'ballot box noun 1 [C] a box in which people put their ballots after voting       2 the ballot box [sing.] the

system of voting in an election  : The people

make their wishes known through the ballot box. ACItU

'ballot paper noun {BrE) = ballot n.{2) ball-park /'boilpaik; NAmE -pa:rk/ noun 1 [C] (especially NAmE) a place where baseball is played        2 [sing.]

an area or a range within which an amount is likely to be correct or within which sth can be measured ( i&M, W   ?£ EH ;      The offers for the contract

were all in the same ballpark.

—                 ?£ H P*3 o o If you said five million you’d be in the ball­park.        ° Give me a

ballpark figure (= a number that is approximately right),

bail-point /'ballpoint/ (also .ballpoint 'pen) noun a pen with a very small metal ball at its point, that rolls ink onto the paper 0^^;        —picture o station­

ery — compare Biro

ball-room /‘ba:lru:m; -rum/ noun a very large room used for dancing on formal occasions —compare

DANCE HALL

.ballroom 'dancing noun [U] a type of dancing done with a partner and using particular fixed steps and movements to particular types of music such as the WALTZ   £itff

balls /boilz/ noun, verb

m noun {taboo, slang) 1 [U] (BrE) nonsense ; $L if: That’s a load of balls! 3|5 H —‘M $ W !  2 [pi.] courage

H H: She’s got balls, I’ll say that for her. to o It took a lot of balls to do that. 3(5 4,

MHo 3 Balls! (BrE) exclamation used as a swear word when you are disagreeing with sth, or when you are angry about sth ( ffif&if,        ) HT3I3

Less offensive ways to express this are ‘Nonsense!’, or ‘Come off it!’        Nonsense! bK Come off it!

mverb I'Jil-IfJ .balls sth— up [BrE, taboo, slang) to spoil sth; to do sth very badly ••• if ft; # # - II $ &

—                 related noun balls-up rail'3 A more polite way of saying this is foul sth up, mess sth up, or bungle sth.

foul sth up, mess sth up bJc bungle sth0 'balls-up noun {taboo, slang, especially BrE) something that has been done very badly MfL; — 0ft: I made a real balls-up of my exams.

ballsy /'borlzi/ adj. {informal, especially NAmE) showing a lot of courage and determination (Hi; :       She is one ballsy lady!      A

bally hoo /.baeli'hu:; NAmE 'baelihu:/ noun [U] {informal, disapproving) unnecessary noise and excitement ft oft ft

tf; mm

balm /ba:m/ noun [U, C, usually sing.] 1 (also bal-sam) oil with a pleasant smell that is obtained from some types of trees and plants, used in the past to help heal wounds, for example ( e1 0 ft ff ifj # )

2 a liquid, cream, etc. that has a pleasant smell and is used to make wounds less painful or skin softer Up balm      3 {literary)

something that makes you feel calm or relaxed 4" AH&

m&m () Mm®

bal-moral /bael'niDral; NAmE -'mo:r-; -'ma:r-/ noun 1 a type of round hat without a brim, often with ribbons attached, worn by some Scottish soldiers as part of their uniform

ic, #M M   ft0 I|fl ) 2 a strong heavy walking

boot

balmy /'ba:mi/ adj. {approving) (of the air, weather, etc. $ H , fiH^j) warm and pleasant M Bf 1S M Itfl ECTH mild: a balmy summer evening if     A$J Jtl£

ba-lo-ney /ba'leuni; NAmE -'lou-/ noun [U] 1 {informal, especially NAmE) nonsense; lies #]    ; if if :        Don’t

give me that baloney! W\ i# 3P & % it!        2 {NAmE)

=BOLOGNA

balsa /'borlsa/ (also 'balsa wood) noun [u] the light wood of the tropical American balsa tree, used espe­cially for making models & # H M $5 A ( ft ft ft

HSi )