Article of the U.S. Uniform Commercial Code that deals with sales.
atomic number of the chemical element helium, symbol He. number of Agent Illya Kuryakin, played by David McCallum, on the NBC-TV spy
spoof, The Man from U.N.C.L.E. (1964–68).
base of the binary number system.
Beaufort number for wind force of 4 to 7 miles per hour, called “light breeze.”
bekas in a shekel (ancient Hebrew measure of weight).
considered a number in Chinese culture because in Cantonese, the word for “two” sounds the same as the word for “easy.” The Chinese say
good things come in pairs.
cups in a pint.
dental chart designation for the right second molar.
duality, an important concept in philosophy and many religions, shown in such pairings as good-evil, yin-yang, right-wrong, man-woman, nightday,
etc.
gauge (number) of a wood screw with a shank diameter of 3/32 of an inch.
in astrology, the number 2 is ruled by the Moon.
in baseball, 2 represents the catcher’s position.
in Hebrew, the numerical value of the letter beth.
in mineralogy, Mohs Hardness Scale level characterized by gypsum; can be scratched by a fingernail.
in rugby union, the number of the hooker.
ISBN group identifier for books published in French-speaking areas: France, Luxembourg, and French-speaking Belgium, Canada, and
Switzerland.
lethechs in a homer (ancient Hebrew measure of dry capacity).
number of decimal places in the inverse multiple designated by the International System prefix centi-, written “c-”.
number of “every living thing” Noah is told to bring to the ark (Genesis 6:19).
number of faces on the ancient Roman god Janus, enabling him to look backward at the past and forward to the future at the same time.
number of participants it takes to tango.
number of presidents of France under the Fourth Republic: Vincent Auriol, 1947; and René Coty, 1954–59. (The Fifth Republic followed.)
number of presidents of France the Second Republic: Louis-Eugène Cavaignac, 1848; and Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte, 1848–52. (The
Second Empire followed.)
number of satellites circling the planet Mars: Phobos, which circles Mars in about seven hours, and Deimos, which revolves around the planet
in about thirty-one hours.
number of seats in the House of Representatives allotted to each of the states of Hawaii, Idaho, Maine, New Hampshire, and Rhode Island
(as of the 2000 Census).
number of 0s in the multiple designated by the International System prefix hecto, written “h-”.
pints in a quart.
quarts in a magnum (spirits measure).
retired baseball uniform number of:
➱ second baseman Nellie Fox, retired by the Chicago White Sox.
➱ second baseman Charlie Gehringer, retired by the Detroit Tigers.
➱ manager Tommy Lasorda, retired by the Los Angeles Dodgers.
➱ second baseman Red Schoendienst, retired by the St. Louis Cardinals.
retired basketball jersey number of:
➱ Red Auerbach, retired by the Boston Celtics.
➱ Junior Bridgeman, retired by the Milwaukee Bucks.
➱ Chuck Daly, retired by the Detroit Pistons.
➱ Alex English, retired by the Denver Nuggets.
➱ Moses Malone, retired by the Philadelphia 76ers.
➱ Mitch Richmond, retired by the Sacramento Kings.
➱ Malik Sealy, retired by the Minnesota Timberwolves.
retired hockey shirt number of:
➱ Doug Harvey, retired by the Montreal Canadiens.
➱ Tim Horton, retired by the Buffalo Sabres.
➱ Rick Ley, retired by the Hartford Whalers.
➱ Brian Leetch, retired by the New York Rangers.
➱ Al MacInnis, retired by the St. Louis Blues.
➱ Eddie Shore, retired by the Boston Bruins.
the smallest and the only even prime number.
spans in a cubit (ancient Hebrew measure of length).
sum of the first three Fibonacci numbers (0 + 1 + 1).
symbolic of independence in Finland, where two candles are displayed on Independence Day, signifying division, and thus, independence.
tablespoons in a fluid ounce.
Title of the United States Code that deals with the Congress.
two years, average life of a five dollar bill.
value of Roman numeral II.
value of the ten of diamonds in the card game Casino.
Berlioz’s Symphony No. 2
“Harold in Italy” symphony.
Big Twin Lake
a geographic feature about 5 miles south of Winthrop, Washington State.
Canon 2 of the American Bar Association Code of Professional Responsibility
a layer should assist the legal profession in fulfilling its duty to make legal counsel.
