25-letter words containing a, d, o, p, t
- improved mercury autocode — (language) (IMP) A version of Autocode used to program the Edinburgh Multi Access System (EMAS), one of the first operating systems written in a high-level language, apparently predating Unix. Luis Damas' Prolog interpreter in IMP for EMAS led to C-Prolog.
- in the palm of one's hand — If you have someone or something in the palm of your hand, you have control over them.
- initial microprogram load — (operating system) (IML) Loading microcode into microcode memory.
- internal field separators — (operating system) ($IFS) A predefined environment variable in the Unix Bourne shell whose default value is the three-character string containing space, tab and line feed. Any string of one or more of these characters separates the command and each of its arguments in a command line. $IFS also tells the shell's built-in read command where to split an input line when reading into multiple variables. E.g. setting IFS=: would be appropriate for reading a file with ':'-separated fields, such as /etc/passwd.
- keep an ear to the ground — If you keep or have your ear to the ground, you make sure that you find out about the things that people are doing or saying.
- lead down the garden path — a plot of ground, usually near a house, where flowers, shrubs, vegetables, fruits, or herbs are cultivated.
- limited liability company — a company which operates with limited liability
- national enterprise board — a public corporation established in 1975 to help the economy of the UK. In 1981 it merged with the National Research and Development Council to form the British Technology Group
- net positive suction head — The net positive suction head is a measure of a pump's performance.
- non-algorithmic procedure — heuristic
- nuffield teaching project — (in Britain) a complete school programme in mathematics, science, languages, etc, with suggested complementary theory and practical work
- off the top of one's head — the upper part of the body in humans, joined to the trunk by the neck, containing the brain, eyes, ears, nose, and mouth.
- open educational resource — Usually, open educational resources. a piece of content or a tool for teaching or learning, often developed online, that is made available free of charge for anyone to use, revise, adapt, or redistribute. Abbreviation: OER.
- ordinary national diploma — a vocational qualification in England and Wales and Northern Ireland. It is the highest level of the BTEC structure and is equal to A-Levels
- oxidative phosphorylation — the aerobic synthesis, coupled to electron transport, of ATP from phosphate and ADP.
- page description language — a high-level programming language for determining the output of a page printer designed to work with it, independent of the printer's internal codes. Abbreviation: PDL.
- party political broadcast — A party political broadcast is a short broadcast on radio or television made by a political party, especially before an election. It explains their views and often criticizes other political parties.
- personal flotation device — a life preserver, life jacket, or other device for keeping a person afloat in the water. Abbreviation: PFD.
- personalized number plate — a car registration plate that has the owner's initials or name on it
- play into someone's hands — a dramatic composition or piece; drama.
- poacher turned gamekeeper — someone whose occupation or behaviour is the opposite of what it previously was, such as a burglar who now advises on home security
- point-and-drool interface — (abuse) (Or "point-and-grunt interface") A parody of "point-and-shoot interface", describing a windows, icons, and mouse-based (WIMP) graphical user interface. The implication, of course, is that such an interface is only suitable for idiots. See for the rest of us, WIMP, drool-proof paper.
- point-and-grunt interface — point-and-drool interface
- polycystic ovary syndrome — a hormonal disorder in which the Graafian follicles in the ovary fail to develop completely so that they are unable to ovulate, remaining as multiple cysts that distend the ovary. The results can include reduced fertility, obesity, and hirsutism
- potassium sodium tartrate — a colorless or white, water-soluble solid, KNaC 4 H 4 O 6 ⋅4H 2 O, used in silvering mirrors, in the manufacture of Seidlitz powders and baking powder, and in medicine as a laxative.
- pressurized-water reactor — a nuclear reactor using water as coolant and moderator at a pressure that is too high to allow boiling to take place inside the reactor. The fuel is enriched uranium oxide cased in zirconium
- primary domain controller — (networking) (PDC) Each Windows NT domain has a Primary Domain Controller and zero or more Backup Domain Controllers. The PDC holds the SAM database and authenticates access requests from workstations and servers in the domain.
- primary management domain — (messaging) (PRMD) The component of an X.400 electronic mail address that gives the organisation name, usually abbreviated to p= in written addresses. See also ADMD.
- primary producing country — a country that is involved in the extraction or winning of products consisting of raw materials, as in agriculture, fishing, forestry, hunting, or mining
- profit and loss statement — A profit and loss statement is a statement that is compiled at the end of a financial year showing that year's revenue and expense items and indicating gross and net profit or loss.
- programmed data processor — (computer) (PDP) Early (1960's?) Digital Equipment Corporation family of minicomputers. The best known ranges were the PDP-10 and PDP-11. PAL was the assembly language.
- progressive federal party — a political party, formed in 1977 by a merger between the Progressive Party and members of the United Party, supporting qualified franchise for all South Africans irrespective of race, colour, or creed; merged with other parties in 1989 to form the Democratic Party
- property damage insurance — insurance against losses arising from damage to the property of others, as in a motor-vehicle accident.
- put one's head in a noose — to bring about one's own downfall
- really simple syndication — Rich Site Summary
- rehabilitation department — a government department set up after World War II to assist ex-servicemen
- saint pierre and miquelon — two small groups of islands off the S coast of Newfoundland: an overseas territory of France; important base for fishing. 3 sq. mi. (240 sq. km). Capital: St. Pierre.
- special educational needs — learning disability
- spectral band replication — (audio, compression) (SBR) Guessing the nontransmitted higher frequency range of a compressed audio file by some helper bits (transmiited with the stream) and the transmitted base band. SBR allows a restoration (not reconstruction) of the upper frequency range without lots of bits. It was developed by Coding Technology, and is useful for medium and high quality coding at low and medium data rates. It is used by Digital Radio Mondiale and MP3 Pro.
- stand in a person's light — to stand so as to obscure a person's vision
- take up the cudgels (for) — to come to the defense (of)
- the department of defense — the United States federal department concerned with national security
- thermodynamic temperature — temperature defined in terms of the laws of thermodynamics and not in terms of the properties of any real material. It is usually expressed on the Kelvin scale
- town-and-country planning — a system of government planning used to plan how land should be used, balancing economic development and environmental quality
- transcendental-philosophy — transcendental character, thought, or language.
- tribasic sodium phosphate — sodium phosphate (def 3).
- undisputed world champion — a boxer who holds the World Boxing Association, the World Boxing Council, the World Boxing Organization, and the International Boxing Federation world championship titles simultaneously
- vienna development method — (programming, specification) (VDM) A program development method based on formal specification using the Vienna Development Method Specification Language (VDM-SL).