15-letter words containing a, c, r, u, l
- quasi-spherical — having the form of a sphere; globular.
- quasihistorical — of, pertaining to, treating, or characteristic of history or past events: historical records; historical research.
- quiche lorraine — a quiche containing bits of bacon or ham and often cheese.
- rape of lucrece — a narrative poem (1594) by Shakespeare.
- rat-tail cactus — a cactus, Aporocactus flagelliformis, of Mexico, having slim, cylindrical stems that are easily trained into strange designs, and crimson flowers.
- reconceptualize — to form into a concept; make a concept of.
- reconstitutable — to constitute again; reconstruct; recompose.
- recontextualize — to contextualize (something) again
- reduplicatively — in a reduplicative manner
- refugee capital — money from abroad invested, esp for a short term, in the country offering the highest interest rate
- relative clause — a subordinate clause introduced by a relative pronoun, adjective, or adverb, either expressed or deleted, especially such a clause modifying an antecedent, as who saw you in He's the man who saw you or (that) I wrote in Here's the letter (that) I wrote.
- renal corpuscle — Malpighian body (sense 2)
- reported clause — A reported clause is a subordinate clause that indicates what someone said or thought. For example, in 'She said that she was hungry', 'she was hungry' is a reported clause.
- requalification — a quality, accomplishment, etc., that fits a person for some function, office, or the like.
- residual income — the remaining income (of a business or person) after necessary debts, expenses, etc, have been paid
- ritualistically — adherence to or insistence on ritual.
- rocket launcher — a tube attached to a weapon for the launching of rockets.
- royal enclosure — at the Royal Ascot horse-race meeting, an area of Ascot racecourse which is reserved for the Royal Family, members, and their guests
- rubbing alcohol — a poisonous solution of about 70 percent isopropyl or denatured ethyl alcohol, usually containing a perfume oil, used chiefly in massaging.
- rural sociology — the sociological study of life in rural areas and the effects of ruralization.
- russell's attic — (mathematics) An imaginary room containing countably many pairs of shoes (i.e. a pair for each natural number), and countably many pairs of socks. How many shoes are there? Answer: countably many (map the left shoes to even numbers and the right shoes to odd numbers, say). How many socks are there? Also countably many, we want to say, but we can't prove it without the Axiom of Choice, because in each pair, the socks are indistinguishable (there's no such thing as a left sock). Although for any single pair it is easy to select one, we cannot specify a general method for doing this.
- rusty blackbird — a North American blackbird, Euphagus carolinus, the male of which has plumage that is uniformly bluish-black in the spring and rusty-edged in the fall.
- sale of produce — the selling of something that is produced, esp agricultural products
- samuel prescott — Samuel, 1751–77, U.S. patriot during the American Revolution: rode with Paul Revere and William Dawes to warn Colonists that British troops were marching from Boston, April 18, 1775.
- scaling circuit — an electronic device or circuit that aggregates electric pulses and gives a single output pulse for a predetermined number of input pulses
- schola cantorum — an ecclesiastical choir or choir school.
- sclerodermatous — Zoology. covered with a hardened tissue, as scales.
- 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)
- self-caricature — a picture, description, etc., ludicrously exaggerating the peculiarities or defects of persons or things: His caricature of the mayor in this morning's paper is the best he's ever drawn.
- semi-articulate — uttered clearly in distinct syllables.
- semitranslucent — imperfectly or almost translucent.
- shoulder charge — an instance of a player charging into another so that there is contact between their shoulders (permissible in some circumstances)
- silviculturally — with reference to silviculture
- simple fracture — a fracture in which the bone does not pierce the skin.
- sled cultivator — go-devil (def 5).
- 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.
- social security — (usually initial capital letters) a program of old-age, unemployment, health, disability, and survivors insurance maintained by the U.S. federal government through compulsory payments by specific employer and employee groups.
- socioculturally — from a sociocultural point of view
- sodium chlorate — a colorless, water-soluble solid, NaClO 3 , cool and salty to the taste, used chiefly in the manufacture of explosives and matches, as a textile mordant, and as an oxidizing and bleaching agent.
- source language — the language in which a text appears that is to be translated into another language. Compare target language (def 1).
- source material — original, authoritative, or basic materials utilized in research, as diaries or manuscripts.
- special feature — an article differing from the normal format and focusing on a particular topic
- 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.
- standard clause — a clause which is inserted as standard into certain types of contracts or agreements
- streptobacillus — any of various bacilli that form in chains.
- structural gene — cistron.
- structural iron — iron shaped for use in construction.
- subsidiary cell — Immunology. any of various cells of the immune system that work with T or B cells to initiate a specific immune response.
- sulphurous acid — an unstable acid produced when sulphur dioxide dissolves in water: used as a preservative for food and a bleaching agent. Formula: H2SO3
- superficialness — being at, on, or near the surface: a superficial wound.