linguistics: Dialect atlases: …famous French linguistic atlas of Jules Gilliéron and Edmond Edmont was based on a completely different concept. Using a questionnaire of about 2,000 words and phrases that Gilliéron had composed, Edmont surveyed 639 points in the French-speaking area. The atlas, compiled under the direction of Gilliéron, was published in fascicles…

New York Islanders: …Bryan Trottier, and left wing Clark Gillies. That young group (all but Smith were no older than age 25 at the start of the 1979–80 season) played with postseason poise that belied their youth, losing just three games over the course of their first four Stanley Cup finals and defeating…

history of medicine: World War I: …at about the same time Harold Gillies founded British plastic surgery in a hut at Sidcup, Kent. In 1917 Gillies popularized the pedicle type of skin graft (the type of graft in which skin and subcutaneous tissue are left temporarily attached for nourishment to the site from which the graft…

gillyflower, any of several scented flowering plants, especially the carnation, or clove pink (Dianthus caryophyllus), stock (Matthiola incana), and wallflower (Cheiranthus cheiri). However, the gillyflower of Chaucer, Spenser, and Shakespeare was the carnation. Other plants that are types of

John Williams: From jazz pianist to film composer: …shows as Wagon Train and Gilligan’s Island.

Carol Gilligan is an American developmental psychologist best known for her research into the moral development of girls and women. Gilligan earned a bachelor’s degree in English literature at Swarthmore College (1958), a master’s degree in clinical psychology at Radcliffe College (1961), and a

Pat Roberts: …would later become father-in-law to Kathleen Sebelius, governor of Kansas in 2003–09 and U.S. secretary of health and human services in 2009–14). In 1969 Roberts married, and he and his wife, Franki, had three children.

Breaking Bad: …created by writer and producer Vince Gilligan. It aired 2008–13 on the American Movie Classics (AMC) cable network. The title is a colloquial expression from the South, meaning “to raise hell.” The show was a popular and critical success and a breakout series for many of its cast members, in…

glassware: After the War of 1812: …Brooklyn Flint Glass Works of John L. Gilliland and Company and the Dorfinger Glass Works. Gilliland, a partner in the Blooming-dale Flint Glass Works, sold out in 1823 and founded his own works in Brooklyn, New York. In 1864 two members of the Houghton family acquired controlling interest, and in…

Gillingham, town and port, unitary authority of Medway, geographic and historic county of Kent, southeastern England. It is on the River Medway and is one of the three main communities (along with Chatham and Rochester) that are often called the “Medway Towns.” Before the establishment of the royal

leprosy: History: …became officially known as the Gillis W. Long Hansen’s Disease Center. The new name Hansen’s disease was part of a determined effort by health authorities to rid leprosy of its old social stigma and to focus attention on the fact that leprosy was finally becoming a treatable disease.

Jack White is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter who first gained fame with the White Stripes and later performed in other bands before launching a successful solo career. Gillis, the youngest of 10 children in a Polish Scottish family, grew up in Detroit. His father worked as a

Baby Face Nelson was an American gunman and bank robber noted for his vicious killings and youthful looks. From petty crime Nelson graduated into labour racketeering, working for Al Capone (1929–31) and other bootleg bosses; he was let go, however, proving too violent even for them. He then turned

SNL Cast Members: 2017–24: Strength in numbers and diversity: …2019, when newly hired comedian Shane Gillis was dropped from the show before ever appearing onscreen after instances of him using racial slurs on his podcast came to light. Michaels later said that it had been NBC’s decision to fire Gillis and that he argued against doing it, and Gillis…

James Melville Gilliss was a U.S. naval officer and astronomer who founded the Naval Observatory in Washington, D.C., the first U.S. observatory devoted entirely to research. Gilliss entered the U.S. Navy in 1827 and 10 years later was put in charge of the navy’s Depot of Charts and Instruments, in

citizen journalism: …does that translate into journalism?” Dan Gillmor, founder and director of the Center for Citizen Media and author of the book We the Media: Grassroots Journalism by the People, for the People (2004), also rejected any single definition for the transformation in news that had begun in the late 1990s.…

Ellen Burstyn is an American actress who is known for her understated charm and versatility. Gillooly was raised in Detroit, though she attended St. Mary’s Academy in Windsor, Ontario, Canada, for several years in the late 1930s. Both her mother and her stepfather were physically and verbally

Tonya Harding: Rise in figure skating ranks and reputation: …mother, LaVona, and first husband, Jeff Gillooly, charges both have denied. Harding and Gillooly divorced in 1993. As part of the divorce, Harding was granted a restraining order against him. The couple reconciled before the attack on Kerrigan.

