beggar
108
**beg·gar**² v [T] 1 fml to make very poor: *They were beggared by trying to pay for their children's education.* **2 beggar (all) description** BrE lit to be beyond the powers of language to describe: *The valley was so beautiful as to beggar description.*
**beg·gar·ly** /'begəli/ adj much too little in amount; MEAGRE: *to earn a beggarly salary* —**liness** n [U]
**beg·gar-'neigh·bour** n [U] BrE a card game in which the aim is to obtain all your opponents' cards, leaving them with none
**Beg·gar's 'Op·era, The** a funny OPERA by John Gay, first produced in 1728. It tells the story of a thief called Macheath, who is sent to Newgate prison, where he meets a woman called Lucy and makes his wife Polly jealous. A modern opera called THE THREEPENNY OPERA, by Bertolt Brecht, is based on this.
**beg·gar·y** /'begəri/ n [U] the state of being very poor: *They were reduced to beggary by the failure of their farm.*
**'beg·ging bowl** n BrE a polite request for money, made especially by an organization or country that does not have enough money for the basic things it needs: *Some schools are now going to parents with a begging bowl to raise money for new books.*
**be·gin** /bi'gin/ v **be·gan** /bi'gæn/, **be·gun** /bi'gʌn/ [I;T] **1** to do or be the first part of (a process or activity); make a start (on): *I'll begin whenever you're ready.* | *Work on the new bridge will begin next month.* | *She curled up in bed and began her book.* | *The book began with the death of a reporter.* | *We'll begin by dancing/with a story/at the beginning.* | [+to.v] *It began to rain.* | *Even his greatest admirers are beginning to wonder if he is too old for the job.* | *I couldn't (even) begin to explain.* (it's quite impossible to explain.) | [+v-ing] *She began learning English five years ago.* | *We can't possibly go - to begin with* (=the first reason is) *it's too cold, and besides, we have no money.* -> see START (USAGE) **2** to (cause to) come into existence: *The war began in 1939.* | *She began a club for bird-watchers.*
**Be·gin, Me·na·chem** /'beigim, mə'na:ikəm/ (1913-92) an Israeli politician and PRIME MINISTER from 1977 to 1983. In 1979 he signed a peace TREATY with President Sadat of Egypt which was known as the CAMP DAVID agreement.
**be·gin·ner** /bi'ginə/ n a person who is just beginning to do or learn something: *I scored three goals the first time I played, but they put it down to beginner's luck.* (=unusual success at the start which is not expected to last) -> compare STARTER
**be·gin·ning** /bi'ginŋ/ n [C:U] **1** the point at which something begins; start; origin: *at the beginning of the month* | *She knows the subject from beginning to end.* (=completely) -> see PREFACE (USAGE) **2 In the beginning was the Word** the first words of St John's Gospel in the Bible **3** the point at which something good starts to come to an end or be less good
**be·gone** /bi'gɒn||bi'gɔ:n/ v [I usually imperative] poet to go away at once: *Begone with you!*
**be·go·ni·a** /bi'gəuniə/ n a type of tropical plant with bright yellow, pink, red, or white flowers
**be·got** /bi'gɒt||bi'gɑ:t/ past tense of BEGET
**be·got·ten** /bi'gɒtn||bi'gɑ:tn/ past participle of BEGET
**be·grudge** /bi'grʌdʒ/ also **grudge** v [T] to give or allow (something) unwillingly, especially because it is unwanted or undeserved: *She begrudged every minute taken from her work.* | [+v-ing] *I begrudge spending so much money on train fares.* | [+obj(i)+obj(d)] *We shouldn't begrudge him his success.*
**be·guile** /bi'gail/ v [T] **1** to charm or attract: *a beguiling smile* **2** [[AWAY, by, with]] BrE to cause (time) to pass especially in a pleasant way: *We beguiled (away) the time by telling jokes/with a bottle of wine and some good music.* **3** [[into]] to deceive; cheat: *I was beguiled by his flattery into trusting him.* —**-ment** n [U]
**be·gum** /'beigəm, 'bi:-/ n (often cap.) (in India and Pakistan) a Muslim lady of high rank; often used as a title of respect for any married woman
**be·gun** /bi'gʌn/ past participle of BEGIN
**be·half** /bi'hɑ:f|bi'hæf/ n **on behalf of** also **in behalf of** AmE — for, in the interests of, or as the representative of (someone else): *On behalf of everyone here, I'd like to thank our special guest for his entertaining speech.