sing. | a mixture of sugar, flour,
and water | We were cold and hungry. | We solved the problem
by reducing our costs and borrowing more money. 2 then;
afterwards: She knocked on the door and went in. | I woke up
and got out of bed. | We don't know yet if the operation was a
success - we'll just have to wait and see. 3 (expresses a result
or explanation): Water the seeds and they will grow. | She was
sick and took some medicine. (=because she was sick) Com-
pare She took some medicine and was sick. (=because she took
the medicine) 4 (joins repeated words) a) to show that
something continues to happen: We ran and ran. | We waited
for hours and hours. | It came nearer and nearer. b) infml to
show a difference in quality or kind: There are dictionaries
and dictionaries. (=some are much better than others) 5 a)
(used instead of to after come, go, try etc): Come and have
tea with me. | Try and get here before 4 o'clock. b) (used after
nice or good to add force): It's nice and sunny today. | The
soup was good and hot. 6 (in saying numbers, used before the
numbers 1 to 99 and after the word hundred but sometimes
left out in AmE): one million, two hundred and fifty-three
thousand, four hundred and twenty-six (=1,253,426) 7 (in
descriptions of food or drinks) served with: bacon and eggs |
a gin and tonic | bread and butter (=bread spread with
butter) 8 and how! slang (used to give force to the idea just
expressed) very much so: 'Did you enjoy yourselves?' 'And
how!' 9 and so on/forth and other things of that kind: pots,
pans, dishes, and so on
an·dan·te /æn'dænti, -teɪ|a:n'dɑ:n-/ n, adj, adv (a piece of
music) played rather slowly
An·der·sen, Hans Chris·tian /'ændəsən||-dər-, hæns
'krɪstʃən/ (1805-75) a Danish writer famous for his many
FAIRY TALES which include The Snow Queen, The Little Match
Girl, and The Ugly Duckling
An·der·son, Clive /'ændəsən||-dər-, klaɪv/ (1953-) a British
television and radio PRESENTER who is known for his clever
jokes and his ability to ask celebrities (CELEBRITY) clever
questions on his programmes. He is also a lawyer.
Anderson, Gil·li·an /'dʒɪlɪən/ (1968-) an American actress
who is famous for appearing as Agent Dana Scully in the
television programme The X-Files
Anderson, Pam·e·la /'pæmələ/ (1967-) an American tele-
vision and film actress who is known especially for appear-
ing in the programme Baywatch. She is known for having
SILICONE IMPLANTS in her breasts to make them larger.
Anderson, Sher·wood /'ʃɜːwd||'ʃːr-/ (1876-1941) a US
writer best known for his book Winesburg, Ohio (1919), a
collection of short stories about the loneliness and dissatis-
factions of life in a small town
'Anderson ,shelter n a type of metal SHELTER that many
British people built near their homes during World War II to
protect them from bombs dropped by enemy planes
An·des, the /'ændi:z/ a RANGE of high mountains along the
west coast of South America
an·di·ron /'ændəɪərɒn||-ɜːrn/ also firedog n either of a pair of
supports for burning logs in a fireplace
An·dor·ra /æn'dɔːrə/ a very small country in the PYRENEES,
on the border between France and Spain, popular as a place
for holidays and skiing (SKI). Population: 69,150 (2003).
Capital: Andorra-la-Vella. —Andorran n, adj
-andr- → see WORD FORMATION TABLE
An·drew, Prince /'ændruː/ (1960-) the third child of the
British queen, Elizabeth II. His official royal title is The Duke
of York. He became a pilot for the Royal Navy. In 1986 he
married Sarah Ferguson, but they were DIVORCED in 1996. →
see also FERGIE
Andrew, Saint (1st century AD) in the Bible, one of Jesus'
DISCIPLES. He is the PATRON SAINT of Scotland and St
Andrew's Day, 30th November, is celebrated as the Scottish
national day. → see also ST ANDREWS
An·drews, Ju·lie /'ændruːz, 'dʒuːli/ (1935-) a British singer
and actress. She has appeared in many films, but people
remember her especially for being in Mary Poppins (1964)
and The Sound of Music (1965).