Claude Gillot was a French painter, engraver, and theatrical designer best known as the master of the great painter Antoine Watteau. Gillot directed scenery and costume design for both opera and theatre. An accomplished draftsman and a man of keen intelligence, he was in part responsible for the

photoengraving: Chemical etching—traditional and powderless processes: …of lines and dots, called gillotage, has found wide use among European engravers. The “powdering” process, most widely used in the United States, involves brushing a resinous powder (dragons’ blood) against the sides of partially etched lines and dots and fusing, with heat, to provide an etchant-resistant coating. Several repetitions…

Jacky Gillott was a British novelist and broadcaster who was one of Britain’s first woman television reporters. After graduating from University College in London (now University College London), she joined a provincial newspaper before starting a new career with Independent Television News. She

Jacky Gillott was a British novelist and broadcaster who was one of Britain’s first woman television reporters. After graduating from University College in London (now University College London), she joined a provincial newspaper before starting a new career with Independent Television News. She

James Gillray was an English caricaturist chiefly remembered for lively political cartoons directed against George III of England and Napoleon I. Often scurrilous and violent in his criticism, he brought a highly dramatic sense of situation and analogy to cartooning. Gillray learned letter

Ron DeSantis: Governor of Florida and 2024 presidential run: …the conservative DeSantis against Democrat Andrew Gillum, a progressive who was attempting to become the state’s first African American governor. At times the race was marked by controversy as DeSantis and his supporters were accused of racism; DeSantis denied the allegations. Aided by Trump’s support, DeSantis narrowly defeated Gillum, 49.6…

Western architecture: Germany: …were Carl Gotthard Langhans and David Gilly, who, with Heinrich Gentz, created a severe but inventive style in the 1790s that was indebted to Ledoux as well as to Johann Winckelmann’s call for a return to the spirit of ancient Greek architecture. The great early monument of the Berlin school…

Western architecture: Germany: Friedrich Gilly built little, dying in 1800, but he left some remarkable designs that justify his central place in German Neoclassicism. His project for a monument to Frederick the Great (1797) consisted of a raised Greek Doric temple on a geometric substructure surrounded by obelisks…

gillyflower, any of several scented flowering plants, especially the carnation, or clove pink (Dianthus caryophyllus), stock (Matthiola incana), and wallflower (Cheiranthus cheiri). However, the gillyflower of Chaucer, Spenser, and Shakespeare was the carnation. Other plants that are types of

Gilman reagent, another name for organocopper compounds used for carbon-carbon bond formation in organic synthesis. Compounds of this type were first described in the 1930s by the American chemist Henry Gilman, for whom they are named. The most widely used organocopper compounds are the lithium

Alfred G. Gilman was an American pharmacologist who shared the 1994 Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine with American biochemist Martin Rodbell for their separate research in discovering molecules called G proteins. These are intermediaries in the multistep pathway cells use to react to an

Alfred G. Gilman was an American pharmacologist who shared the 1994 Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine with American biochemist Martin Rodbell for their separate research in discovering molecules called G proteins. These are intermediaries in the multistep pathway cells use to react to an

Caroline Howard Gilman was a popular American writer and publisher, much of whose work reflected her conviction of the importance of the family as a foundation for societal harmony. Caroline Howard grew up in a succession of towns near Boston until her widowed mother settled in Cambridge,

Charlotte Perkins Gilman was an American feminist, lecturer, writer, and publisher who was a leading theorist of the women’s movement in the United States. Charlotte Perkins grew up in poverty, her father having essentially abandoned the family. Her education was irregular and limited, but she did

Charlotte Perkins Gilman was an American feminist, lecturer, writer, and publisher who was a leading theorist of the women’s movement in the United States. Charlotte Perkins grew up in poverty, her father having essentially abandoned the family. Her education was irregular and limited, but she did

