he-man
654
movement is impossible; CONFINE: The army was hemmed in
by the enemy with no hope of escape. | (fig.) hemmed in by
planning restrictions
'er he-man || also macho-man AmE — n infml, often humor a man
who wants people to see that he is a strong man with
powerful muscles
He·ming·way, Er·nest
/'hemɪŋweɪ, 'ɜːnɪstl'ɜːr-/
(1899-1961) one of the great
US writers of the 20th cen-
tury, who won the Nobel
prize for literature in 1954.
He wrote many novels and
short stories in a simple and
direct style, and his books
are often about typically
male activities like war and
hunting. His novels include
A Farewell to Arms, For
Whom the Bell Tolls, and The
Old Man and the Sea. He died
by shooting himself.
Ernest Hemingway
hem·i·sphere /'hemɪsfɪər/
n 1 half a SPHERE (=an
object which is round like a ball) 2 a half of the Earth,
especially the northern or southern halves above and below
the EQUATOR, or the eastern or western half: What is the
largest city in the southern hemisphere? ➔ see picture at
GLOBE 3 either of the two halves of the brain: the right
hemisphere of the brain
hem·line /'hemlaɪn/ n the length of a dress, skirt etc as
shown by the position of the hem. At most times in the
history of fashion the height of women's hemlines has been
very important.
hem·lock /'hemlɒk|-lɑːk/ n [C;U] (poison made from) a
poisonous plant with white flowers and finely divided
leaves
CULTURAL NOTE When they hear this word some people
think of the ancient Greek thinker Socrates, who was
killed by being made to drink hemlock.
'Hemlock So,ciety, the an organization in the US which
aims to change the law that forbids helping seriously ill
people to die if they wish to. The organization gives advice to
such people and their families. There is a similar organization
in the UK called EXIT. ➔ see also EUTHANASIA
he·mo·glo·bin /ˌhiːmə'gləʊbɪn||'hiːməˌgloʊbɪn/ n [U] HAE-
MOGLOBIN
he·mo·phil·i·a /ˌhiːmə'fɪliə/ n [U] HAEMOPHILIA
he·mo·phil·i·ac /ˌhiːmə'fɪliæk/ n HAEMOPHILIAC
hem·or·rhage /'hemərɪdʒ/ n [C;U] HAEMORRHAGE
hem·or·rhoids /'hemərɔɪdz/ n [usually pl.] HAEMORRHOIDS
hemp /hemp/ n [U] any of a family of plants which are used
for making strong rope and a rough cloth, and some of which
produce the drug CANNABIS
hen /hen/ n 1 a female bird often kept for its eggs on farms;
female chicken ➔ see also CHICK, CLUCK
CULTURAL NOTE A woman who worries about her children
and wants to know where they are is sometimes
compared to a mother hen.
2 any female bird of which the male is the COCK: The cock
has brighter coloured feathers than the hen. | a hen pheas-
ant 3 (used informally as a friendly form of address in
Scotland): What's the matter, hen?
hen·bane /'henbeɪn/ n [C;U] (poison made from) a poison-
ous wild plant with yellow flowers
hence /hens/ adv fml 1 (often in a phrase without a verb) for
this reason or from this origin; therefore: The town was built
near a bridge on the River Cam: hence the name Cam-
bridge. 2 from here or from now: 2 miles hence | 3 days hence
hence·forth /ˌhens'fɔːθ, 'hensfɔːθ|-ɔːrθ/ also
hence·for·ward /ˌhens'fɔːwəd|-ˈfɔːrwərd/ adv fml from
this time on; from now: Following our merger with Brown
Brothers, the company will henceforth be known as Johnson
and Brown Inc. ➔ compare HEREAFTER
hench·man /'hentʃmən/ n pl. -men /mən/ usually derog a
faithful supporter, especially of a political leader or criminal,
who obeys without question and may use violent or dishon-
est methods
Hen·der·son, Rick·y /'hendəsn||-dər-, 'rɪki/ (1957–) a US
BASEBALL player who played for the Oakland Athletics team
during the 1970s and 1980s and is famous for stealing the
most BASES (=running to the next base before the next
player hits the ball)
Hen·drix, Jim·i /'hendrɪks, 'dʒɪmi/ (1942–70) a US GUITAR
player and singer who played the guitar in a completely new
way, and was known for his exciting performances. At the
end of his performances he often destroyed his guitar by
hitting it against the ground and setting it on fire. He died
as a result of taking drugs. His songs include Purple Haze and
Voodoo Chile.
Hen·dry, Ste·phen /'hendri, 'stiːvən/ (1969–) a British
SNOOKER player who has been the world snooker CHAMPION
seven times
'hen house n a usually wooden hut in which hens are kept.
In the UK some people still have hens which they put in a
henhouse at night, but most eggs and chickens are produced
in BATTERY farms.
Hen·ley Re·gat·ta /ˌhenli rɪ'gætə/ also Henley a series of
boat races for ROWING BOATS, held every year on the river
Thames near the town of Henley in the south of England.
Henley is also a fashionable social event, especially for rich
and UPPER-CLASS people.
Hen·man, Tim /'henmən, tɪm/ (1974–) a British tennis
player who is very popular in the UK because he is one of
the most successful British players since the 1970s. A lot of
people go to watch him play at Wimbledon and they get
very excited during his matches. The newspapers refer to
this as 'Henmania'.
hen·na /'henə/ n [U] a reddish-brown DYE made from a type
of bush and used to colour the hair, fingernails etc
'hen night also 'hen party n BrE a night shortly before a
woman's wedding, when she celebrates in a PUB, NIGHTCLUB
etc with her women friends, often behaving in a rude way
and getting drunk ➔ compare STAG NIGHT
hen·pecked /'henpekt/ adj (of a man) continually nagged
(NAG) by one's wife and completely obedient to her: a
henpecked husband
Hen·ry, John /'henri/ a character in US stories and FOLK
songs who worked on railways and was very strong
Henry, Len·ny /'leni/ (1958–) a British COMEDIAN and actor
who often appears on television, and who does a lot of work
for the CHARITY organization Comic Relief ➔ see colour
photo on page A46
Henry, O. (1862–1910) a US writer of short stories, whose real
name was William Sydney Porter. His stories are known for
treating the everyday life of working people in a humorous
way, and for their unexpected endings.
Henry, Pat·rick /'pætrɪk/ (1736–99) a US politician who was
one of the leaders of the fight for independence during the
AMERICAN REVOLUTIONARY WAR. He is famous for saying 'Give
me liberty, or give me death'.
Henry, Prince ➔ see HARRY, PRINCE
Hen·ry, Thi·er·ry /ɒn'riːlɔːn-, ti'eəri/ (1977–) a French
football player who has played for many leading teams,
including Arsenal and the French national team that won
the WORLD CUP in 1998. He is known especially for his
ability to SCORE goals, and is considered to be one of the
best players in the world.
Hen·ry I, King /ˌhenri ðə 'fɜːst||-ˈfɜːrst/ (1068–1135) the king
of England from 1100 until his death. He was the youngest
son of WILLIAM THE CONQUEROR.
Henry II, King /ˌhenri ðə 'sekənd/ (1133–89) the king of
England from 1154 until his death. He tried to reduce the
power of the Church, and as a result he quarrelled with
Thomas à BECKET, the Archbishop of Canterbury. Henry is
supposed to have said 'Who will rid me of this turbulent
priest?', and some of his soldiers who heard this went and
killed Becket in Canterbury Cathedral.
Henry III, King /ˌhenri ðə 'θɜːd||-ˈθɜrd/ (1207–72) the king
of England from 1216 until his death. He fought many wars