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More than 5000 entries on the history, culture and life of Britain (published in 1993 by Macmillan, now out of print)
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bull terrier
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Powerful breed of short-haired dog, of any colour but often pure white, with pointed ears and small eyes in a severely chiselled head. It was probably bred soon after 1835, when bull-baiting was banned, from the bulldog and a strain of terriers including the now extinct white English terrier. The purpose was to provide a dog more agile than the bulldog, better equipped for the sport of fighting other dogs in pits. The Staffordshire bull terrier, slightly smaller and with a less stark profile, was bred for the same reasons at much the same time, from the bulldog and from a line which probably included the black-and-tan terrier.
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