Copland’s Symphony No. 2
the “Short” symphony.
CV-2
registry of the U.S. Navy aircraft carrier, USS Lexington. Fatally damaged in the Battle of the Coral Sea.
The Dioscuri
Castor and Pollux, sons of Zeus.
double
in baseball, a two-base hit.
double-action
(adj.) describes the type of gun for which each pull of the trigger both cocks and fires it.
double agent
a spy who spies on the country to which he nominally has allegiance.
double bass
the largest of the violin family of stringed instruments, usually played standing up.
Double Bayou
a town in eastern Texas, about 30 miles northeast of Galveston.
double-beat valve
a hollow valve used to control high-pressure fluids.
double-bellied
(adj.) describes a baluster which has been turned alike at both ends.
double-bill
to charge twice, either the same or different accounts, for one transaction.
double bind
a psychological term describing a situation in which someone is given conflicting demands, at different levels of communication, putting the
person in a “no-win” situation.
double-blind
refers to a type of study in which neither the researchers nor the subjects know who is in the experimental group and who is in the control
group. The arrangement is designed to eliminate the possibility of unintended bias by the experimenters.
double bogey
a golf score of two strokes over par on a hole.
double bond
a chemical connection by two covalent bonds between two atoms of a molecule.
double-breasted
(adj.) describes a jacket or coat having two parallel vertical rows of buttons on the front.
double-check
to examine again in order to ensure accuracy or effective functioning.
double-clutch
in driving an automobile, to shift gears twice, once into neutral and then into the desired gear, releasing the clutch twice, once for each gear
change.
double cream
a French soft cheese mostly of cow’s milk with cream added to comprise at least 60 percent fat.
double cross
betrayal of colleague or co-worker.
double crown
a standard size of printing paper, 20 x 30 inches.
double dagger
the diesis (‡), a reference mark frequently used in footnotes.
double date
a date in which two couples go together.
double-dealing
being duplicitous, deceitful, treacherous.
double demy
a standard size of printing paper, 22-½ x 35 inches.
double-dip
to earn a salary from one position while drawing either a pension or a salary in another role from the same employer, particularly as a
government employee.
double Dutch
a form of jumping rope where two ropes are used concurrently, synchronized and swung inward in opposite directions.
double exposure
in photography, having two images on the same piece of film or plate.
double eagle
a gold coin with a face value of twenty dollars, minted by the U.S. from 1849 to 1933.
double entendre
a word or a phrase of ambiguous meaning that is open to two interpretations, one of which is usually risqué.
double-entry
an accounting method in which each transaction is entered twice in a ledger once as a debit in one account, and once as a credit in another.
double fault
in tennis, squash, and some other sports, two faults in succession which results in the loss of the point.
double feature
two films shown together for the price of a single admission to the theater.
double flat
in music, a symbol [♭♭] that lowers the following note two semitones.
double foolscap
a standard size of printing paper, 17 x 27 inches.
Double Headed Shot Cays
small islands on Cay Sal Bank, in the western Bahamas, about 80 miles due south of Key Largo, Florida.
doubleheader
two separate sport matches, usually between the same teams, one immediately following the other on the same day; most common in
baseball.
Double Hill
a land feature outside Dunedin on South Island, New Zealand.
double-hung
describes a window which has top and bottom sashes, each balanced by a separate sash weight so as to be movable vertically in its own
grooves.
double imperial
a size of brown paper used in England, 29 x 45 inches.
Double Indemnity
1944 film noir classic in which insurance salesman Fred MacMurray is lured into a murder plot by seductive Barbara Stanwyck in order to
cash in on a double indemnity insurance policy. Edward G. Robinson plays the investigator who begins to unravel the plot. Directed by Billy
Wilder, who also wrote the screenplay with Raymond Chandler, from a James N. Cain novel.
Double Island Point
a cape into the Pacific Ocean about 100 miles north of Brisbane in Queensland, Australia.
double jeopardy
the process of trying a person a second time for the same crime.
A Double Life
directed by George Cukor, this 1947 film won Ronald Coleman a Best Actor Oscar for his riveting portrayal of an actor whose onstage
Othello takes over his offstage life.
Double Mountain
a land feature in the Tehachapi Mountains in California, about 40 miles southeast of Bakersfield.
