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24-letter words containing a, c, e, h

  • macintosh user interface — (operating system)   The graphical user interface used by Apple Computer's Macintosh family of personal computers, based on graphical representations of familiar office objects (sheets of paper, files, wastepaper bin, etc.) positioned on a two-dimensional "desktop" workspace. Programs and data files are represented on screen by small pictures (icons). An object is selected by moving a mouse over the real desktop which correspondingly moves the pointer on screen. When the pointer is over an icon on screen, the icon is selected by pressing the button on the mouse. A hierarchical file system is provided that lets a user "drag" a document (a file) icon into and out of a folder (directory) icon. Folders can also contain other folders and so on. To delete a document, its icon is dragged into a trash can icon. For people that are not computer enthusiasts, managing files on the Macintosh is easier than using the MS-DOS or Unix command-line interpreter. The Macintosh always displays a row of menu titles at the top of the screen. When a mouse button is pressed over a title, a pull-down menu appears below it. With the mouse button held down, the option within the menu is selected by pointing to it and then releasing the button. Unlike the IBM PC, which, prior to Microsoft Windows had no standard graphical user interface, Macintosh developers almost always conform to the Macintosh interface. As a result, users are comfortable with the interface of a new program from the start even if it takes a while to learn all the rest of it. They know there will be a row of menu options at the top of the screen, and basic tasks are always performed in the same way. Apple also keeps technical jargon down to a minimum. Although the Macintosh user interface provides consistency; it does not make up for an application program that is not designed well. Not only must the application's menus be clear and understandable, but the locations on screen that a user points to must be considered. Since the mouse is the major selecting method on a Macintosh, mouse movement should be kept to a minimum. In addition, for experienced typists, the mouse is a cumbersome substitute for well-designed keyboard commands, especially for intensive text editing.
  • magnetothermoelectricity — thermoelectricity induced or affected by a magnetic field.
  • make the acquaintance of — to come into social contact with
  • maker interchange format — (MIF) A language used to describe a FrameMaker document in a text file. MIF is used to exchange information between FrameMaker and other applications.
  • mass psychogenic illness — a condition in which a large group of people report similar physical symptoms that are traceable to psychological factors rather than environmental or physiological factors.
  • mathematical expectation — Mathematics. the product of the probability of the occurrence of an event and the value associated with the occurrence of a given event.
  • mathematical probability — the probability of an event consisting of n out of m possible equally likely occurrences, defined to be n/m
  • mean length of utterance — the mean number of morphemes produced per sentence, used especially as a measure of child language development. Abbreviation: MLU.
  • michael viii palaeologus — 1234–1282, Byzantine ruler 1259–82, first of the Palaeologus emperors.
  • nalbuphine hydrochloride — an opiate drug used as a painkiller
  • national weather service — an agency of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration that is responsible for meteorological observations, weather forecasts, storm and flood warnings, etc.
  • network attached storage — (networking, storage)   (NAS) Fixed disks, RAID arrays, and magnetic tape drives connected directly to a Storage Area Network (SAN) or other direct network connection. This is in contrast to a file server where the peripherals are connected to the network via a computer (the server).
  • neutrosophic probability — (logic)   An extended form of probability based on Neutrosophy, in which a statement is held to be t true, i indeterminate, and f false, where t, i, f are real values from the ranges T, I, F, with no restriction on T, I, F or the sum n=t+i+f.
  • new england clam chowder — a thick chowder made from clams, potatoes, onions, sometimes salt pork, and milk or cream.
  • nongonococcal urethritis — a widespread sexually transmitted infection of the urethra, caused by the parasite Chlamydia trachomatis, or the mycoplasm Ureaplasma urealyticum, characterized in males by painful urination and discharge from the penis and in females by frequent, painful urination and cervical erosion. Abbreviation: NGU.
  • north equatorial current — a westward-flowing ocean current occurring N of the equator in the Atlantic and Pacific oceans.
  • not sb's place to do sth — If you say that it is not your place to do something, you mean that it is not right or appropriate for you to do it, or that it is not your responsibility to do it.
