20-letter words containing a, b, h
- bull in a china shop — If you say that someone rushes into a situation like a bull in a china shop, you are critical of them because they do not stop to think, and are insensitive to other people's feelings.
- bureau of the census — the division of the Department of Commerce that gathers, tabulates, and correlates census statistics.
- butterfly-shell clam — coquina.
- by their own account — If you say that something concerning a particular person is true by his or her own account, you mean that you believe it because that person has said it is true.
- can do sth blindfold — If you say that you can do something blindfold, you are emphasizing that you can do it easily, for example because you have done it many times before.
- carbohydrate loading — the practice of eating high amounts of carbohydrates, sometimes after a period of low carbohydrate intake, for several days immediately before competing in an athletic event, especially a marathon, in order to store glycogen in the body, thereby providing greater reserves of energy.
- carbon tetrachloride — a colourless volatile nonflammable sparingly soluble liquid made from chlorine and carbon disulphide; tetrachloromethane. It is used as a solvent, cleaning fluid, and insecticide. Formula: CCl4
- central bedfordshire — a unitary authority of S central England. Pop: 252 100 (2007 est). Area: 712 sq km (275 sq miles)
- cerebral haemorrhage — bleeding from an artery in the brain, which in severe cases causes a stroke
- change-speed gearbox — A change-speed gearbox is a set of movable or constant gears which allows the speed ratio between input and output shafts to be changed either manually or automatically.
- chebyshev polynomial — a polynomial solution of the Tchebycheff equation, of the form T n (x) = cos(n cos −1 x), where n is an integer.
- checkbook journalism — the practice of paying for a news story or an interview, or for exclusive broadcasting or publishing rights.
- checkerboard pattern — checked pattern that looks like a draughtboard
- child-abuse register — (in Britain) a list of children deemed to be at risk of abuse or injury from their parents or guardians, compiled and held by a local authority, area health authority, or NSPCC Special Unit
- chromatic aberration — a defect in a lens system in which different wavelengths of light are focused at different distances because they are refracted through different angles. It produces a blurred image with coloured fringes
- clean bill of health — a good report of one's physical condition
- clean-bill-of-health — a certificate, carried by a ship, attesting to the presence or absence of infectious diseases among the ship's crew and at the port from which it has come.
- combination sandwich — a big sandwich with a mixed filling
- complex carbohydrate — a carbohydrate, as sucrose or starch, that consists of two or more monosaccharide units.
- computability theory — (mathematics) The area of theoretical computer science concerning what problems can be solved by any computer. A function is computable if an algorithm can be implemented which will give the correct output for any valid input. Since computer programs are countable but real numbers are not, it follows that there must exist real numbers that cannot be calculated by any program. Unfortunately, by definition, there isn't an easy way of describing any of them! In fact, there are many tasks (not just calculating real numbers) that computers cannot perform. The most well-known is the halting problem, the busy beaver problem is less famous but just as fascinating.
- curry favour with sb — If one person tries to curry favour with another, they do things in order to try to gain their support or co-operation.
- demographic timebomb — a predicted shortage of school-leavers and consequently of available workers, caused by an earlier drop in the birth rate, resulting in an older workforce
- diabetic retinopathy — a disorder of the blood vessels of the retina occurring as a complication of poorly controlled diabetes mellitus and often leading to blindness.
- diisobutyl phthalate — a clear, colorless liquid, C 14 H 26 O 4 , used chiefly as a plasticizer for nitrocellulose.
- distribution channel — trade: retailer
- double-aspect theory — a monistic theory that holds that mind and body are not distinct substances but merely different aspects of a single substance
- drive a hard bargain — be tough negotiator
- eat out of sb's hand — If you have someone eating out of your hand, they are completely under your control.
- elizabeth of hungary — Saint. 1207–31, Hungarian princess who devoted herself to charity and asceticism. Feast day: Nov 17 and 19
- fold-and-thrust belt — a linear or arcuate region of the earth's surface that has been subjected to severe folding and thrust faulting
- fontainebleau school — a group of artists, many of them Italian and Flemish, who worked on the decorations of the palace of Fontainebleau in the 16th century.
- football hooliganism — the actions or behaviour of a football hooligan
- give a wide berth to — to keep clear of; avoid
- grievous bodily harm — law: serious injury
- hildegard von bingen — Hildegard von (Hildegard of Bingen"Sibyl of the Rhine") 1098–1178, German nun, healer, writer, and composer.
- hindu-arabic numeral — Arabic numeral.
- hit the panic button — an alarm button for use in an emergency, as to summon help.
- how about something? — what is your wish, opinion, or information concerning something (or someone)?
- hudson's bay blanket — a woollen blanket with wide stripes
- hudson's bay company — a company chartered in England in 1670 to carry on fur trading with the Indians in North America.
- human parvovirus b19 — Pathology. a mild infection, most often seen in children or young adults, caused by a small virus ((the human parvovirus B19)) and marked by a blotchy rash on the cheeks, arms, and legs.
- hungarian bromegrass — a pasture grass, Bromus inermis, native to Europe, having smooth blades.
- hyperbolic cotangent — a hyperbolic function that is the ratio of cosh to sinh, being the reciprocal of tanh; coth
- in contact (with sb) — If you are in contact with someone, you regularly meet them or communicate with them.
- in the public domain — able to be discussed and examined freely by the general public
- indistinguishability — The state of being indistinguishable.
- justifiable homicide — murder committed under extenuating circumstances
- lampbrush chromosome — a chromosome with looped projections resembling a brush
- live and breathe sth — be passionately interested in sth
- magdeburg hemisphere — one of a pair of hemispherical cups from which air can be evacuated when they are placed together: used to demonstrate the force of air pressure.