Charlotte Perkins Gilman was an American feminist, lecturer, writer, and publisher who was a leading theorist of the women’s movement in the United States. Charlotte Perkins grew up in poverty, her father having essentially abandoned the family. Her education was irregular and limited, but she did

Daniel Coit Gilman was an American educator and the first president of Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore. After graduating from Yale University in 1852, Gilman traveled to St. Petersburg, Russia, with his friend A.D. White (who became the first president of Cornell University in 1868). Gilman

London Group: …whose members included the painters Harold Gilman, Walter Sickert, and Spencer Gore. These artists, along with their allies Charles Ginner and Lucien Pissarro, advocated depicting the urban and working classes, and they favoured the light palette and high-keyed colour of the Impressionists and Post-Impressionists.

Gilman reagent: …1930s by the American chemist Henry Gilman, for whom they are named. The most widely used organocopper compounds are the lithium diorganocuprates, which are prepared by the reaction between organolithium reagents (RLi) and copper(I) halides (CuX); for example, ArLi gives Ar2CuLi.

Elizabeth Meriwether Gilmer was an American journalist who achieved great popular success as an advice columnist and with sentimentalized coverage of sensational crime stories. Elizabeth Meriwether received little formal schooling before her marriage in 1888 to George O. Gilmer. A short time later

Melissa McCarthy: Roles on Gilmore Girls, Mike & Molly, and other television series: James on TV’s Gilmore Girls (2000–07). She was cast in supporting roles in a succession of TV series, including Samantha Who? (2007–09), Rita Rocks (2009), and Private Practice (2010), before landing a starring role opposite Billy Gardell in Mike & Molly (2010–16), which followed humorous moments in the…

Ireland: The debt crisis and beyond: …became taoiseach, while Labour’s leader, Eamon Gilmore, assumed the post of tánaiste (deputy prime minister).

Gary Gilmore was an American murderer whose execution by the state of Utah in 1977 ended a de facto nationwide moratorium on capital punishment that had lasted nearly 10 years. His case also attracted widespread attention because Gilmore resisted efforts made on his behalf to commute the sentence.

Gary Gilmore was an American murderer whose execution by the state of Utah in 1977 ended a de facto nationwide moratorium on capital punishment that had lasted nearly 10 years. His case also attracted widespread attention because Gilmore resisted efforts made on his behalf to commute the sentence.

Mahershala Ali is an American actor who rose to prominence in the 2010s and won Academy Awards for best supporting actor for his moving and nuanced performances as the fatherly drug dealer Juan in Barry Jenkins’s Moonlight (2016) and the classical pianist Don Shirley in Green Book (2018). Ali grew

Australian literature: Nationalism and expansion: …of such diverse writers as Mary Gilmore, Walter Murdoch, and Miles Franklin. The life span of each of them stretched from colonial times into the modern era; in both their lives and their writing, they represented continuity. Each expressed a kind of independence from time: Gilmore by the long reach…

Patrick Gilmore was a leading American bandmaster and a virtuoso cornetist, noted for his flamboyant showmanship, innovations in instrumentation, and the excellence of his bands. Gilmore immigrated to the United States at age 19, and, after leading several bands, he took over the Boston Brigade

Patrick Gilmore was a leading American bandmaster and a virtuoso cornetist, noted for his flamboyant showmanship, innovations in instrumentation, and the excellence of his bands. Gilmore immigrated to the United States at age 19, and, after leading several bands, he took over the Boston Brigade

Carissa Moore: World champion and Olympian: …four-time winner and defending champion Stephanie Gilmore—who would later attend Moore’s wedding—18-year-old Moore became the youngest surfing world champion. She also won world championships in 2013, 2015, 2019, and 2021. She lost in the finals of 2022 and 2023, despite being ranked number one, due to a controversial rule change…

David Gilmour is a British musician best known for being the lead guitarist and singer for the British rock band Pink Floyd, one of the most famous rock groups in history. Gilmour’s bluesy musical style appears most prominently in his guitar solos, which are often improvised and rely on rich

David Gilmour is a British musician best known for being the lead guitarist and singer for the British rock band Pink Floyd, one of the most famous rock groups in history. Gilmour’s bluesy musical style appears most prominently in his guitar solos, which are often improvised and rely on rich

