17-letter words containing a, b, d
- secondary battery — storage battery.
- secondary boycott — a boycott by union members against their employer in order to induce the employer to bring pressure on another company involved in a labor dispute with the union.
- secondary rainbow — a faint rainbow formed by light rays that undergo two internal reflections in drops of rain, appearing above the primary rainbow and having its colors in the opposite order.
- self-belay device — (in climbing) a device used to pay out a safety rope as required
- shopping bag lady — bag lady (def 1).
- shopping-bag lady — bag lady (def 1).
- sinbad the sailor — a merchant in The Arabian Nights who makes seven adventurous voyages
- six-speed gearbox — a gearbox containing a system of six gears
- small waved umber — a brownish geometrid moth, Horisme vitalbata, that is cryptically marked to merge with tree bark
- sodium bichromate — a red or orange crystalline, water-soluble solid, Na 2 Cr 2 O 7 ⋅2H 2 O, used as an oxidizing agent in the manufacture of dyes and inks, as a corrosion inhibitor, a mordant, a laboratory reagent, in the tanning of leather, and in electroplating.
- sodium pyroborate — borax1 .
- sorolla y bastida — Joaquín [hwah-keen] /ʰwɑˈkin/ (Show IPA), 1863–1923, Spanish painter.
- split keyboarding — the act or practice of editing data from one terminal on another terminal
- square and rabbet — annulet (def 1).
- strawberry blonde — woman: with reddish fair hair
- stymphalian birds — a flock of predacious birds of Arcadia that were driven away and killed by Hercules as one of his labors.
- subordinated debt — a debt that an unsecured creditor can only claim, in the event of a liquidation, after the claims of secured creditors have been paid
- subsidiary ledger — (in accounting) a ledger containing a group of detailed and related accounts the total of which is summarized in the control account.
- sum and substance — main idea, gist, or point: the sum and substance of an argument.
- sunday observance — the fact of keeping Sunday as a special day when people go to church
- supervisory board — a board of management of which nonmanagerial workers are members, having supervisory powers over some aspects of management decision-making
- surrender to bail — to present oneself at court at the appointed time after having been on bail
- take to one's bed — to remain in bed, esp because of illness
- tanenbaum, andrew — Andrew Tanenbaum
- temporomandibular — of, relating to, or situated near the hinge joint formed by the lower jaw and the temporal bone of the skull.
- the last sb heard — You can use expressions such as the last I heard and the last she heard to introduce a piece of information that is the most recent that you have on a particular subject.
- the tabloid press — (considered as a whole) newspapers with pages about 30 cm (12 inches) by 40 cm (16 inches), usually characterized by an emphasis on photographs and a concise and often sensational style
- thread-legged bug — any of certain insects of the family Reduviidae, characterized by an elongated, slender body and long frail legs, the front pair of which are raptorial.
- throat sweetbread — sweetbread (def 2).
- tibetan highlands — Tibet, Plateau of.
- to best advantage — If something is shown to good advantage or to best advantage, it is shown in a way that reveals its best features.
- to read sb's mind — If you can read someone's mind, you know what they are thinking without them saying anything.
- triskaidekaphobia — fear or a phobia concerning the number 13.
- trobriand islands — a group of coral islands in the Solomon Sea, north of the E part of New Guinea: part of Papua New Guinea. Area: about 440 sq km (170 sq miles)
- turbinado (sugar) — a partially refined, granulated, pale-brown sugar obtained by washing raw sugar in a centrifuge until most of the molasses is removed
- understandability — capable of being understood; comprehensible.
- undistinguishable — to mark off as different (often followed by from or by): He was distinguished from the other boys by his height.
- unix brain damage — Something that has to be done to break a network program (typically a mailer) on a non-Unix system so that it will interoperate with Unix systems. The hack may qualify as "Unix brain damage" if the program conforms to published standards and the Unix program in question does not. Unix brain damage happens because it is much easier for other (minority) systems to change their ways to match non-conforming behaviour than it is to change all the hundreds of thousands of Unix systems out there. An example of Unix brain damage is a kluge in a mail server to recognise bare line feed (the Unix newline) as an equivalent form to the Internet standard newline, which is a carriage return followed by a line feed. Such things can make even a hardened jock weep.
- unpredictableness — not predictable; not to be foreseen or foretold: an unpredictable occurrence.
- urban development — the development or improvement of an urban area by building
- user brain damage — (humour) (UBD) A description (usually abbreviated) used to close a trouble report obviously due to utter cluelessness on the user's part. Compare pilot error; opposite: PBD; see also brain-damaged, PEBCAK.
- vibrofluidization — Vibrofluidization is when vibration is used to make particles move in a fluidized bed.
- visible radiation — electromagnetic radiation that causes the sensation of sight; light. It has wavelengths between about 380 and 780 nanometres
- voidable contract — a contract or agreement that is capable of being made of no legal effect or made void
- wardrobe mistress — a woman in charge of keeping theatrical costumes cleaned, pressed, and in wearable condition.
- wedding breakfast — meal served at wedding reception
- what does sb know — You can use expressions such as What does she know? and What do they know? when you think that someone has no right to comment on a situation because they do not understand it.
- wheatstone bridge — a circuit for measuring an unknown resistance by comparing it with known resistances.
- with bated breath — to moderate or restrain: unable to bate our enthusiasm.
- without (a) doubt — If you say that something is true without doubt or without a doubt, you are emphasizing that it is definitely true.