22-letter words containing a, b, e
- satisfiability problem — A problem used as an example in complexity theory. It can be stated thus: Given a Boolean expression E, decide if there is some assignment to the variables in E such that E is true. A Boolean expression is composed of Boolean variables, (logical) negation (NOT), (logical) conjunction (AND) and parentheses for grouping. The satisfiability problem was the first problem to be proved to be NP-complete (by Cook).
- sb can whistle for sth — If you say that someone can whistle for a particular thing, you mean that you are not willing or able to give it to them.
- scalable sampling rate — (compression, standard, algorithm) (SSR) See, e.g., MPEG-4 AAC SSR.
- scissors-and-paste job — if you describe a piece of work as a scissors and paste job, you mean that it has been mechanically compiled, as if by simply cutting and pasting different parts to make a new whole
- search the fucking web — (web, jargon) (Always abbreviated STFW) A response implying that an inquirer could have easily found an answer to his question using Google or some other web search engine. It is now often quicker and more productive to search the World-Wide Web than to RTFM.
- second-hand bookseller — a person who has a second-hand bookshop
- secretary to the board — the secretary to the board of directors; company secretary
- shaken but not stirred — If you say that someone has been shaken but not stirred by an experience, you mean that they have been slightly disturbed or emotionally affected by it, but not deeply enough to change their behaviour or way of thinking.
- simultaneous broadcast — a programme, etc, broadcast simultaneously on radio and television
- sir william blackstone — Sir William, 1723–80, English jurist and writer on law.
- sixteen bit organisers — (communications) (SIBO) Psion's family of PDAs running EPOC, including the MC200, MC400, Series 3 (1991-1998), Series 3a, Series 3c, Series 3mx, Siena, Workabout and Workabout mx.
- small business edition — Microsoft Office Small Business Edition
- social security number — A Social Security number is a nine digit number that is given to U.S. citizens and to people living in the U.S. You need it to get a job, collect Social Security benefits and receive some government services.
- softening of the brain — a softening of the cerebrum, caused by impairment of the blood supply; encephalomalacia.
- south african republic — former name of Transvaal.
- southern redbelly dace — any of the small, brightly colored North American freshwater cyprinids, especially Phoxinus oreas (northern redbelly dace) and P. erythrogaster (southern redbelly dace)
- spontaneous combustion — the ignition of a substance or body from the rapid oxidation of its own constituents without heat from any external source.
- start the ball rolling — to open or initiate (an action, discussion, movement, etc)
- subjective probability — a measure or estimate of the degree of confidence one may have in the occurrence of an event, defined by subjective criteria
- subliminal advertising — a form of advertising on film or television that employs subliminal images to influence the viewer unconsciously
- subornation of perjury — the offense of bribing or otherwise persuading another to commit perjury.
- substantive agreements — collective agreements that regulate jobs, pay, and conditions
- take a fancy to sb/sth — If you take a fancy to someone or something, you start liking them, usually for no understandable reason.
- take one's breath away — the air inhaled and exhaled in respiration.
- take/tickle sb's fancy — If something takes your fancy or tickles your fancy, you like it a lot when you see it or think of it.
- tapered roller bearing — a rolling bearing that uses tapered rollers running in coned races and is able to accept axial thrust as well as providing shaft location
- tear sb limb from limb — If someone threatens to tear you limb from limb, they mean that they are extremely angry with you, and may use violence against you.
- temporal lobe epilepsy — a type of seizure disorder produced by abnormal electric discharges in the temporal lobe of the brain, characterized by the occurrence of any of a variety of auras followed by a brief loss of consciousness with accompanying repetitive, automatic movements.
- temporal-lobe epilepsy — a type of seizure disorder produced by abnormal electric discharges in the temporal lobe of the brain, characterized by the occurrence of any of a variety of auras followed by a brief loss of consciousness with accompanying repetitive, automatic movements.
- ten-spined stickleback — a small teleost fish, Gasterosteus pungitius, of the family Gasterosteidae, of rivers and coastal regions, having ten spines along the back and occurring in cold and temperate northern regions
- the brothers karamazov — a novel (1880) by Dostoevsky.
- the edinburgh festival — an arts festival held in Edinburgh in August
- the end of the rainbow — If you say that something is at the end of the rainbow, you mean that people want it but it is almost impossible to obtain or achieve.
- the golden gate bridge — a bridge crossing the strait between the Pacific and San Francisco Bay, with a central span of 1280 m (4200 ft)
- the sb/sth before last — You use expressions such as the night before last, the election before last and the leader before last to refer to the period of time, event, or person that came immediately before the most recent one in a series.
- three-wattled bellbird — any of several birds having a loud bell-like cry, especially Anthornis melanura, a honey eater of New Zealand, and Procnias tricarunculata (three-wattled bellbird) of Central America.
- threespine stickleback — a widely distributed stickleback, Gasterosteus aculeatus, occurring in marine, brackish, or fresh waters throughout the northern hemisphere.
- tip the scales/balance — If something tips the scales or tips the balance, it gives someone a slight advantage.
- to be a one-way street — if you describe an agreement or a relationship as a one-way street, you mean that only one of the sides in the agreement or relationship is offering something or is benefitting from it
- to be knocked sideways — If you are knocked sideways by something, it makes you feel very surprised, confused, or upset.
- to be on the safe side — If you say you are doing something to be on the safe side, you mean that you are doing it in case something undesirable happens, even though this may be unnecessary.
- to be taken for a ride — If you say that someone has been taken for a ride, you mean that they have been deceived or cheated.
- to beat about the bush — If you tell someone not to beat about the bush, you mean that you want them to tell you something immediately and quickly, rather than in a complicated, indirect way.
- to bend over backwards — If you say that someone is bending over backwards to be helpful or kind, you are emphasizing that they are trying very hard to be helpful or kind.
- to fall by the wayside — If a person or plan falls by the wayside, they fail or stop before they complete what they set out to do.
- to fall to bits/pieces — To fall to pieces, or in British English to fall to bits, means the same as to fall apart.
- to get/be carried away — If you get carried away or are carried away, you are so eager or excited about something that you do something hasty or foolish.
- torpedo-boat destroyer — a vessel somewhat larger than the ordinary torpedo boat, designed for destroying torpedo boats or as a more powerful form of torpedo boat.
- trans-siberian railway — a railway in S Russia, extending from Moscow to Vladivostok on the Pacific: constructed between 1891 and 1916, making possible the settlement and industrialization of sparsely inhabited regions. Length: 9335 km (5800 miles)
- unreasonable behaviour — conduct by a spouse sufficient to cause the irretrievable breakdown of a marriage