21-letter words containing a, e, g, n, i
- strategic air command — a U.S. Air Force command charged with intercontinental air strikes, especially nuclear attacks.
- submerged arc welding — a type of heavy electric-arc welding using mechanically fed bare wire with the arc submerged in powdered flux to keep out oxygen
- suction and curettage — a technique involving extraction of the fetus through a suction tube, used to perform abortions during the early stages of pregnancy.
- supergranulation cell — one of a number of large convection cells in the photosphere and chromosphere of the sun, each having a diameter of 10,000–20,000 miles (16,000–32,000 km) and lasting longer than a day.
- surface friction drag — the part of the drag on a body moving through a fluid that is dependent on the nature of the surface of the body
- swim against the tide — to resist prevailing opinion
- take one's finger out — stop delaying or procrastinating
- tape operating system — (operating system) (TOS) An IBM operating system for System 360, used in the early days around 1965 to support the IBM 360 model 30 et al. TOS was a predecessor to IBM's Disk Operating System. TOS died out really early as disks such as the 2311 and 2314 became common with the IBM 360 whereas thet had been a real luxury on the IBM 7090.
- teleological argument — the argument purporting to prove the existence of God from empirical facts, the premise being that the universe shows evidence of order and hence design
- television evangelist — a Christian minister who devotes time to preaching on television
- the acting profession — actors considered as a group
- the icing on the cake — If you describe something as the icing on the cake, you mean that it makes a good thing even better, but it is not essential.
- the moral high ground — If you say that someone has taken the moral high ground, you mean that they consider that their policies and actions are morally superior to the policies and actions of their rivals.
- the shipping forecast — a radio broadcast made by the BBC of weather reports and forecasts for the seas around the British Isles
- threatening behaviour — intimidation or intentional behaviour that causes another person to fear injury or harm
- three-quarter binding — a binding in which the material used for the back extends further over the covers than in half binding.
- tide-generating force — the difference between the force of gravity exerted by the moon or the sun on a particle of water in the ocean and that exerted on an equal mass of matter at the centre of the earth. The lunar tide-generating forces are about 2.2 times greater than are the solar ones
- to be arrayed against — to be opposed to
- to get into high gear — if people or an activity go into high gear, moves into high gear, etc, people do what they were doing more intensely, or the activity becomes more intense
- to have green fingers — If someone has green fingers, they are very good at gardening and their plants grow well.
- to lay something bare — If you lay something bare, you uncover it completely so that it can then be seen.
- to take the long view — If you take the long view, you consider what is likely to happen in the future over a long period, rather than thinking only about things that are going to happen soon.
- trades union congress — The Trades Union Congress in Britain is the same as the TUC.
- transport segregation — Transport segregation is when particles from a mixture separate because the mixture vibrates while it is being moved.
- traveling salesperson — a representative of a business firm who travels in an assigned territory soliciting orders for a company's services.
- tubercular meningitis — an infection of the membranes of the central nervous system caused by the bacterium Mycobacterium tuberculosis; features can include fever, headache, and coma
- undesirable discharge — a discharge under other than honorable conditions of a person from military service by administrative action.
- venus's looking glass — a purple-flowered campanulaceous plant, Legousia hybrida, of Europe, W Asia, and N Africa
- vertically challenged — short in stature.
- virginia (rail) fence — a zigzag fence made of rails laid across one another at the ends
- vladivostok agreement — a preliminary arms control accord concluded by Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev and U.S. President Gerald Ford in Vladivostok, U.S.S.R., in December 1974.
- watenstedt-salzgitter — former name of Salzgitter.
- weinberg-salam theory — electroweak theory.
- what price something? — what are the chances of something happening now?
- whip-and-tongue graft — a graft prepared by cutting both the scion and the stock in a sloping direction and inserting a tongue in the scion into a slit in the stock.
- whistling in the dark — If you say that someone is whistling in the dark, you mean that they are trying to remain brave and convince themselves that the situation is not as bad as it seems.
- xeroderma pigmentosum — a rare inherited disease characterized by sensitivity to ultraviolet light, exposure resulting in lesions and tumors of the skin and eyes.
- youth training scheme — (formerly, in Britain) a scheme, run by the Training Agency, to provide vocational training for unemployed 16–17-year-olds