9 Muses Who Were Artists: Françoise Gilot (Muse to Pablo Picasso): Françoise Gilot and Picasso met in 1943—she was 21 and he was 62—and Picasso was still entangled with Dora Maar at the time. Gilot spent 10 years with Picasso, inspiring works such as the La Femme-fleur (1946), in which…

underwater diving: …notably by the American diver Guy Gilpatric, whose The Compleat Goggler (1938) gave great impetus to the sport and aroused the interest of the French naval engineer and diver Jacques Cousteau. The goggles, flippers, snorkel (the name given the air tube from the German submarine air exhaust and intake device…

Bernard Gilpin was an English cleric, one of the most conscientious and broad-minded upholders of the Elizabethan church settlement, which recognized the English sovereign, rather than the pope, as head of the English church. Gilpin was educated at Queen’s College, Oxford, and was ordained in 1542.

Drew Gilpin Faust is an American educator and historian who was the first female president of Harvard University (2007–18). Gilpin grew up in Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley, where her parents raised Thoroughbred horses. She graduated from Concord (Massachusetts) Academy in 1964 and received a B.A. in

Laura Gilpin was an American photographer noted for her images of the landscape and native peoples of the American Southwest. On the advice of photographer Gertrude Käsebier, Gilpin went to New York City in 1916 to study at the Clarence H. White School of Photography (1916–18). In her early work

Sir Uvedale Price, 1st Baronet: …designer and, with the writer-artist William Gilpin and Richard Payne Knight, one of the chief aestheticians of the Picturesque movement in landscaping.

insect: Ecological factors: …the early 1940s the European spruce sawfly (Gilpinia hercyniae), which had caused immense damage, was completely controlled by the spontaneous appearance of a viral disease, perhaps unknowingly introduced from Europe. This event led to increased interest in using insect diseases as potential means of managing pest populations.

Étienne Gilson was a French Christian philosopher and historian of medieval thought, one of the most eminent international scholars of the 20th century. Gilson was born into a Roman Catholic family and owed his early education to Catholic schools in Paris. He began the study of philosophy in 1902

Étienne Gilson was a French Christian philosopher and historian of medieval thought, one of the most eminent international scholars of the 20th century. Gilson was born into a Roman Catholic family and owed his early education to Catholic schools in Paris. He began the study of philosophy in 1902

asphalt: Gilsonite, wurzilite, and similar vein asphalts have special uses in heat-resistant enamels; they are hard and are mined like coal. Petroleum asphalt is produced in all consistencies from light road oils to heavy, high-viscosity industrial types.

Nivkh, east Siberian people who live in the region of the Amur River estuary and on nearby Sakhalin Island. They numbered about 4,600 in the late 20th century. Most speak Russian, though about 10 percent still speak Nivkh, a Paleo-Siberian language unaffiliated apparently with any other language.

Nivkh language, isolated language with two main dialects spoken by some 400 Nivkh, roughly 10 percent of the ethnic group. The Nivkh live on Sakhalin Island and along the estuary of the Amur River in eastern Siberia. Nivkh is not known to be related to any other language, and it is usually included

Ghilzay, one of the largest of the Pashto-speaking tribes in Afghanistan, whose traditional territory extended from Ghazni and Kalat-i-Ghilzai eastward into the Indus Valley. They are reputed to be descended at least in part from the Khalaj or Khaljī Turks, who entered Afghanistan in the 10th

music therapy: Approaches in music therapy: Guided imagery and music (GIM), originally devised by American music therapist Helen Lindquist Bonny in the 1960s and early ’70s, is a music-based psychotherapeutic practice that aims to integrate emotional, mental, physical, and spiritual components of well-being. During a session, the therapist guides the patient…

chronometer: …detached chronometer escapement, suspended in gimbals (a set of rings connected by bearings) poised so as to remain horizontal whatever the inclination of the ship. It is thus safeguarded from those alterations of position that slightly affect the timekeeping of even the best watches. In addition, it differs somewhat in…

inertial guidance system: A typical gimbaling inertial navigation system, such as might be used on board a missile, uses three gyroscopes and three accelerometers. The three gimbal-mounted gyroscopes establish a frame of reference for the vehicle’s roll (rotation about the axis running from the front to the rear of the…

stringed instrument: For accompaniment: …North Africa: the lute (gimbrī) is played only between verses of the story, as a descriptive comment.