Double Mountain Fork
a 64-mile bend in the Brazos River, from Clairmont to Old Glory, in Kent Stonewall County, Texas, attractive for its white-water paddling and
kayaking.
double nickel
slang for 55, especially when referring to a speed limit of 55 miles per hour.
Double Peak
a geographic feature in the Chigmit Mountains, west of Cook Inlet, in southern Alaska.
double pair royal
in cribbage, holding four cards of the same denomination; scores twelve points.
double parting
double set of tracks in a mine to allow tram traffic in two directions.
double play
in baseball, a play in which two outs are made.
Double Point
a spit of land facing the Great Barrier Reef about 15 miles south of Innisfail in the northern part of Queensland, Australia.
double reed
relates to a woodwind instrument having a mouthpiece of two reeds vibrating one against the other, such as an oboe or a bassoon.
double royal
a standard size of printing paper, 24 x 38 inches; in England, 25 x 40 inches.
double sharp
in music, a symbol [##] that raises the preceding note two semitones.
double small
a standard size of cut card, 3-½ x 5 inches; in England, 3-5/8 x 4-¾ inches.
double-spaced
(adj.) typed or printed with each pair of typed or printed lines separated by a blank line.
double spread
two facing pages occupied by an advertisement, photo, or story.
Double Springs
a town west of Sipsey Creek in northwestern Alabama.
doubletalk
gobbledygook; either nonsense or circumlocution used as an evasion tactic or to cause intentional confusion.
Dual Alliance
an October 1879 agreement between Germany and Austria-Hungary intended to assure Russia of Germany’s peaceful intentions in the
Balkans, but also to guarantee military assistance if either were attacked by Russia. Duration was five years, but it was renewed repeatedly
until 1918.
eagle
a golf score of two strokes under par on a hole.
The Eagle with Two Heads
1948 French film by Jean Cocteau (based on his stage play) about an anarchist poet intent on assassinating the Queen who develops a
passion for her instead, love overcoming violence.
Group 2 elements (of the Periodic Table)
the alkaline earth metals: beryllium (4), magnesium (12), calcium (20), strontium (38), barium (56), radium (88).
hero twins of Mayan myth
Xbalanque and Hunahpu, sons of Hun-Hunahpu.
A Kid for Two Farthings
a delightful comedy-fantasy about a poor boy from London’s East End who searches for a magical unicorn but finds a goat instead. Directed
by Carol Reed, this 1956 charmer is from a screenplay by Wolf Mankowitz, who wrote the novel on which it is based.
Kingdom of the Two Sicilies
name given by Bourbon King Ferdinand IV of Naples to his domain, newly merged in 1916 after the end of the Napoleonic era. (Before the
French Revolution he had been King of Sicily and King of Naples, separate states.) The kingdom lasted until 1860, when King Francis II was
overthrown by Garibaldi.
K2
second-highest mountain in the world at 28,250 feet, in the Karakoram Range in northern Kashmir; also called Godwin Austen.
Leonard Bernstein’s Symphony No. 2, for Piano and Orchestra
“The Age of Anxiety” symphony.
Mahler’s Second Symphony
“Resurrection” symphony (in C minor).
Mendelssohn’s Second Symphony
“Lobgesang” symphony (in B-flat major).
Newton’s Second Law of Motion
a force exerted upon a body will change the body’s velocity in the direction of the force, the acceleration directly proportional to the force and
inversely proportional to the mass of the body.
not worth two cents
said of something perceived to have no value.
number two
a child’s euphemism for a bowel movement.
number 2 billiard ball
the ball that is conventionally solid blue.
PDD-2
Presidential Decision Directive 2 deals with Organization of the National Security Council, issued by President Bill Clinton on January 20,
1993.
The Postman Always Rings Twice
classic 1946 film adaptation of James M. Cain’s steamy novel has John Garfield and Lana Turner killing her husband (Cecil Kellaway) so
they can use his savings to finance their torrid love affair. Directed by Tay Garnett, who managed to keep the undertone of sex without
offending the watchful movie censors of the period. Filmed twice before, in France (1939) and in Italy (1942), and once later, in 1981, with
Jack Nicholson and Jessica Lange, but Garnett’s version is by far the best.
