24-letter words containing a, b, o, h
- second earl of shelburne — William Petty Fitzmaurice, 2nd Earl of, 1st Marquess of Lansdowne, William Petty Fizmaurice Lansdowne.
- skeleton in the cupboard — a scandalous fact or event in the past that is kept secret
- southern cornstalk borer — the larva of a grass moth, Diatraea crambidoides, occurring in the southeastern U.S. from Maryland to Georgia, that is sometimes a serious pest, especially of corn.
- stab someone in the back — If you say that someone has stabbed you in the back, you mean that they have done something very harmful to you when you thought that you could trust them. You can refer to an action of this kind as a stab in the back.
- standard housing benefit — a rebate of a proportion of a person's eligible housing costs paid by a local authority and calculated on the basis of level of income and family size
- sth bodes ill/augurs ill — If something bodes ill or augurs ill, it gives you a reason to fear that something harmful might happen soon.
- the realm of possibility — If you say that something is not beyond the realms of possibility, you mean that it is possible.
- the red badge of courage — a novel (1895) by Stephen Crane.
- thompson sub-machine-gun — a .45 calibre sub-machine-gun
- throw one's weight about — to act in an authoritarian or aggressive manner
- to be in black and white — of an image, only using shades of black, white, and grey
- to blow away the cobwebs — If something blows or clears away the cobwebs, it makes you feel more mentally alert and lively when you had previously been feeling tired.
- to break someone's heart — If someone breaks your heart, they make you very sad and unhappy, usually because they end a love affair or close relationship with you.
- to break the back of sth — If you break the back of a task or problem, you do the most difficult part of what is necessary to complete the task or solve the problem.
- to change for the better — If something changes for the better, it improves.
- to fight a losing battle — If you are fighting a losing battle, you are trying to achieve something but are not going to be successful.
- to go for the brass ring — to try to succeed in an area where there is a lot of competition
- to have seen better days — If you say that something has seen better days, you mean that it is old and in poor condition.
- to have to hand it to sb — You say things such as 'You have to hand it to her' or 'You've got to hand it to them' when you admire someone for their skills or achievements and you think they deserve a lot of praise.
- to jump on the bandwagon — If someone, especially a politician, jumps or climbs on the bandwagon, they become involved in an activity or movement because it is fashionable or likely to succeed and not because they are really interested in it.
- to keep something at bay — If you keep something or someone at bay, or hold them at bay, you prevent them from reaching, attacking, or affecting you.
- to make boundary changes — to change the boundaries of parliamentary constituencies, because of population shifts
- to strike a blow for sth — If you strike a blow for a particular cause or principle, you do something that supports it or makes it more likely to succeed.
- under the sway of sb/sth — If you are under the sway of someone or something, they have great influence over you.
- variable pitch propeller — a propeller in which the angle of the blades with regard to air flow can be adjusted while it is in operation
- webster-ashburton treaty — U.S. History. an agreement between the U.S. and England (1842) defining the boundary between British and American territory from Maine to present-day Minnesota.
- when the balloon goes up — when the trouble or action begins
- which way the wind blows — air in natural motion, as that moving horizontally at any velocity along the earth's surface: A gentle wind blew through the valley. High winds were forecast.