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Waugh
English novelist. After an Oxford education, he devoted himself to solitary observant travel and the writing of novels, soon earning a wide reputation for sardonic wit and technical brilliance. His finest satirical novels are Decline and Fall (1928), Vile Bodies (1930), Black Mischief (1932), A Handful of Dust (1934), Scoop (1938), and The Loved One (1948). He converted to Roman Catholicism in 1930, and his Catholicism is insistently reflected in his novels from then on. After service in World War II he led a retired life, growing increasingly conservative and misanthropic; his later works, intended to be more serious but written with less é lan, include Brideshead Revisited (1945) and the Sword of Honour trilogy--Men at Arms (1952), Officers and Gentlemen (1955), and Unconditional Surrender (1961).


Baal
God worshiped in many ancient Middle Eastern communities, especially among Canaanites, for whom he was a fertility deity. In the mythology of Canaan, he was locked in combat with Mot, the god of death and sterility; depending on the outcome of their struggles, seven-year cycles of fertility or famine would ensue. Baal was also king of gods, having seized the kingship from the sea god, Yamm. Baal worship was popular in Egypt from the later New Kingdom to its end (1400-1075 BC). The Aramaeans used the Babylonian pronunciation Bel; Bel became the Greek Belos, identified with Zeus. The Old Testament often refers to a specific local Baal or multiple Baalim.


badger
Any of eight species of stout-bodied carnivores (family Mustelidae) that possess an anal scent gland, powerful jaws, and large, heavy claws on their forefeet. Most species are brown, black, or gray, with markings on the face or body, and are found in SE Asia. Badgers dig to find food and to construct burrows and escape routes. The Amer. badger (Taxidea taxus), the only New World species, lives in the open, dry country of W N. America. Badgers feed mostly on small animals, especially rodents. Species may be 9-12 in. (23-30 cm) high and 13-32 in. (33-81 cm) long, excluding the 2- to 10-in. (5- to 23-cm) tail, and may weigh 2-48 lbs (1-22 kg). Badgers can be savage fighters.


Bangka
Island (pop., 1980: 400,000), Indonesia. Located off the E coast of Sumatra across the Bangka Strait, it is separated from Belitung Island by Gaspar Strait. Its area is 4,609 sq mi (11,937 sq km); the chief town is Pangkalpinang. The sultan of Palembang ceded Bangka to the British in 1812; they in turn exchanged it with the Dutch in 1814 for property in India. Occupied by Japan during World War II, it became part of Indonesia in 1949. Bangka is one of the world's chief tin-producing centers.


Bangor
Town (pop., 1981: 47,000), seat of North Down district, Northern Ireland. It lies on the S shore of Belfast Lough, 12 mi (19 km) northeast of Belfast. St. Comgall founded a monastery at Bangor c.555, which became a ...

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