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**balance**
**bail$^3$** *n* (in cricket) either of two small pieces of wood laid on top of the STUMPS
**bai·ley** /'beili/ *n* an open area (COURTYARD) inside the outer wall of a castle
**Bailey, David** (1938–) a British photographer who is known especially for his photographs of fashionable people in the 1960s
**Bai·ley's** /'beiliz/ also **‚Bailey's ‚Irish 'Cream** *trademark* a type of sweet alcoholic drink made of Irish WHISKEY mixed with cream
**'bail ‚hostel** *n* a place in Britain which provides temporary housing and support for people on PROBATION or BAIL $\rightarrow$ compare PROBATION HOSTEL
**bai·liff** /'beilif/ *n* **1** (in British law) an official who takes possession of a person's goods or property when they owe money, especially for their rent **2** (in US law) an official who watches prisoners and keeps order in a court of law **3** *BrE* a person who looks after a farm or land for the owner
**'bail-out** *n* help given, especially financially, to a company which is in difficulty: *The director was hoping for a bail-out to save the company.*
**Bain·bridge, Ber·yl** /'beInbridʒ, 'berəl/ (1934–) a British writer whose NOVELS include *The Dressmaker*, *The Bottle Factory Outing*, and *An Awfully Big Adventure*. Her official title is Dame Beryl Bainbridge.
**bain ma·rie** /‚bæn mə'ri:/ *n* a piece of equipment for cooking food gently or melting it, consisting of a pan that fits on top of a similar pan that has boiling water in it; DOUBLE BOILER
**Baird, John Lo·gie** /beəd||beərd, dʒɒn 'ləʊɡildʒa:n-/ (1888–1946) a Scottish engineer who invented a television system
**bairn** /beən||beərn/ *n ScotE and NEngE* a child
**bait$^1$** /beɪt/ *n* [S;U] **1** food or something like food used to attract fish, animals, or birds which are then caught: *fishing bait* | *(fig.) The shop used free gifts as a bait to attract new customers.* | *(fig.) She made some nasty remarks about his lack of experience, but he didn't rise to the bait.* (=he refused to get angry) **2 take the bait** to do what someone wants, and accept something that they are offering to you if you do it: *Several companies took the bait, and shifted their headquarters to the town.* | *The newspapers took the bait and published the story, giving Billings the publicity she wanted.* **3** to react to what someone is saying in exactly the way that they want you to: *He was suggesting that Juan might have been mistaken, but he didn't take the bait.* | *'But my sister's so pretty ...' she said. 'You're as attractive as your sister,' he said, taking the bait at once.*
**bait$^2$** *v* [T] **1** [(with)] to put bait on (a hook) to catch fish, or in (a trap) to catch animals: *to bait a mousetrap with cheese* **2** to try intentionally to make (someone) angry; TORMENT: *At school they baited him mercilessly because of his strange clothes.*
**baize** /beɪz/ *n* [U] thick woollen cloth, usually green, used especially to cover tables on which certain games (e.g. BILLIARDS) are played
**Ba·ja Cal·i·for·ni·a** /‚ba:ha: kælɪ'fɔ:niə||-'fɔ:rnja/ also **Baja** a PENINSULA (=long thin piece of land) in Mexico that is connected to southern California and goes into the Pacific Ocean. Baja California is a popular place for tourists.
**bake** /beɪk/ *v* **1** [I;T] to (cause to) cook using dry heat in an OVEN: *to bake bread* | *The bread is baking.* | *baked potatoes in their jackets* (=with the skin on) $\rightarrow$ see COOK (USAGE) **2** [I;T] to (cause to) become hard by heating: *In former times, bricks were baked in the sun.* **3** [I] *infml* to be or become uncomfortably hot: *Open a window - I'm baking!/It's baking in here!* $\rightarrow$ see also HALF-BAKED
**‚baked A'laska** *n* [C;U] a sweet dish consisting of ice cream covered with MERINGUE which is baked at a high temperature for a short time
**‚baked 'beans** *n* [P] **1** in Britain, baked HARICOT BEANS (=a kind of white bean) in a tomato sauce sold in tins
**CULTURAL NOTE** Baked beans are a favourite food of many children in Britain. 'Sausage, beans, and chips' is also a typical meal served in a CAFE. Some people like to have beans on toast as a quick simple meal. Baked beans are considered by some people to be JUNK FOOD, eaten by people who are too lazy to cook something better, although other people think that they are good for you. Baked beans are known for causing FLATULENCE and sometimes people make jokes about this.
