22-letter words containing a, b, u, r
- nickel-cadmium battery — a storage battery, with an alkaline electrolyte, having nickel oxide as the positive element and cadmium as the negative.
- non-maskable interrupt — (NMI) An IRQ 7 on the PDP-11 or 680x0 or the NMI line on an 80x86. In contrast with a priority interrupt (which might be ignored, although that is unlikely), an NMI is *never* ignored.
- obligational authority — the necessary authority that precedes budget spending by a government agency or department, granted by Congress through appropriations.
- on a shoestring budget — with very little money to spend
- one's ears are burning — one is aware of being the topic of another's conversation
- peanut-butter sandwich — a sandwich with a filling of peanut-butter
- public domain software — public domain
- pulmonary tuberculosis — tuberculosis of the lungs.
- punctuated equilibrium — theory of, Biology. a hypothesis holding that the evolution of species proceeds in a characteristic pattern of relative stability for long periods of time interspersed with much shorter periods during which many species become extinct and new species emerge. Also called punctuationalism. Compare gradualism (def 3).
- reliable communication — (communications) Communication where messages are guaranteed to reach their destination complete and uncorrupted and in the order they were sent. This reliability can be built on top of an unreliable protocol by adding sequencing information and some kind of checksum or cyclic redundancy check to each message or packet. If the communication fails, the sender will be notified. Transmission Control Protocol is a reliable protocol used on Ethernet.
- rocky mountain bighorn — bighorn.
- round-table discussion — a discussion held at a meeting of parties or people on equal terms
- sainte anne de beaupre — a village in S Quebec, Canada, on the St. Lawrence River: shrine and basilica.
- sainte-anne-de-beaupré — village in S Quebec, Canada, on the St. Lawrence: site of a Rom. Catholic shrine (established 1658): pop. 3,000
- 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.
- 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
- 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.
- 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)
- 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
- swings and roundabouts — If you say that a situation is swings and roundabouts, you mean that there are as many gains as there are losses.
- the edinburgh festival — an arts festival held in Edinburgh in August
- to cast your mind back — If you cast your mind back to a time in the past, you think about what happened then.
- unreasonable behaviour — conduct by a spouse sufficient to cause the irretrievable breakdown of a marriage
- urban development zone — an area that is designated as being a site for urban development
- urban district council — a council of an urban district that, in conjunction with a county council, has responsibilities for local government issues
- water under the bridge — If you say that an event or incident is water under the bridge, you mean that it has happened and cannot now be changed, so there is no point in worrying about it any more.