An·drex /'ændreks/ trademark a type of TOILET PAPER sold in
the UK. Advertisements for Andrex often include a PUPPY
(=young dog) who pulls the toilet paper along with his
mouth.
An·dro·cles and the Li·on /ˌændrəkliːz ænd ðə 'laɪən/
an ancient Roman story about a SLAVE called Androcles who
escapes from his owner and meets a lion with a THORN (=a
sharp, pointed part of a plant) in its foot. Androcles removes
the thorn. Later he is caught and is made to fight with a lion
in the ARENA as punishment for escaping, but the lion is the
same one that he helped, and instead of attacking him, it
greets him as a friend.
an·drog·y·nous /æn'drɒdʒənəs||-'draɪ-/ adj (especially of
plants) having both male and female characteristics
an·droid /'ændrɒɪd/ n (in stories) a ROBOT in human form
An·drop·ov, Yu·ri /æn'drɒpɒf||ˌæn'drɔːpəf, 'juːri/ (1914-84)
a Soviet politician who was leader of the COMMUNIST PARTY
of the former SOVIET UNION from 1982 to 1984
An·dy Capp /ˌændi 'kæp/ the main character in a British
CARTOON STRIP in newspapers
CULTURAL NOTE Andy Capp is supposed to be a typical
example of a WORKING-CLASS British man who is lazy,
enjoys drinking beer in the PUB, and is always annoying
his wife. He always has a cigarette in his mouth and
wears a CLOTH CAP. Most people now see Andy Capp as
a rather old-fashioned character.
Andy Pan·dy /ˌændi 'pændi/ the main character in a British
children's television programme in the 1950s and 1960s.
Andy Pandy is a PUPPET who wears a suit with blue and
white STRIPES and has friends called Teddy and Looby Loo. |
an·ec·dot·al /ˌænɪk'dəʊtəl/ adj of, containing, telling, or
full of anecdotes: an anecdotal lecture about his travels | The
theory relies more on anecdotal evidence than genuine statis-
tics.
an·ec·dote /'ænɪkdəʊt/ n a short, interesting, or amusing
story about a person or event
a·ne·mi·a /ə'niːmiə/ n [U] especially AmE for ANAEMIA —anemic
adj —anaemically /-kli/ adv
an·e·mom·e·ter /ˌænɪ'mɒmɪtə r ||-'mɑːr-/ n a machine for
measuring the strength of wind
a·nem·o·ne /ə'neməni/ n 1 a plant with red, white, or blue
flowers 2 a SEA ANEMONE
an·er·oid ba·rom·e·ter /ˌænərɔɪd bə'rɒmɪtə r ||-'rɑːr-/ n an
instrument (BAROMETER) that measures changes in air pres-
sure in order to tell what the weather is going to be or how
high one is above sea level. It works by measuring the action
of air pressure on a metal container emptied of air.
an·es·the·sia /ˌænɪs'θiːʒə||-ʒə/ n [U] especially AmE for
ANAESTHESIA —anesthetic /-θetɪk/ n —anesthetist
/ˌæniːsθətɪst||ə'nes- / n —anesthetize /-θətaɪz/ v [T]
a·new /ə'njuː||ə'nuː/ adv especially lit in a new or different way
again
An·field /'ænfiːld/ the ground where Liverpool Football
Club plays
an·gel /'eɪndʒəl/ n 1 a servant of God, who is believed by
religious people to appear sometimes to people and bring
them messages from God. Angels are usually represented as
people with wings, dressed in white. → see also GUARDIAN
ANGEL 2 a person who is very kind, beautiful etc 3 infml
someone who is ready to support something, especially a
play or a film, by lending money 4 on the side of the