**2** also **Boston baked beans** *AmE* in the US, beans cooked with PORK and brown sugar
**Ba·ke·lite** /'beikəlait/ *trademark* a type of plastic that was used especially in the 1930s–1950s to make things such as telephones and radios
**bak·er** /'beikə/ *n* a person who bakes bread and cakes, especially in order to sell them in a shop (**baker's**): *I bought these buns at the baker's (shop).*
**Baker, Josephine** (1906–1974) an African-American dancer, actress, and singer. She performed mostly in New York City and in Paris, France, where she was known for dancing in a sexually exciting way.
**Baker, Sir Stanley** (1927–76) a British film actor who often played villains in his early career, but later played a heroic army officer in the film *Zulu* (1963). His other films included *The Cruel Sea* (1953) and *Accident* (1967).
**‚baker's 'dozen** *n* [S] *old-fash* 13
**'Baker Street** a street in London where the DETECTIVE Sherlock HOLMES lived in the stories about him by Arthur CONAN DOYLE
**bak·er·y** /'beikəri/ *n* a place where bread and sometimes cakes are baked and/or sold
**'bake sale** *n AmE* an occasion when the members of a school, church organization etc sell sweet foods that they have baked in order to earn money for the organization
**'baking ‚powder** *n* [U] a powder used in baking cakes etc to make them light
**'baking sheet** *n AmE* a flat metal pan used for baking BISCUITS
**'baking ‚soda** *n* [U] BICARBONATE
**'baking tray** *n BrE* a flat piece of metal that you bake food on
**Bak·ke Case, the** /'ba:ki keis/ a legal case in which the US Supreme Court decided in 1978 that a university cannot refuse a student if the only reason is that the university wants to accept another student of a different race
**Bak·ker, Jim** /'berkər, dʒim/ a CHRISTIAN leader in the US who had a popular religious television programme with his wife, Tammy, until he was accused of having sex with another woman and stealing money that people had sent for his church. In 1989 he was sent to prison for FRAUD and CONSPIRACY. $\rightarrow$ see also TELEVANGELIST
**bak·la·va** /'bækləvə||l'ba:-/ *n* [U] a sweet food from the Middle East made from FILO PASTRY, nuts, and HONEY or SYRUP. Baklava is usually TRIANGLE-shaped.
**bal·a·cla·va** /‚bælə'kla:və/ *n* a warm woollen head covering that leaves the face free but covers the head, ears, and neck
**bal·a·lai·ka** /‚bælə'laikə/ *n* a stringed musical instrument with a three-sided body, played especially in Russia $\rightarrow$ see picture at STRINGED INSTRUMENTS
**bal·ance$^1$** /'bæləns/ *n* **1** [S;U] a state in which all weights and forces are evenly spread, so as to produce a condition of steadiness; EQUILIBRIUM: *I found it hard to keep my balance on the icy path.* | *He lost his balance and fell off his bicycle.* **2** [S;U] a state in which opposite or competing influences are evenly matched or are given equal importance: *We try to strike a balance between justice and mercy.* | *a new weapon that may upset the nuclear balance between the two superpowers* | *good reporting that covers the news with fairness and balance* $\rightarrow$ opposite IMBALANCE **3** [U] steadiness of the mind or feelings: *She temporarily lost her balance during the long months of solitude.* **4** [C(to)] a force or influence on one side which equals a force or influence on the other; COUNTERBALANCE: *They work well together – her steadiness acts as a balance to his clever but often impractical ideas.* **5** [the] the weight, force, or amount that is more on one side than another: *The balance of evidence lies against her.* **6** [C] an instrument for weighing things by seeing whether the amounts in two hanging pans are equal **7** [C]