Prisoner of Second Avenue
stage comedy-drama by Neil Simon about a successful business executive who gets close to a nervous breakdown after he loses his job.
Opened on Broadway in November 1971, with Peter Falk and Lee Grant. Made into a film in 1975, directed by Melvin Frank, with Jack
Lemmon and Anne Bancroft in the leading roles.
Rimsky-Korsakoff’s Second Symphony
“Antar” symphony (in C minor).
Second Amendment to the Constitution
guarantees the right to keep and bear arms.
secondary color
a color formed by mixing roughly equivalent parts of two primary colors.
second banana
the straight man in a comedy routine who feeds lines to the comedian.
Second Cataract
a section of white water in the Nile River, near the border between Egypt and Sudan.
second childhood
state of dotage or senility.
Second Chorus
1940 musical film featuring Fred Astaire and Burgess Meredith, both trumpet players, vying for the hand of Paulette Goddard. Songs from
several composers, mostly Johnny Mercer.
Second City TV
a satirical TV comedy series that parodied TV shows. The Second City group had begun as an improvisational-comedy troupe in 1959
Chicago, but it was a Toronto branch that began the TV series in 1977. In 1981 the series name changed to SCTV Network 90, and then to
SCTV Channel from 1983 to 1984.
second-class
(adj.) inferior, mediocre.
second-class citizen
a person considered inferior in status and rights.
second-class mail
class of mail in the U.S. postal system, including newpapers and magazines.
second coming
Christ’s return on the last day of the world to judge all humankind.
Second Commandment
Thou shalt make no graven images.
second cousin
a child of one’s first cousin.
Second Crusade
following the Turkish conquest of the town of Edessa in 1144, armies of France, led by Louis VII, and of Germany, led by Holy Roman Emeror
Conrad III? independently set out for Asia Minor in 1147. Both suffered defeats by Turkish forces until they finally merged in 1148. Their joint
attack on Damascus also failed, and the leaders returned home in 1148 and 1149, the Second Crusade having ended in woeful failure.
second-degree burn
in which the outer layer of skin is damaged, most often with blistering and liquid collected in the tissue below the burn.
Second Empire
the empire (1852–70) established in France by Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte; replaced the Second Republic.
second estate
the nobility as a class of society.
second fiddle
one of inferior rank or lesser quality; second best.
Second French War of Religion
the Catholic Duc de Guise had been killed in the First War, and his brother, the Cardinal de Lorraine, now argued for more suppression of the
Huguenots. When Spanish troops appeared along the eastern French border in 1567, heading to support the Spanish subjugation of the
Netherlands, the Huguenots feared a Catholic plot to exterminate them and they attempted a coup at Meaux to seize the king. The plot failed
and led to the Second War, mostly a repeat of the First, ending in 1568 with the Peace of Longjumeau, which reaffirmed the earlier Peace of
Amboise.
second-guess
to correct or criticize after the result is known.
second hand
(adj.) previously owned or used by another person.
Second House
in astrology, deals with material resources and possessions.
Second International
(Socialist International), set up headquarters in Brussels in 1889 to promote the unity of Socialist parties in several countries. Fractured by
World War I.
Second Lateran Council
held in 1139, convoked by Pope Innocent II, to reunify the Church after the schism of the antipope Anacletus II, who died in 1138. This Council
also condemned usury and forbade monks from studying medicine and civil law.
Second Law of Thermodynamics
(increase in entropy): the quality of energy is degraded irreversibly because there is always an increase in disorder; the principle of
degradation of energy.
Second Order of Saint Francis
the Poor Ladies or Poor Clares (after Clare of Assisi), founded in 1212; women who live in a community or nunnery, and who have sworn to
lead a celibate life of poverty, prayer, and penance. Also known simply as Clares, they divide into two branches: Colettines, who live in
rigorous cloisters with strict rules of obedience, and Urbanists, less austere, who sometimes work outside their convents.
Second Peace of Paris
the final French settlement (November 20, 1815) following Napoleon’s disastrous defeat at Waterloo, by which France had to cede several
land areas to victorious nations, to give up fortresses on her frontiers, to return art treasures ransacked from all over Europe, and pay 700
million francs to offset the cost of the war.
second person
in grammar, the person who the speaker addresses.
second position
in ballet, position in which the feet are spread slightly apart and are at right angles to the direction of the body, the toes pointing out in
opposite directions.
second president
John Adams, March 3, 1797 to March 3, 1801.
second-rate
(adj.) inferior; of low quality.