Gimcheon, city, North Gyeongsang do (province), south-central South Korea. It lies about 40 miles (65 km) northwest of Daegu. During the Joseon (Yi) dynasty (1392–1910) the city was one of the most important market towns of the country. It is now a service center for the surrounding area. Gimcheon

gymel, (from Latin cantus gemellus, “twin song”), medieval musical style of two-part polyphonic composition, possibly of popular origin, in which the voices move mainly in consecutive intervals of a third or a sixth. Crossing of parts is a common characteristic. Although gymel compositions have

Saint Lucia: Relief and drainage: …mountains, the highest point being Mount Gimie (3,145 feet [959 metres]). Many streams flow from the mountains through fertile valleys. In the southwest are the Gros and Petit Pitons (2,619 feet [798 metres] and 2,460 feet [750 metres], respectively), two immense pyramids of rock rising sharply from the sea and…

gin: …cocktails as the martini and gimlet and such long drinks as the Tom Collins and the gin and tonic.

hand tool: Drilling and boring tools: Drills, gimlets, and augers, however, have cutting edges that detach material to leave a hole. A drilled hole is ordinarily small and usually made in metal; a bored hole is large and in wood or, if in metal, is usually made by enlarging a small hole.…

Jim Jarmusch: …the Stooges in the documentary Gimme Danger (2016). That year he also wrote and directed Paterson, which presents a week in the life of a bus driver (Adam Driver). The contemplative dramedy received widespread acclaim. Jarmusch then offered his wry take on the zombie movie genre with The Dead Don’t…

George Lucas: Early life and work: …a portion of the documentary Gimme Shelter (1970), about the violent Rolling Stones concert at the 1969 Altamont Festival, for Albert and David Maysles and Charlotte Zwerin.

Gimpel the Fool, short story by Isaac Bashevis Singer, published in 1945 in Yiddish as “Gimpl tam.” A translation by Saul Bellow published in Partisan Review in 1953 introduced a large audience of English-speaking readers to Singer’s fiction. The story was later published in Singer’s collection

art market: Paris: …father-and-son partnership of Ernest and René Gimpel, and Jacques Seligmann. For Wildenstein and the Gimpels, the core business was initially in 18th-century French fine art, though both firms (which sustained a partnership, E. Gimpel and Wildenstein, in New York from 1902 to 1919) later became important purveyors of Impressionist works.…

Gimpel the Fool, short story by Isaac Bashevis Singer, published in 1945 in Yiddish as “Gimpl tam.” A translation by Saul Bellow published in Partisan Review in 1953 introduced a large audience of English-speaking readers to Singer’s fiction. The story was later published in Singer’s collection

Mersenne prime: The Great Internet Mersenne Prime Search (GIMPS) in particular has enlisted more than 150,000 volunteers, who have downloaded special software to run on their personal computers. An added inducement for searching for large primes comes from the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), which established prizes for the…

Ernest Gimson was an English designer of furniture, one of the Cotswold school of designers who sought to combine the traditions of rural craftsmanship with the theories and practice of William Morris. From 1902 Gimson worked at Daneway House, Sapperton, Gloucestershire, where he was intermittently

gin, flavoured, distilled, colourless to pale yellow liquor made from purified spirits usually obtained from a grain mash and having the juniper berry as its principal flavouring ingredient. It includes both the malty-flavoured and full-bodied Netherlands types and the drier types, characterized by

measurement system: The Babylonians: …units; 300 qa equaled 60 gin or 1 gur. The gur represented a volume of almost 303 litres (80 U.S. gallons).

United Kingdom: Domestic reforms: The Gin Act of 1751 was designed to reduce consumption of raw spirits, regarded by contemporaries as one of the main causes of crime in London. In 1752 Britain’s calendar was brought into conformity with that used in continental Europe. Throughout the continent, the calendar reformed…

gin: …the Tom Collins and the gin and tonic.