  • on the right/wrong track — If you are on the right track, you are acting or progressing in a way that is likely to result in success. If you are on the wrong track, you are acting or progressing in a way that is likely to result in failure.
  • open system architecture — (operating system)   (OSA) A competitor to IBM's SNA.
  • optical character reader — the process or technology of reading data in printed form by a device (optical character reader) that scans and identifies characters. Abbreviation: OCR.
  • orographic precipitation — precipitation caused by the lifting of moist air over a mountain barrier.
  • parallel virtual machine — (parallel, networking, tool)   (PVM) 1. A software system designed to allow a network of heterogeneous machines to be used as a single distributed parallel processor. PVM was developed by the University of Tennessee, The Oak Ridge National Laboratory and the Emory University. 2. The intermediate language used by the Gambit compiler for Scheme.
  • photomechanical transfer — a method of producing photographic prints or offset printing plates from paper negatives by a chemical transfer process rather than by exposure to light
  • phrase-structure grammar — a grammar that consists of phrase-structure rules.
  • physiological atmosphere — ecosphere.
  • pluck sth out of the air — If you say that someone plucks a figure, name, or date out of the air, you mean that they say it without thinking much about it before they speak.
  • polychlorinated biphenyl — PCB.
  • portable scheme debugger — (PSD) A package for source code debugging of R4RS-compliant Scheme under GNU Emacs by Kellom ?ki Pertti <[email protected]>. Version 1.1. Distributed under GNU GPL. It works with scm, Elk and Scheme->C.
  • private health insurance — insurance against the need for medical treatment as a private patient
  • private-key cryptography — (cryptography)   As opposed to public-key cryptography, a cryptographic method in which the same key is used to encrypt and decrypt the message. Private-key algorithms include the obsolescent Data Encryption Standard (DES), triple-DES (3DES), the Advanced Encryption Standard (AES), also known as Rijndael, Blowfish, Twofish RC2, RC4, RC5 and RC6. A problem with private-key cryptography is that the sender and the recipient of the message must agree on a common key via some alternative secure channel.
  • psychopathic personality — an antisocial personality characterized by the failure to develop any sense of moral responsibility and the capability of performing violent or antisocial acts
  • punch above one's weight — to do something that is considered to be beyond one's ability
  • quadrature of the circle — the insoluble problem of constructing, by the methods of Euclidean geometry, a square equal in area to a given circle.
  • quantitative inheritance — the process in which the additive action of numerous genes results in a trait, as height, showing continuous variability.
  • quinacrine hydrochloride — Atabrine
  • recharge one's batteries — If you recharge a battery, you put an electrical charge back into the battery by connecting it to a machine that draws power from another source of electricity.
  • regular checking account — a checking account for which the monthly fee is usually based on the average balance maintained and the number of transactions recorded.
  • remote method invocation — (programming)   (RMI) Part of the Java programming language library which enables a Java program running on one computer to access the objects and methods of another Java program running on a different computer.
  • republic of south africa — Republic of, a country in S Africa; member of the Commonwealth of Nations until 1961. 472,000 sq. mi. (1,222,480 sq. km). Capitals: Pretoria and Cape Town.
  • research and development — the part of a commercial company's activity concerned with applying the results of scientific research to develop new products and improve existing ones
  • revolving charge account — a charge plan offerring revolving credit.
  • ricardian theory of rent — economic rent.
  • richard the lion-hearted — ("Richard the Lion-Hearted"; "Richard Coeur de Lion") 1157–99, king of England 1189–99.
  • ring down the curtain on — to give forth a clear resonant sound, as a bell when struck: The doorbell rang twice.
  • rock back on one's heels — to astonish or be astonished
  • rocky mountain whitefish — mountain whitefish.
  • scalable vector graphics — (graphics, web)   A W3C standard for vector graphics, based on XML.
  • schizoaffective disorder — a psychotic disorder in which symptoms of schizophrenia and affective disorder occur simultaneously.
  • scholastic aptitude test — a standard assessment test for entry into college in the United States
  • second earl of shelburne — William Petty Fitzmaurice, 2nd Earl of, 1st Marquess of Lansdowne, William Petty Fizmaurice Lansdowne.
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