* | *The President's can't be here today, so I'm going to speak on his behalf.*
**Be-han, Bren-dan** /'bi:ən, 'brendən/ (1923-64) an Irish writer who describes his experience of being in prison because of IRA activities, in his play *The Quare Fellow* and his novel *Borstal Boy*
**be·have** /bi'heiv/ v **1** [+adv/prep] to act in a particular way: *She's been behaving rather oddly.* | *Quantum mechanics is the branch of physics which studies the way atoms behave.* | *My car has been behaving well since it was repaired.* **2** [I;T] to act in a socially acceptable or polite way: *Behave (yourself)!* | a *well-behaved/badly behaved child*
**be·hav·iour** BrE || **-ior** AmE /bi'heivjər/ n [U] **1** the way a person acts or behaves **2** be on one's best behaviour to be very polite; show your best manners —**-al** adj: behavioural science —**-ally** adv
**be·hav·iour·is·m** BrE || **-ior-** AmE /bi'heivjərizəm/ n [U] the scientific study of the mind should be based only on outward behaviour and physical states, not on people's reports of their thoughts and feelings —**-ist** n
**be·head** /bi'hed/ v [T] to cut off the head of, especially as a punishment; DECAPITATE
**Be-he-moth** /bɪ'hi:mɒθ-mɑ:θ/ n an extremely large, MYTHICAL creature mentioned in the Bible, whose name is now used to describe something very big: *five warships, including two 64,000-ton behemoths* -> see also LEVIATHAN
**be·hest** /bi'hest/ n [S] fml an urgent request or command: *at the behest of his mother*
**be·hind**⁴ /bi'haind/ prep **1** at or towards the back of: *She ran out from behind a tree.* | (fig.) *I wonder what's behind (=what the real reason for) his change of plan.* | (fig.) *Now you can put all these worries behind you.* (=forget them) -> opposite in front of (FRONT) **2** lower than, in position or quality; below: *We're three points behind the team in first place.* | *He's always behind the rest of his class in mathematics.* | *The trains are running behind schedule.* (=later than the proper time) -> opposite ahead of (AHEAD) **3** in support of; encouraging: *We're (right) behind you all the way!* -> see also behind someone's back (BACK¹), behind the scenes (SCENE), behind the times (TIME¹), behind closed doors (DOOR)
**behind**² adv **1** at or towards the back: *a house with a garden behind* | *The motorcyclists came first, with the President's car following close behind.* -> compare in front (FRONT¹) **2** in the place where something or someone was before: *I came to unlock the car because I've left the keys behind.* | *They went for a walk but I stayed behind to look after the baby.* **3** [[with, in]] late; slow; BEHINDHAND: *I'm a month behind with the rent.* (= should have paid it a month ago)
**behind**³ n euph slang the part of the body that a person sits on; BUTTOCKS: *I gave him a kick in the behind.*
**be·hind·hand** /bi'haindhænd/ adv [[with, in]] rather fml late or slow in doing something, paying something etc: *We're month behindhand with the rent.*
**be·hold** /bi'həuld/ v **be·held** /bi'held/ [T] especially lit or old use to see; look at: *They beheld the great city of Babylon.* -> see also LO AND BEHOLD —**-er** n
**be·hold·en** /bi'həuldən/ adj [F(to)] having to feel grateful or having a duty (to): *I like to do things for myself and not feel beholden to anyone else.*
**be·hoove** /bi'həuv||bi'hu:v/ also **be·hoove** /bi'hu:v/ AmE -> v it behooves one to it is right and necessary to: *It would behoove you to work harder if you want to succeed here.*
**Bei·der·becke, Bix** /'baiədəbek||-dər-, bɪks/ (1903-31) also American JAZZ musician who played the piano and CORNET and was one of the few white musicians to influence the early development of jazz
**beige** /beiz/ adj pale dull yellowish brown —**beige** n [U]
**Bei·jing** /,bei'dʒiŋ/ the capital city of the People's Republic of China. In English, it was formerly called Peking, and this name is