Beveridge Report (en)

officially "Social Insurance and Allied Services"; an influential document from November 1942 detailing the founding of the welfare state in the UK; chaired by Liberal economist William Beveridge

bibulous (en)

(adjective) highly absorbent / (adjective) fond of alcoholic beverages / (adjective) of, relating to, or marked by the consumption of alcoholic beverages

bien pensant (en)

(foreign term) right-minded; one who holds orthodox views

bier (en)

(noun) a framework for carrying / (noun) a stand on which a corpse or coffin is placed / (noun) a coffin together with its stand

bifid (en)

(adjective) divided into two equal lobes or parts by a median cleft

bight (en)

(noun) a bend in a coast forming an open bay / (noun) a bay formed by such a bend / (noun) a slack part or loop in a rope / (geographical name) the N section of Gulf of Guinea W Africa SW of Nigeria / (geographical name) the E section of Gulf of Guinea W Africa / (geographical name) / (geographical name) wide bay on S coast of Australia; part of Indian Ocean

bilious (en)

(adjective) of or indicative of a peevish ill-natured disposition, sickeningly unpleasant

billet-doux (fr)

love letter

binnacle (en)

(noun) a housing for a ship's compass and a lamp

biopolitics (en)

biopolitics: a term defined by Foucault (though not first) as the style of government that regulates populations through "biopower" (the application and impact of political power on all aspects of human life)

biotope (en)

(noun) a region uniform in environmental conditions and in its populations of animals and plants for which it is the habitat

bishopric (en)

(noun) diocese / (noun) the office of bishop / (noun) the administrative body of a Mormon ward consisting of a bishop and two high priests as counselors

bivouac (en)

(noun) a usually temporary encampment under little or no shelter / (noun) encampment usually for a night / (noun) a temporary or casual shelter or lodging / (verb) to make a bivouac; camp

blotto (en)

extremely drunk

bloviation (en)

(verb) to speak or write verbosely and windily

blowsy (en)

(adjective) having a sloppy or unkempt appearance or aspect

blucher (en)

(noun) a shoe having the tongue and vamp cut in one piece and the quarters lapped over the vamp and laced together for closing / (biographical name) Gebhard Leberecht von 1742–1819 prince of Wahlstatt Pruss. field marshal

bolection (en)

a decorative moulding above or around a panel or other architectural feature

bombast (en)

(noun) pretentious inflated speech or writing

borborygmus (en)

(noun) intestinal rumbling caused by moving gas

borstal (en)

(noun) reformatory (a custodial institution for youthful offenders)

bourgeoisie (en)

the middle class, typically with reference to its perceived materialistic values or conventional attitudes

bregma (en)

(noun) the point of junction of the coronal and sagittal sutures of the skull

breviary (en)

(noun) a book of the prayers, hymns, psalms, and readings for the canonical hours / (noun) divine office / (noun) a brief summary

bricolage (en)

(noun) construction (as of a sculpture or a structure of ideas) achieved by using whatever comes to hand / (noun) something constructed in this way