27-letter words containing a, d, r, o, i, t
- far be it from me to do sth — You say far be it from me to disagree, or far be it from me to criticize, when you are disagreeing or criticizing and you want to appear less hostile.
- first law of thermodynamics — any of three principles variously stated in equivalent forms, being the principle that the change of energy of a thermodynamic system is equal to the heat transferred minus the work done (first law of thermodynamics) the principle that no cyclic process is possible in which heat is absorbed from a reservoir at a single temperature and converted completely into mechanical work (second law of thermodynamics) and the principle that it is impossible to reduce the temperature of a system to absolute zero in a finite number of operations (third law of thermodynamics)
- german short-haired pointer — one of a German breed of large sporting dogs having a short hard coat, usually liver or liver and white in color, and a docked tail, used as a versatile hunting dog.
- hashemite kingdom of jordan — official name of Jordan.
- health and safety inspector — a person who inspects workplaces, to check that they do not pose dangers to workers
- hoist with one's own petard — being the victim of one's own schemes
- in an ideal/a perfect world — You can use in an ideal world or in a perfect world when you are talking about things that you would like to happen, although you realize that they are not likely to happen.
- indefinite relative pronoun — a relative pronoun without an antecedent, as whoever in They gave tickets to whoever wanted them.
- insulin resistance syndrome — Pathology. a group of medical conditions present simultaneously in a patient, as high blood pressure, low HDL cholesterol levels, and an excess of abdominal fat, that increases a person's risk of heart disease, stroke, and diabetes. Also called insulin resistance syndrome.
- interim standard atmosphere — an agreed theoretical description of the atmosphere for altitudes between 50 and 80 km, pending refinement by further measurements
- international monetary fund — an international organization that promotes the stabilization of the world's currencies and maintains a monetary pool from which member nations can draw in order to correct a deficit in their balance of payments: a specialized agency of the United Nations. Abbreviation: IMF, I.M.F.
- international radio silence — a radio silence observed on vessels at sea for two three-minute periods each hour to permit distress signals to be heard.
- internet architecture board — (IAB) The technical body that oversees the development of the Internet suite of protocols. It has two task forces: the Internet Engineering Task Force and the Internet Research Task Force. "IAB" previously stood for Internet Activities Board.
- internet foundation classes — (language, library, programming, standard) (IFC) A library of classes used in the creation of Java applets with GUIs. Created by Netscape, the Internet Foundation Classes provide GUI elements, as well as classes for Applications Services, Security, Messaging, and Distributed Objects. The IFC code, which is exclusively Java, is layered on top of the Java Abstract Windowing Toolkit (AWT), thus preserving platform independence. The AWT and IFC collectively form the Java Foundation Classes, which provide a standardised framework for developing powerful Java applications.
- introgressive-hybridization — the introduction of genes from one species into the gene pool of another species, occurring when matings between the two produce fertile hybrids.
- isonicotinic acid hydrazide — isoniazid.
- joint and several guarantee — a legal guarantee undertaken by multiple people in which any one guarantor can be held fully responsible for repaying the whole of the debt despite each guarantor only being partially responsible for that debt
- joint and several liability — legal responsibility for the whole of a debt for which you are only partially responsible
- linux documentation project — (project) (LDP) A team of volunteers developing documentation for the Linux operating system. The LDP aims to handle all of the issues of Linux documentation, ranging from on-line documentation to printed manuals, covering topics such as installing, using, and running Linux. The LDP has no central organisation; anyone can join in.
- little-lord-fauntleroy-suit — (italics) a children's novel (1886) by Frances H. Burnett.
- magnetostrictive delay line — (storage, history) An early storage device that used tensioned wires of nickel alloy carrying longitudinal waves produced and detected electromagnetically. They had better storage behaviour than mercury delay lines.
- mechanically recovered meat — an amalgamation of the gristle, cartilage, and fat removed from animal carcasses, sometimes used in the manufacture of meat products such as sausages and hamburgers
- memorandum of understanding — a document that describes the general principles of an agreement between parties, but does not amount to a substantive contract
- metallic wood-boring beetle — any of numerous metallic green, blue, copper, or black beetles of the family Buprestidae, the larvae of which bore into the wood of trees.
- military-industrial complex — a network of a nation's military force together with all of the industries that support it.
- monoamine oxidase inhibitor — any of various substances, as isocarboxazid and phenelzine, that block enzymatic breakdown of certain monoamine neurotransmitters: used to treat severe depression. Abbreviation: MAOI.
- multiple document interface — (programming) (MDI) The ability of an application program to show windows giving views of more than one document at a time. The opposite is Single Document Interface (SDI).
