22-letter words containing a, b, o, l
- chromosomal aberration — any irregularity or abnormality of chromosome distribution, number, structure, or arrangement.
- colliding-beam machine — a particle accelerator in which positively and negatively charged particles circulate in opposite directions and collide head-on.
- colorado potato beetle — a black and yellow leaf beetle, Leptinotarsa decemlineata, originally of Colorado and neighboring states but now a common pest in all potato-growing regions of the U.S.
- combinatorial analysis — the branch of mathematics concerned with the theory of enumeration, or combinations and permutations, in order to solve problems about the possibility of constructing arrangements of objects which satisfy specified conditions
- combinatorial topology — the branch of topology that deals with the properties of geometric figures by considering the figures as being composed of elementary geometric figures, as points or lines.
- convertible loan stock — a stock or bond that can be converted into a stated number of shares at a particular date
- database normalisation — (database) A series of steps followed to obtain a database design that allows for efficient access and storage of data in a relational database. These steps reduce data redundancy and the chances of data becoming inconsistent. A table in a relational database is said to be in normal form if it satisfies certain constraints. Codd's original work defined three such forms but there are now five generally accepted steps of normalisation. The output of the first step is called First Normal Form (1NF), the output of the second step is Second Normal Form (2NF), etc. First Normal Form eliminates repeating groups by putting each value of a multi-valued attribute into a new row. Second Normal Form eliminates functional dependencies on a partial key by putting the fields in a separate table from those that are dependent on the whole key. Third Normal Form eliminates functional dependencies on non-key fields by putting them in a separate table. At this stage, all non-key fields are dependent on the key, the whole key and nothing but the key. Fourth Normal Form separates independent multi-valued facts stored in one table into separate tables. Fifth Normal Form breaks out data redundancy that is not covered by any of the previous normal forms.
- de broglie wave length — the postulate of wave mechanics that a particle of mass m moving at a velocity v will have the properties of a wave of wavelength h / mv (de Broglie wavelength) where h is Planck's constant.
- debt collection agency — a company that collects debts on behalf of creditors
- dishonorable discharge — the discharge of a person from military service for an offense more serious than one for which a bad-conduct discharge is given.
- disposable soma theory — the theory that ageing is caused by the body having increasingly fewer resources to allocate towards repairing wear and damage to tissues
- don't hold your breath — sth is unlikely to happen soon
- double blackwall hitch — a kind of knot
- earn one's daily bread — to earn one's living
- end transmission block — (character) (ETB) The mnemonic for ASCII character 23.
- federal maritime board — the body responsible for regulating commerce by US and international shipping in US waters
- fifth earl of rosebery — Archibald Philip Primrose [prim-rohz] /ˈprɪmˌroʊz/ (Show IPA), 5th Earl of, 1847–1929, British statesman and author: prime minister 1894–95.
- flexible-rate mortgage — adjustable-rate mortgage.
- forth modification lab — (event) (FORML) A Forth conference held every November on the West coast of the USA ().
- go for all the marbles — to take a great risk in the hope of a great gain
- happy valley-goose bay — a twin town in SE Labrador in Newfoundland, E Canada, consisting of an air base, Goose Bay, and its adjacent residential town of Happy Valley: used as a fuel stop by some transatlantic airplanes.
- have all one's buttons — a small disk, knob, or the like for sewing or otherwise attaching to an article, as of clothing, serving as a fastening when passed through a buttonhole or loop.
- hermann-mauguin symbol — a notation for indicating a particular point group.
- holy day of obligation — a day on which Roman Catholics are duty-bound to attend Mass and abstain from certain kinds of work.
- house of bernarda alba — a drama (1941) by Federico García Lorca.
- hubble space telescope — U.S. Aerospace. a 7.9-foot (2.4-meter) optical telescope designed for use in orbit around the earth.
- in all one's born days — so far in one's life
- interoperable database — A database front-end which communicates with multiple heterogenous databases and makes them appear as a single homogenous entity with semantic calls. See ODBC.
- islands of the blessed — lands where the souls of heroes and good men were taken after death
- it's london to a brick — it is certain
- keesler air force base — a U.S. Air Force installation in S Mississippi, near Biloxi.
- klebs-loffler bacillus — a bacterium, Corynebacterium diphtheriae, which causes diphtheria.
- knowledge-based system — (artificial intelligence) (KBS) A program for extending and/or querying a knowledge base. The related term expert system is normally used to refer to a highly domain-specific type of KBS used for a specialised purpose such as medical diagnosis. The Cyc project is an example of a large KBS.
- label switching router — (networking) (LSR) A device that typically resides somewhere in the middle of a network and is capable of forwarding datagrams by label switching. In many cases, especially early versions of MPLS networks, a LSR will typically be a modified ATM switch that forwards datagrams based upon a label in the VPI/VCI field.
- lady's not for burning — a verse play (1948) by Christopher Fry.
- lesser cornstalk borer — the larva of a widely distributed pyralid moth, Elasmopalpus lignosellus, that damages corn and some other crops by boring into the part of the stalk close to the soil.
- liberal democrat party — The Liberal Democrat Party is the third largest political party in Britain and the main centre party. It believes in improving the constitution and the voting system and in providing good welfare services.
- like a bat out of hell — very fast
- lower canada rebellion — an uprising of 1837, quickly crushed by the British militia, against the British colonial administration in Quebec.
- lund software house ab — (company) The company who produced Lund Simula. Address: Box 7056, S-22007 Lund, Sweden.
- make a beeline for sth — If you make a beeline for a place, you go to it as quickly and directly as possible.
- make a big deal out of — to attach extreme importance to; make a big fuss about
- make a clean breast of — Anatomy, Zoology. (in bipeds) the outer, front part of the thorax, or the front part of the body from the neck to the abdomen; chest.
- make allowances for sb — If you make allowances for someone, you accept behaviour which you would not normally accept or deal with them less severely than you would normally, because of a problem that they have.
- make one's marble good — to succeed or do the right thing
- make out like a bandit — a robber, especially a member of a gang or marauding band.
- maxwell air force base — U.S. Air Force installation in SE central Alabama, NW of Montgomery: site of U.S. Air Force Advanced School.
- motorcycle combination — a motorcycle with a sidecar attached
- mozilla public license — Open source license
- mutton dressed as lamb — If you describe a woman as mutton dressed as lamb, you are criticizing her for trying to look younger than she really is, in a way that you consider unattractive.