15-letter words containing a, c, p, s, u
- sauce espagnole — brown sauce.
- sb's cup of tea — If you say that someone or something is not your cup of tea, you mean that they are not the kind of person or thing that you like.
- sb's trump card — Your trump card is something powerful that you can use or do, which gives you an advantage over someone.
- scaphocephalous — of or relating to scaphocephalus
- schopenhauerian — Arthur [ahr-too r] /ˈɑr tʊər/ (Show IPA), 1788–1860, German philosopher.
- schopenhauerism — the philosophy of Schopenhauer, who taught that only the cessation of desire can solve the problems arising from the universal impulse of the will to live.
- secondary group — a group of people with whom one's contacts are detached and impersonal.
- seleucia pieria — an ancient port in Syria, on the River Orontes: the port of Antioch, of military importance during the wars between the Ptolemies and Seleucids; largely destroyed by earthquake in 526; site of present-day Samandaǧ (Turkey)
- sexual politics — the differences in the amount of power that male and female people have in a society or group
- simple fracture — a fracture in which the bone does not pierce the skin.
- snafu principle — /sna'foo prin'si-pl/ [WWII Army acronym for "Situation Normal: All Fucked Up"] "True communication is possible only between equals, because inferiors are more consistently rewarded for telling their superiors pleasant lies than for telling the truth." - a central tenet of Discordianism, often invoked by hackers to explain why authoritarian hierarchies screw up so reliably and systematically. The effect of the SNAFU principle is a progressive disconnection of decision-makers from reality. This lightly adapted version of a fable dating back to the early 1960s illustrates the phenomenon perfectly: In the beginning was the plan, and then the specification; And the plan was without form, and the specification was void. And darkness was on the faces of the implementors thereof; And they spake unto their leader, saying: "It is a crock of shit, and smells as of a sewer." And the leader took pity on them, and spoke to the project leader: "It is a crock of excrement, and none may abide the odor thereof." And the project leader spake unto his section head, saying: "It is a container of excrement, and it is very strong, such that none may abide it." The section head then hurried to his department manager, and informed him thus: "It is a vessel of fertilizer, and none may abide its strength." The department manager carried these words to his general manager, and spoke unto him saying: "It containeth that which aideth the growth of plants, and it is very strong." And so it was that the general manager rejoiced and delivered the good news unto the Vice President. "It promoteth growth, and it is very powerful." The Vice President rushed to the President's side, and joyously exclaimed: "This powerful new software product will promote the growth of the company!" And the President looked upon the product, and saw that it was very good. After the subsequent disaster, the suits protect themselves by saying "I was misinformed!", and the implementors are demoted or fired.
- spanish customs — irregular practices among a group of workers to gain increased financial allowances, reduced working hours, etc
- special feature — an article differing from the normal format and focusing on a particular topic
- special student — a student who is not seeking a degree but enrols in a course, esp to gain academic credits
- special subject — an area of knowledge in which someone specializes
- spinach-rhubarb — an Ethiopian plant, Rumex abyssinicus, of the buckwheat family, having leaves that are sometimes used as spinach and leafstalks sometimes used as rhubarb.
- splanchnopleure — the double layer formed by the association of the lower layer of the lateral plate of mesoderm with the underlying entoderm, which develops into the embryonic viscera.
- stand-up comedy — telling jokes to an audience
- static pressure — the pressure exerted by a fluid that is not moving or flowing.
- streptobacillus — any of various bacilli that form in chains.
- sub-corporation — an association of individuals, created by law or under authority of law, having a continuous existence independent of the existences of its members, and powers and liabilities distinct from those of its members. See also municipal corporation, public corporation.
- suicide attempt — bid to kill oneself
- sulphurous acid — an unstable acid produced when sulphur dioxide dissolves in water: used as a preservative for food and a bleaching agent. Formula: H2SO3
- sumatra camphor — borneol.
- superbureaucrat — an important or highly powerful bureaucrat
- superexcitation — the act of exciting.
- superficialness — being at, on, or near the surface: a superficial wound.
- superplasticity — the phenomenon, exhibited by certain metals and alloys usually at high temperatures, of stretching to extreme lengths without breaking
- superspecialist — a highly skilled specialist
- surface-ripened — (of cheese) ripened on the surface by molds or other microorganisms.
- surgical spirit — Surgical spirit is a liquid which is used to clean wounds or surgical instruments. It consists mainly of alcohol.
- the black stump — an imaginary marker of the extent of civilization (esp in the phrase beyond the black stump)
- tricuspid valve — the valve, consisting of three triangular flaps of tissue between the right auricle and ventricle of the heart, that keeps blood from flowing back into the auricle.
- turk's-cap lily — either of two lilies, Lilum martagon or L. superbum, having nodding flowers with the perianth segments rolled backward.
- ultramicroscope — an instrument that uses scattering phenomena to detect the position of objects too small to be seen by an ordinary microscope.
- ultramicroscopy — the use of the ultramicroscope.
- unapostolically — in an unapostalic manner
- uncompassionate — having or showing compassion: a compassionate person; a compassionate letter.
- uncomplaisantly — in an uncomplaisant manner
- uncompromisable — that cannot or should not be compromised
- undercompensate — to compensate or pay less than is fair, customary, or expected.
- undisciplinable — unable to be disciplined or controlled
- unix conspiracy — [ITS] According to a conspiracy theory long popular among ITS and TOPS-20 fans, Unix's growth is the result of a plot, hatched during the 1970s at Bell Labs, whose intent was to hobble AT&T's competitors by making them dependent upon a system whose future evolution was to be under AT&T's control. This would be accomplished by disseminating an operating system that is apparently inexpensive and easily portable, but also relatively unreliable and insecure (so as to require continuing upgrades from AT&T). This theory was lent a substantial impetus in 1984 by the paper referenced in the back door entry. In this view, Unix was designed to be one of the first computer viruses (see virus) - but a virus spread to computers indirectly by people and market forces, rather than directly through disks and networks. Adherents of this "Unix virus" theory like to cite the fact that the well-known quotation "Unix is snake oil" was uttered by DEC president Kenneth Olsen shortly before DEC began actively promoting its own family of Unix workstations. (Olsen now claims to have been misquoted.)
- unpeaceableness — the quality or state of being unpeaceable; quarrelsomeness
- unphilosophical — not adhering to philosophical theory or principles
- unpractisedness — the quality or state of being unpractised
- unsophisticated — not sophisticated; simple; artless.
- upperclasswoman — An upperclasswoman is a junior or senior student in a high school, college, or university.
- wallpaper music — music that is pleasant but not interesting, so people do not pay much attention to it
- white supremacy — the belief, theory, or doctrine that white people are inherently superior to people from all other racial groups, especially black people, and are therefore rightfully the dominant group in any society.