Second Reich
the German Empire, from 1871 to 1919.
second sight
the faculty of seeing future events; clairvoyance.
second state of the Union
Pennsylvania ratified the Constitution on December 12, 1787.
second-story man
a burglar adept at entering premises through an upstairs window.
second string
a player or group of players that substitute for the starters.
Second Triumvirate
in ancient Rome, the governing alliance of three men—Augustus, Antony, and Lepidus—formed in 43 BC.
second wedding anniversary gift
cotton is customary.
second wind
restored energy or strength after having tired earlier.
Shostakovich’s Second Symphony
“To October” symphony (in B-flat major).
snake eyes
in craps, when both dice turn up, each with one spot showing.
A Tale of Two Cities
Charles Dickens’s intricate 1859 novel that interweaves several personal stories into the events of the French Revolution. The novel opens
with one of the most quoted lines in all of literature: “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.” Several attempts to film the story have
been made, the most successful in 1935, with Ronald Colman as Sidney Carton, the doomed martyr, and Blanche Yurka as the knitting
Madame Defarge. Others have included an impressive 1917 silent film, with William Farnum playing both Carton and the titled Charles
Darnay, a 1958 version with Dirk Bogarde, and one in 1980, made for TV.
Tchaikovsky’s Second Symphony
“Little Russian” symphony (in C minor).
Tea for Two
1950 musical comedy film with Doris Day and Gordon MacRae, an updated rewrite of the 1924 Broadway hit, No, No, Nanette, using the
technique of flashbacks to capture the period feeling of the original.
twice cooked pork
a spicy Chinese dish that really is cooked twice. The pork is first simmered, then stir-fried in hot and sweet bean sauce with scallions or leeks
and bell peppers.
Twice-Told Tales
a collection of thirty-nine stories by Nathaniel Hawthorne, originally published in 1837, and later expanded in 1842.
Twin
a town on the south side of the Strait of Juan de Fuca in Washington State.
Twin Beds
1914 stage play by Salisbury Field and Margaret Mayo, the granddaddy of all bedroom farces, noted at the time for being “naughty.” Several
film adaptations were made; the first, a 1920 silent film, with Carter and Flora Parker DeHaven in their film debut; then, two sound versions,
the first in 1929, the script only tangentially related to the original, and the second in 1942, a limp rendition starring George Brent and Joan
Bennett.
Twin Bridges
name of towns in southwestern Montana on Beaverhead River, and in northern California, about 15 miles south of Lake Tahoe.
Twin Brooks
a town in northeastern South Dakota.
Twin Buttes Reservoir
a water catchment area south of San Angelo, Texas.
Twin Cities
Minneapolis and St. Paul, both in Minnesota.
Twin City
(a) a town west of Fort William in the southwestern part of Ontario Province, Canada.
(b) a city in south-central Idaho.
Twin Heads Mountain
a peak in the northern part of Western Australia.
Twin Hills
a town in southwest Egypt.
Twin Humps Peak
a mountain in the McIlwraith Range on Cape York Peninsula in Queensland, Australia.
Twin Lake
(a) a town in Michigan, about 60 miles northwest of Grand Rapids.
(b) a lake in Michigan, about 100 miles east of Traverse City.
Twin Lakes
(a) pairs of lakes in: north-central Arkansas (Lake Norfolk and Bull Shoals Lake); west central Colorado, southeast of Mount Elbert; central
Oregon, south and west of Lookout Mountain; Cook County, Illinois; western Kenosha County, Wisconsin (Lakes Mary and Elizabeth); the
Toiyabe National Forest, north of Yosemite National Park in California; the Tongass National Forest, Alaska; and in north-central
Newfoundland, Canada.
(b) name of towns in: Colorado, at the foot of Mount Elbert; southeastern Wisconsin, about 20 miles west of Kenosha; Broward County,
Florida, north of Fort Lauderdale; Lowndes County, Georgia; Litchfield County, Connecticut; Mono County, California; on the Keweenaw
Peninsula, north of Muskegon, Michigan; and in northeast Pennsylvania, about ten miles west of Port Jervis.
(c) reservoirs in central Colorado, south of Leadville, and in southern Idaho, north of Twin Falls.
