16-letter words containing a, d, e, r, w
- hairy woodpecker — a North American woodpecker, Picoides villosus, resembling but larger than the downy woodpecker.
- hand screw clamp — a screw that can be tightened by the fingers, without the aid of a tool.
- hanging wardrobe — a wardrobe containing a rail with a large amount of space underneath, so that clothes can be hung on hangers placed onto the rail
- hard-packed snow — snow which becomes very firmly packed as it becomes refrozen due to cold weather conditions rather than melting
- have a word with — discuss
- hawaiian gardens — a town in SW California.
- hookworm disease — any of certain bloodsucking nematode worms, as Ancylostoma duodenale and Necator americanus, parasitic in the intestine of humans and other animals.
- implied warranty — a warranty not stated explicitly by the seller of merchandise or real property but presumed for reasons of commercial or legal custom (distinguished from express warranty).
- inclined railway — a cable railway used on particularly steep inclines unsuitable for normal adhesion locomotives
- indian wrestling — arm wrestling
- industrial waste — waste materials left over from a manufacturing process in industrial buildings such as factories and mines
- keep under wraps — not reveal
- kondratieff wave — a long business cycle of economic expansion and contraction, postulated to last about 60 years.
- lewis and harris — the northernmost island of the Hebrides, in NW Scotland. 825 sq. mi. (2135 sq. km).
- lord howe island — an island in the S Pacific, E of Australia: a dependency of New South Wales. 5 sq. mi. (13 sq. km).
- luck of the draw — the force that seems to operate for good or ill in a person's life, as in shaping circumstances, events, or opportunities: With my luck I'll probably get pneumonia.
- man of few words — man who speaks very little
- man of the world — a man who is widely experienced in the ways of the world and people; an urbane, sophisticated man.
- matthew flinders — Matthew, 1774–1814, English navigator and explorer: surveyed coast of Australia.
- measured daywork — a system of wage payment, usually determined by work-study techniques, whereby the wage of an employee is fixed on the understanding that a specific level of work performance will be maintained
- muddy the waters — If someone or something muddies the waters, they cause a situation or issue to seem less clear and less easy to understand.
- narrowmindedness — Alternative spelling of narrow-mindedness.
- network database — (database) A kind of database management system in which each record type can have multiple owners, e.g. orders are owned by both customers and products. This contrasts with a hierarchical database (one owner) or relational database (no explicit owner).
- new year's (day) — Jan. 1, the first day of a calendar year, usually celebrated as a legal holiday
- newry and mourne — a district of SE Northern Ireland, in Co Down. Pop: 89 644 (2003 est). Area: 909 sq km (351 sq miles)
- nightingale ward — a long hospital ward with beds on either side and the nurses' station in the middle
- nine-days wonder — something that arouses great interest, but only for a short period
- norwegian buhund — a slightly-built medium-sized dog of a breed with erect pointed ears and a short thick tail carried curled over its back
- observation ward — a ward in a hospital where patients are monitored
- on a world scale — in a way that involves the whole world
- on the downgrade — waning in importance, popularity, health, etc
- overhead railway — elevated railroad.
- pearls of wisdom — good advice, wise words
- portmanteau word — a case or bag to carry clothing in while traveling, especially a leather trunk or suitcase that opens into two halves.
- private viewdata — an interactive video text system with restricted access
- rattlesnake weed — a hawkweed, Hieracium venosum, of eastern North America, whose leaves and root are thought to possess medicinal properties.
- rear-wheel drive — a layout in motor vehicles which places the engine at the front and the driven wheels at the rear
- redbank whiteoak — a city in S Tennessee.
- rolled paperwork — a form of decoration on small objects, such as boxes, in which a design is made up of tiny rolls of paper cut crossways and laid together: popular in the 18th and 19th centuries
- second world war — World War II.
- secondary growth — an increase in the thickness of the shoots and roots of a vascular plant as a result of the formation of new cells in the cambium.
- seward peninsula — a peninsula in W Alaska, on Bering Strait.
- shakedown cruise — extortion, as by blackmail or threats of violence.
- shared ownership — (in Britain) a form of house purchase whereby the purchaser buys a proportion of the dwelling, usually from a local authority or housing association, and rents the rest
- shorthand writer — a person trained to write in shorthand
- show cause order — a court order issued to a party in a lawsuit, directing that party to appear to give reasons why a certain action should not be put into effect by the court.
- strawberry blond — reddish blond.
- swedenborgianism — of or relating to Emanuel Swedenborg, his religious doctrines, or the body of followers adhering to these doctrines and constituting the Church of the New Jerusalem, or New Church.
- teutoburger wald — a chain of wooded hills in Germany, in Westphalia: Romans defeated by German tribes a.d.
- the here and now — the present time