The Gin Game, two-act play by American dramatist D.L. Coburn, produced in 1976. It was Coburn’s first play, and it won the Pulitzer Prize for drama in 1978, the year it was published. The Gin Game centres on the lives of two lonely residents of a retirement home. While playing a series of gin rummy

speakeasy, place where alcoholic beverages are illegally sold, especially such establishments in the United States during Prohibition (1920–33). In more recent years the term has also applied to legal bars that are modeled on historical speakeasies. According to some accounts, the word speakeasy

gin: …in William Hogarth’s engraving “Gin Lane.”

gin rummy, card game of the rummy family that became an American fad in the 1940s. Two play, using a 52-card deck; each player is dealt 10 cards facedown, one at a time, beginning with the nondealer. The remainder of the deck, placed facedown, forms the stock, the top card of which is turned up

cotton gin, machine for cleaning cotton of its seeds, invented in the United States by Eli Whitney in 1793. The cotton gin is an example of an invention directly called forth by an immediate demand; the mechanization of spinning in England had created a greatly expanded market for American cotton,

Jan Kasprowicz: Ginącemu światu (1901; “To a Dying World”) is a cycle of poems that expresses his concern with humanity’s sufferings and metaphysical longings. The cycle used techniques that anticipate the early poetry of T.S. Eliot: free verse, quotations, and a style that progresses by associations, rather…

Alberto Ginastera was a leading 20th-century Latin-American composer, known for his use of local and national musical idioms in his compositions. Ginastera was musically talented as a child and studied in Buenos Aires at the Conservatorio Williams and the National Conservatory. He received a

Alberto Ginastera was a leading 20th-century Latin-American composer, known for his use of local and national musical idioms in his compositions. Ginastera was musically talented as a child and studied in Buenos Aires at the Conservatorio Williams and the National Conservatory. He received a

Francisco Giner de Los Ríos was a Spanish philosopher, literary critic, and educator who became the most influential exponent of krausismo, a liberal educational and philosophical movement prominent in Spain during the 19th century, emphasizing the development of the individual and based on the

Giacomo Leopardi: …among other works, he wrote Ginestra (1836), a long poem included in Ranieri’s posthumous collection of his works (1845). The death that he had long regarded as the only liberation came to him suddenly in a cholera epidemic in Naples.

Genève, canton, southwestern Switzerland. The canton lies between the Jura Mountains and the Alps and consists mainly of its capital, the city of Geneva (Genève). It is one of the smallest cantons in the Swiss Confederation. Bordering on Vaud canton for 3.5 miles (5.5 km) in the extreme north, it

Geneva, city, capital of Genève canton, in the far southwestern corner of Switzerland that juts into France. One of Europe’s most cosmopolitan cities, Geneva has served as a model for republican government and owes its preeminence to the triumph of human, rather than geographic, factors. It

Nzinga was the queen of the Mbundu kingdoms of Ndongo and Matamba during the 17th century in what is now Angola in sub-Saharan Africa. Nzinga was a skillful politician, variously allying with local groups—particularly the Imbangala—and European powers to maintain and improve her position as queen

Jinji, site of an almost inaccessible fortress constructed by the Hindu rulers of the Vijayanagar empire (c. 1347–1642). It is located about 80 miles (130 km) southwest of Chennai (Madras) in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. In 1638 the fortress was captured from the Maratha chief Shahji by the

ginger, (Zingiber officinale), herbaceous perennial plant of the family Zingiberaceae, probably native to southeastern Asia, or its pungent aromatic rhizome (underground stem) used as a spice, flavoring, food, and medicine. Ginger’s generic name, Zingiber, is derived from the Greek zingiberis,

Elle Fanning: 20th Century Women, The Neon Demon, and Mary Shelley: …in the 1960s-set coming-of-age film Ginger & Rosa. Her next major role came two years later in Disney’s Maleficent, a retelling of the “Sleeping Beauty” fairy tale, in which she played the princess Aurora opposite Angelina Jolie’s performance as the titular villain. In 2015 Fanning portrayed Ray, a teen transitioning…

ginger ale, a sweetened carbonated beverage of which the predominating flavour and pleasant warmth are derived mainly from the underground stem, or rhizome, of ginger Zingiber officinale. Though originally carbonated by fermentation, modern ginger ales are artificially saturated with carbon dioxide

Federico Fellini: Mature years of Federico Fellini: …On), Ginger e Fred (1985; Ginger and Fred), Intervista (1987; “Interview”), and La voce della luna (1990; The Voice of the Moon), his last feature film. Unified only by his flair for the fantastic, the films reflect with typically Fellinian irony on a variety of postmodern topics: the role of…