(d) a state park southwest of Richmond, Virginia.
(e) a state beach in Santa Cruz, California.
Twin Mountain
a geographic feature in the White Mountains in north-central New Hampshire.
Twin Peaks
highland pairs in central San Francisco, California; in the Salmon River Mountains in south-central Idaho; in the Cascade Range east of
Everett in Washington State; and in the southwestern part of Western Australia.
Twin Peaks
David Lynch’s surreal TV series decribed by reviewers as “quirky.” On ABC from April 1990 to August 1991, featuring Kyle MacLachlan as
FBI special agent Dale Cooper and Michael Ontkean as sheriff Harry S. Truman. Ranked number 20 in the TV Guide list of the 25 Top Cult
Shows Ever (May 30, 2004). Reborn in 1992 as a prequel movie, titled Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me.
Twin Rivers
a town in central New Jersey, about 10 miles east of Princeton.
Twin Rocks
islands in the Archipelago of the Recherche off the southern coast of Western Australia.
(b) islands in Aden Harbor in the southwestern part of South Arabia.
The Twins
(a) a town in central South Australia.
(b) a peak on the northern end of South Island, New Zealand.
(c) Minnesota Twins, major league baseball team with home field in Minneapolis.
(d) familiar name for Romulus and Remus, legendary founders of the city of Rome.
Twins Creek
a waterway in the eastern part of South Australia.
Twin Valley
a town in western Minnesota, about 35 miles northeast of Moorhead.
2A
number of the French Département of Corse-du-Sud.
two-a-day
vaudeville patois for big-time (derives from playing big cities where vaudeville theaters did two full shows per day).
Two Admirals
James Fenimore Cooper’s 1842 novel about the British navy before the Revolutionary War. Cooper’s realistic portrayal of a great naval
battle was intended to press the need for an effective American fleet.
Two Against Nature
Steely Dan’s first studio album in twenty years, Grammy–winning Album of the Year for 2000.
2 April
Pascua Florida Day, a state holiday commemorating the discovery of Florida by Ponce de Leon in 1513. He called the area Pascua Florida,
likely because his discovery occurred near Easter.
two aspects of language
the metonymy (similarity) and the metaphor (continuity). (R. Jakobson, The Two Aspects of Language, 1956)
2B
number of the French Département of Haute-Corse.
two-bagger
in baseball, a two-base hit.
two bells
time check on-board ship, signifies 1:00 or 5:00 or 9:00, a.m. or p.m.
two-bit
(adj.) worth twenty-five cents; small-time, inferior.
two bits
slang for twenty-five cents.
Two Bridges
a town in Devon, England, about 25 miles southwest of Exeter.
Two Butte Creek
a waterway in the southeastern corner of Colorado.
Two Buttes
a town in the southeastern corner of Colorado.
two-by-four
a piece of lumber measuring 1-½ x 3-½, of varying length.
two-cent piece
U.S. bronze coin in circulation from 1864 to 1873.
two cents’ worth
one’s opinion or remark interjected in a conversation.
Two Creeks
a town in the southwest corner of Manitoba Province, Canada.
two dollars
denomination of U.S. paper money that bears the portrait of Thomas Jefferson.
Twodot
a town in Montana, about 100 miles east of Helena.
two-faced
(adj.) deceitful, deceptive.
2 February
(a) Candlemas Day; Christian feast day commemorationg the Presentation of Jesus.
(b) Groundhog Day.
twofer
a ticket, usually to some performance, that admits two people for the price of one.
Twofold Bay
an inlet off the Tasman Sea in New South Wales, Australia, about 30 miles north of Cape Howe.
Two for the Money
(a) TV quiz show, emceed first by Herb Shriner, later by Sam Levenson. First telecast on NBC on September 30, 1952, it switched to CBS in
August 1953, and was last aired on September 7, 1957.
(b) 2005 film about sports betting, with Al Pacino, Matthew McConaughey, and Rene Russo, directed by D. J. Caruso.
Two for the Seesaw
playwright William Gibson’s first Broadway hit, opening in January 1958, starring Henry Fonda and a then-unknown actress named Anne
Bancroft (brought in to replace Lainie Kazan, who bowed out during rehearsals), who won that year’s Tony for Best Actress. The play became
a film in 1962, directed by Robert Wise, with Robert Mitchum and Shirley MacLaine in the lead roles. It then metamorphosed into a 1973
stage musical with a score by Cy Coleman and Dorothy Fields, starring Michele Lee and Ken Howard, with Tommy Tune in his first Broadway
role.