- network address translation — (networking) (NAT, or Network Address Translator, Virtual LAN) A technique in which a router or firewall rewrites the source and/or destination Internet addresses in a packet as it passes through, typically to allow multiple hosts to connect to the Internet via a single external IP address. NAT keeps track of outbound connections and distributes incoming packets to the correct machine. NAT is an alternative to adopting IPv6 (IPng). It allows the same IP addresses (10.x.x.x is the conventional range) to be used on many private local networks while requiring only one of the increasingly scarce public addresses to be allocated to each private network. NAT does not however allow an external service to initiate a TCP connection to an internal host, nor does it support stateless protocols based on UDP well unless the router software has extensions to support each specific protocol.
- network definition language — (NDL) The language used to program the DCP (Data Communications Processor) on Burroughs Large System. Version: NDL II.
- object relational modelling — object relational mapping
- object-oriented programming — (programming) (OOP) The use of a class of programming languages and techniques based on the concept of an "object" which is a data structure (abstract data type) encapsulated with a set of routines, called "methods", which operate on the data. Operations on the data can only be performed via these methods, which are common to all objects that are instances of a particular "class". Thus the interface to objects is well defined, and allows the code implementing the methods to be changed so long as the interface remains the same. Each class is a separate module and has a position in a "class hierarchy". Methods or code in one class can be passed down the hierarchy to a subclass or inherited from a superclass. This is called "inheritance". A procedure call is described as invoking a method on an object (which effectively becomes the procedure's first argument), and may optionally include other arguments. The method name is looked up in the object's class to find out how to perform that operation on the given object. If the method is not defined for the object's class, it is looked for in its superclass and so on up the class hierarchy until it is found or there is no higher superclass. OOP started with SIMULA-67 around 1970 and became all-pervasive with the advent of C++, and later Java. Another popular object-oriented programming language (OOPL) is Smalltalk, a seminal example from Xerox's Palo Alto Research Center (PARC). Others include Ada, Object Pascal, Objective C, DRAGOON, BETA, Emerald, POOL, Eiffel, Self, Oblog, ESP, LOOPS, POLKA, and Python. Other languages, such as Perl and VB, permit, but do not enforce OOP.
- office workstations limited — (company) (OWL) A UK software company, now a subsidiary of Matsushita (Panasonic, etc.). They previously supported the Guide hypertext system but that support is now provided by US company InfoAccess. E-mail: <[email protected]>
- on the understanding (that) — If you agree to do something on the understanding that something else will be done, you do it because you have been told that the other thing will definitely be done.
- orderly marketing agreement — any of various formal arrangements by which the volume of certain imported commodities, as steel or textiles, is voluntarily reduced. Abbreviation: OMA.
- patent and trademark office — government agency
- pelvic inflammatory disease — an inflammation of the female pelvic organs, most commonly the fallopian tubes, usually as a result of bacterial infection. Abbreviation: PID.
- personal accident insurance — accident which covers personal accidents
- plain old telephone service — (communications) (POTS) The traditional voice service provided by phone companies, especially when opposed to data services. Note that the acronym POTS is sometimes expanded as "Plain Old Telephone System" in which sense it is synonymous to Public Switched Telephone Network but used somewhat derogatively.
- post-viral fatigue syndrome — Post-viral fatigue syndrome is a long-lasting illness that is thought to be caused by a virus. Its symptoms include feeling tired all the time and muscle pain.
- potassium hydrogen tartrate — a colourless or white soluble crystalline salt used in baking powders, soldering fluxes, and laxatives. Formula: KHC4H4O6
- pour oil on troubled waters — any of a large class of substances typically unctuous, viscous, combustible, liquid at ordinary temperatures, and soluble in ether or alcohol but not in water: used for anointing, perfuming, lubricating, illuminating, heating, etc.
- product liability insurance — Product liability insurance is insurance for a producer or supplier of goods against injury to third parties or loss of or damage to their property that is caused by a fault in the goods.
- public broadcasting service — a network of independent, noncommercial television stations that operate with public and government funding instead of with revenues from advertising. Abbreviation: PBS.
- public service broadcasting — publicly-funded broadcasting
- public works administration — the U.S. federal agency (1933–44) that instituted and administered projects for the construction of public works. Abbreviation: PWA, P.W.A.
- ride on someone's coattails — to have one's success dependent on that of someone else
- rise/raise sb from the dead — When Christians say that Jesus Christ rose from the dead or raised someone from the dead, they mean that Jesus came back to life after he had died, or brought a dead person back to life.
- rough endoplasmic reticulum — a network of tubular membranes within the cytoplasm of the cell, occurring either with a smooth surface (smooth endoplasmic reticulum) or studded with ribosomes (rough endoplasmic reticulum) involved in the transport of materials.
- seasonal affective disorder — recurrent winter depression characterized by oversleeping, overeating, and irritability, and relieved by the arrival of spring or by light therapy. Abbreviation: SAD.
- senile macular degeneration — a type of macular degeneration that is one of the leading causes of blindness in the elderly and in which tiny blood vessels grow into the macula of the retina, obscuring vision. Abbreviation: SMD.