Achiles heel
weak point
Acronym
an abbreviation
ad absurdum
absurdity
ad infinitum
endlessly
Allah
God of Islam
Alpha and Omega
The beginning and the end, from a quote in Revelations in the New Testament
Anecdote
a short and amusing or interesting story about a real incident or person
angst
anxiety; fear; dread
Anno Domini
In the year of our Lord
aphrodisiac
A chemical purported to stimulate sexual desire
Armegeddon
the great battle between the forces of good and evil in the last days
art for art's sake
self expression of whoever creates the art
as the crow flies
straight line
Autocracy
a system of government by one person with absolute power.
apropos
with regard to
bacchanalian
wild and drunken
baker's dozen
thirteen (Bakers, for fair measure, used to add a roll to each dozen sold)
ballad
A poem or song narrating a story in short stanzas
Bard of Avon
Shakespeare's nickname because he was born in Stratford-Upon-the-Avon River
In the Beginning...
refers to genesis in the bible
begging the question
A fallacy in which a claim is based on evidence or support that is in doubt.
bell curve
distribution of scores in which the bulk of the scores fall toward the middle, with progressively fewer scores toward the "tails" or extremes
Bourgeoisie
middle class
Beware of Greeks Bearing gifts
Don't trust your enemies
Big Brother
control over peoples lives
Blackball
vote against (an applicant); ostracize; N: negative vote banned or banished
Bohemian
unconventional (in an artistic way)
Black Sheep
A person who is considered a disgrace to a particular group, usually a family.
Blacklist
A list of people or products viewed with suspicion or disapproval.
Bottleneck
process in which a large population declines in number, then rebounds