17-letter words containing a, h, o, l
- reticulate python — a python, Python reticulatus, of southeastern Asia and the East Indies, sometimes growing to a length of 32 feet (10 meters): usually considered to be the largest snake in the world.
- revealed theology — theology based on the doctrine that all religious truth is derived exclusively from the revelations of God to humans.
- rhetorical stress — stress required by the meaning of a line, as distinguished from that required by the meter.
- rhode island bent — a European pasture grass, Agrostis tenuis, naturalized in North America, having red flower clusters.
- right-to-work law — a state law making it illegal to refuse employment to a person for the sole reason that he or she is not a union member.
- roll with a punch — to move in the same direction as a punch thrown at one so as to lessen its force
- roman catholicism — the faith, practice, and system of government of the Roman Catholic Church.
- rough-legged hawk — a large hawk, Buteo lagopus, of the Northern Hemisphere, that feeds chiefly on small rodents.
- russian wolfhound — borzoi.
- salt of the earth — an individual or group considered as representative of the best or noblest elements of society.
- san pedro channel — a strait between the mainland of SW California and Santa Catalina Island. About 20 miles (32 km) wide.
- save shoe leather — to avoid wearing out shoes, as by taking a bus rather than walking
- scarlet firethorn — a Eurasian evergreen, thorny shrub, Pyracantha coccinea, of the rose family, having white, hairy flower clusters and bright red berries.
- school attendance — a measure of the number of children who attend school and the amount of time they are present
- school playground — school's outdoor recreation area
- scrophulariaceous — belonging to the Scrophulariaceae, the figwort family of plants.
- self-annihilation — self-destruction; suicide.
- semi-biographical — of or relating to a person's life: He's gathering biographical data for his book on Milton.
- sexual dimorphism — the condition in which the males and females in a species are morphologically different, as with many birds.
- shetland pullover — a thick woollen sweater made from Shetland wool
- shetland sheepdog — one of a breed of small sheepdogs resembling a miniature collie, raised originally in the Shetland Islands.
- shirt-tail cousin — a distant cousin
- shit on a shingle — creamed chipped beef or ground beef in a sauce, served on toast.
- shoestring tackle — a tackle made around the ankles of the ball carrier.
- shopping bag lady — bag lady (def 1).
- shopping-bag lady — bag lady (def 1).
- shorthold tenancy — letting of a dwelling for between one and five years at a fair rent
- shuttle diplomacy — diplomatic negotiations carried out by a mediator who travels back and forth between the negotiating parties.
- sinbad the sailor — a merchant in The Arabian Nights who makes seven adventurous voyages
- slap on the wrist — a sharp blow or smack, especially with the open hand or with something flat.
- smarandache logic — neutrosophic logic
- social psychology — the psychological study of social behavior, especially of the reciprocal influence of the individual and the group with which the individual interacts.
- socratic elenchus — the drawing out of the consequences of a position in order to show them to be contrary to some accepted position
- south farmingdale — a town on central Long Island, in SE New York.
- south lanarkshire — a council area of S Scotland, comprising the S part of the historical county of Lanarkshire: included within Strathclyde Region from 1975 to 1996: has uplands in the S and part of the Glasgow conurbation in the N: mainly agricultural. Administrative centre: Hamilton. Pop: 303 010 (2003 est). Area: 1771 sq km (684 sq miles)
- south sea islands — the islands in the S Pacific that constitute Oceania
- southern triangle — the constellation Triangulum Australe.
- special schooling — the system of educating children with special needs in schools designed to meet their needs
- spectroheliograph — an apparatus for making photographs of the sun with a monochromatic light to show the details of the sun's surface and surroundings as they would appear if the sun emitted only that light.
- spherical polygon — a closed figure formed by arcs of great circles on a spherical surface.
- spoonbill catfish — flathead catfish.
- square-shouldered — having the shoulders held back, giving a straight form to the upper part of the back.
- stag's-horn coral — staghorn coral.
- stannous chloride — a white, crystalline, water-soluble solid, SnCl 2 ⋅2H 2 O, used chiefly as a reducing and tinning agent, and as a mordant in dyeing with cochineal.
- star of bethlehem — the star that is supposed to have appeared above Bethlehem at the birth of Christ
- star-of-bethlehem — any of several plants belonging to the genus Ornithogalum, of the lily family, having grasslike leaves and clusters of white flowers.
- statutory holiday — a public holiday; a holiday all workers are entitled to
- stereolithography — a process for creating three-dimensional objects using a computer-controlled laser to build up the required structure, layer by layer, from a liquid photopolymer that solidifies.
- sulfurated potash — a yellowish-brown mixture consisting mainly of potassium polysulfides and potassium thiosulfate, used in treating mange.
- swaddling clothes — cloth for wrapping around a baby