2,4,5-T
2,4,5-trichlorophenoxyacetic acid, known as Agent Orange.
Two Gentlemen of Verona
one of Shakespeare’s earliest comedic plays, about friends Valentine and Proteus, rivals for the hand of Julia, daughter of the Duke of Milan.
Two Harbors
a town on Lake Superior in northeastern Minnesota.
Two Headed Island
piece of land in the Gulf of Alaska, off the southeast corner of Kodiak Island, Alaska.
two heads are better than one
a saying meaning that two people can complete a task or solve a problem more expeditiously than one.
Two Hills
a town in the eastern part of Alberta, Canada.
2-iron
golf club equivalent to the earlier mid-iron.
two kilograms
weight of men’s discus.
two-light frame
a window containing one mullion that divides the window space into two glass areas.
Two Little Confederates
an 1888 tale by Thomas Nelson Page of two Southern boys aiding the Confederate cause during the Civil War; a very popular work in the late
nineteenth century.
The Two Magics
Henry James’s 1898 volume of supernatural stories.
2 March
Texas Independence Day, celebrating the anniversary of the 1836 declaration of Texas’s independence from Mexico.
Two Men of Sandy Bar
1876 play by Bret Harte, dramatized from one of his short stories.
Twomileborris
a town in County Tipperary, Ireland, about 20 miles west of Kilkenny.
two-minute warning
in football, a time-out called by the officials to inform the players that only two minutes of playing time remain; occurs twice: at the end of the
first half, and at the end of the game.
Two Natures
an 1894 sculpture by George Grey Barnard, probably his best known, showing a pair of opponents, one standing over the prostrate form of
the other, the two symbolizing “good” and “evil,” but not clearly defining which is which.
Two Noble Kinsmen
romantic play by John Fletcher, published in 1634, about the love of two men for one woman. A tournament is planned in which the winner will
win the hand of the fair Emilia, and the loser will be executed. The loser is about to be beheaded when the winner falls from his horse and,
with his last breath, gives up his right to the lady in favor of the other.
2 November
All Souls’ Day, Christian feast day.
Two Ocean Pass
a pass through the Absaroka Range in northwest Wyoming.
“Two Old Crows”
a 1915 poem by Vachel Lindsay (1897–1931).
Two Orphans
an 1874 French play by Adolphe d’Ennery and Eugène Cormon (adapted for the American stage by N. Hart Jackson) about two sisters who
search for one another for three acts, only to discover they are not sisters at all.
Two-Penny Act
a law passed by the Virginia Assembly in 1758 in response to a devastated tobacco crop. Some taxes and debts had been payable in
tobacco, but the failed crop reduced the ability of planters to meet their obligations. A crisis measure, the Two-Penny Act allowed debts in
tobacco to be paid in cash, fixing an equivalency rate of two pence per pound, even though the market price had tripled. The clergy objected
because, by a 1748 law, their salary had been set at 16,000 pounds of tobacco a year, but the Two-Penny Act deprived them of the
additional income they would have enjoyed if they had received payment in resellable high-priced tobacco rather than currency.
two-penny nail
a carpenter’s common nail, 1 inch long (coded 2d).
two-phase
(adj.) alternating current electriacal system using two phases, whose voltages are displaced one from the other by 90 electrical degrees (or
diphase).
Two River
a twon in Winconsin on Lake Michigan, about 80 miles north of Milwaukee.
The Two Rivers
a town on Reindeer River in eastern Saskatchewan, Canada.
“Two Rivers of Greed and Anger”
(Japanese) Shan-tao’s famous parable which illustrates how one awakens faith in the midst of evil passions.
Two Rivers Reservoir
an installation near Roswell, New Mexico.
Two Rivulets
a collection of mixed prose and poetry pieces by Walt Whitman; appeared in 1876 as the second volume of a set whose first volume was a
later edition of Leaves of Grass.
2 rue de Richelieu
Paris address of the Comédie Française, founded by the Molière company in 1680; now the state theater specializing in productions of
classical French plays.
2 rue Louis Boilly
Paris address of the Marmottan Museum, the world’s largest collection of Monet paintings.
two’s company, three’s a crowd
a phrase suggesting that the presence of a third person can interfere with the amatory intentions of a pair.
2 September 1945
V-J Day (Victory over Japan), marking the end of Pacific phase of World War II.
two shakes (of a lamb’s tail)
slang for a few seconds; a very short time.
two sides to every question
a phrase suggesting that one should consider alternatives when attempting to understand an issue, and before reaching a conclusion.
two silver stars
insignia of a major general of the U.S. Army.
two-spot
a two-dollar bill.
two-step
a ballroom dance in three-quarter time characterized by long, gliding steps.
two-stepper
hobo slang for a chicken.
two-striper
a navy lieutenant, senior grade.
Two Thumbs Range
mountains in central South Island, New Zealand.
two-time
(v.) to be unfaithful; to double-cross.
two-time loser
someone who has been convicted twice; a person who is seen as having no chance of success in any endeavor.
Two-Ton Tony
nickname of Tony Galento, a heavyweight boxer of the late 1930s and early 1940s, alluding to his being obviously overweight. Reputed to
train on beer, and often described as an ambulatory beer barrel, Galento was known as a dirty fighter. He fought champion Joe Louis at
Yankee Stadium on June 28, 1939, and after knocking the champ down in the third round, he proceeded to take a beating from Louis until
referee Arthur Donovan stopped the fight two minutes and twenty-nine seconds into the fourth round.
“two turtledoves”
the gift on the second day of Christmas in the carol, “The Twelve Days of Christmas.”
Two Way Stretch
a very funny 1961 British film comedy starring Peter Sellers, about a jewelry robbery planned in prison.
Two Weeks in Another Town
Irwin Shaw novel dealing with the problems of movie people shooting a film in Rome, turned into a film by Vincente Minnelli in 1962, featuring
Kirk Douglas, Edward G. Robinson, Cyd Charisse, and George Hamilton.
Two Women
a 1961 film set in wartime Italy, adapted from an Alberto Moravia novel and directed by Vittorio De Sica. This film won Sophia Loren the Best
Actress Oscar, the first awarded to a non-English-speaking woman in a film.
2-wood
golf club, sometimes called a brassie.
Two Years Before the Mast
1840 novel by Richard Henry Dana Jr. realistically depicting the hardships and injustices that American sailors experienced at that time.
Filmed in 1946, with Alan Ladd as the spoiled young man who is shanghaied, Brian Donlevy as Dana, and Howard da Silva in a memorable
performance as the tyrannical Captain Thompson.
“Under the Double Eagle”
a march by Josef Franz Wagner, “the Austrian march king,” composed in 1893, as “Unter dem Doppeladler,” when Wagner was bandmaster
for the 47th Austrian Regiment. The title is taken from the double eagle in the Austro-Hungarian monarchy’s coat of arms.
Under Two Flags
a romance novel of 1867, at once sentimental and adventurous, about the Honorable Bertie Cecil of the First Life Guards, by the widely read
English novelist Ouida (Marie Louise de la Ramée). Adapted to a film in 1932, with Ronald Colman as the French foreign legionnaire and
Claudette Colbert as the camp follower.
U2
Irish rock band formed in 1976 by students at Mount Temple High School in Dublin, Ireland. Features vocals by Bono, backed by Adam
Clayton on bass, Dave Evans (“the Edge”) on guitar, and Larry Mullin Jr. on drums. Their music features social and religious messages.
U-2
CIA high-altitude reconnaissance plane during the Cold War between the U.S. and the Soviet Union. Became known when one, flown by pilot
Gary Powers, was downed near Svedlovsk on May 1, 1960. Powers was convicted of espionage by the Soviets and was sentenced to ten
years, but was traded for Soviet spy Rudolph Abel in February 1962.
Vaughan Williams’s Symphony No. 2
a “London” symphony.
V-2 Missile
the Vergeltungswaffe, “vengeance weapon,” Nazi rockets fired at London from Peenemünde, on the Island of Usedom on the Baltic Coast, in
an attempt to weaken British resolve to continue the war against Germany. This forty-six-foot-long terror weapon was the world’s first ballistic
missile. Flying at five times the speed of sound, hundreds were directed at London .
