22-letter words containing a, i, s
- specific heat capacity — the heat required to raise unit mass of a substance by unit temperature interval under specified conditions, such as constant pressure: usually measured in joules per kelvin per kilogram
- spectrophotometrically — an instrument for making photometric comparisons between parts of spectra.
- spectroscopic analysis — the use of spectroscopy in determining the chemical or physical constitution of substances
- speculative philosophy — philosophy embodying beliefs insusceptible of proof and attempting to gain insight into the nature of the ultimate by intuitive or a priori means.
- spelling pronunciation — a pronunciation based on spelling, usually a variant of the traditional pronunciation. The spelling pronunciation of waistcoat is [weyst-koht] /ˈweɪstˌkoʊt/ (Show IPA) rather than [wes-kuh t] /ˈwɛs kət/ (Show IPA).
- spherical trigonometry — the branch of trigonometry that deals with spherical triangles.
- spinal accessory nerve — accessory nerve.
- split-dollar insurance — life insurance in which someone helps pay the premiums for another, as when an employer contributes to the premiums of an employee's policy.
- spontaneous combustion — the ignition of a substance or body from the rapid oxidation of its own constituents without heat from any external source.
- spontaneous generation — abiogenesis.
- st-pierre and miquelon — group of islands in the Atlantic, south of Newfoundland, constituting a political unit of France: includes the islands of St-Pierre (c. 10 sq mi, 26 sq km) & Miquelon & several islets: 93 sq mi (241 sq km); pop. 6,000
- stand the test of time — last, endure
- start the ball rolling — to open or initiate (an action, discussion, movement, etc)
- state registered nurse — (formerly in Britain) a nurse who had extensive training and passed examinations enabling him or her to perform all nursing services
- statistical dependence — a condition in which two random variables are not independent. X and Y are positively dependent if the conditional probability, P(X|Y), of X given Y is greater than the probability, P(X), of X, or equivalently if P(X&Y) > P(X).P(Y). They are negatively dependent if the inequalities are reversed
- statute of limitations — a statute defining the period within which legal action may be taken.
- statute of westminster — the act of Parliament (1931) that formally recognized the independence of the dominions within the Empire
- straining at the leash — eagerly impatient to begin something
- strait of juan de fuca — a strait between Vancouver Island (Canada) and NW Washington (US). Length: about 129 km (80 miles). Width: about 24 km (15 miles)
- stratford de redcliffe — 1st Viscount (Stratford Canning) 1786–1880, English diplomat.
- streetcar named desire — a play (1947) by Tennessee Williams.
- structural engineering — the branch of civil engineering dealing with the design and planning of large structures
- structural linguistics — a usually synchronic approach to language study in which a language is analyzed as an independent network of formal systems, each of which is composed of elements that are defined in terms of their contrasts with other elements in the system.
- structured programming — the design and coding of programs by a methodology (top-down) that successively breaks problems into smaller, nested subunits.
- stuffing and stripping — (in marine transport) the packing and unpacking of containers
- subjective probability — a measure or estimate of the degree of confidence one may have in the occurrence of an event, defined by subjective criteria
- subliminal advertising — a form of advertising on film or television that employs subliminal images to influence the viewer unconsciously
- subornation of perjury — the offense of bribing or otherwise persuading another to commit perjury.
- substantive agreements — collective agreements that regulate jobs, pay, and conditions
- suffice it to say that — let us say no more than that; I shall just say that
- supplementary question — a question asked in Parliament by an MP during Questions to the Prime Minister
- supreme judicial court — (often initial capital letters) the highest court in some states, as Massachusetts and Maine.
- surface effect vehicle — ACV (def 2).
- sweet william catchfly — a southern European plant, Silene armeria, of the pink family, having a flat-topped cluster of pink flowers.
- swings and roundabouts — If you say that a situation is swings and roundabouts, you mean that there are as many gains as there are losses.
- sympathetic ophthalmia — inflammation of one eye due to injury or disease of the other eye.
- syntactic construction — a construction that has no bound forms among its immediate constituents. Compare morphologic construction.
- tactile user interface — (interface) (TUI) Hardware and software to provide access to computer-based graphical[?] information using touch, often intended for blind people. See also haptics.
- take cognizance of sth — If you take cognizance of something, you take notice of it or acknowledge it.
- take in (one's) stride — to cope with easily and without undue effort or hesitation
- take something as read — to take something for granted as a fact; understand or presume
- take/tickle sb's fancy — If something takes your fancy or tickles your fancy, you like it a lot when you see it or think of it.
- targa graphics adaptor — (graphics, file format) (TGA) The Truevision Targa Graphics Adaptor file format. The TGA format is a common bitmap file format for storage of 24-bit images. It supports colourmaps, alpha channels, compression and comments. More information is available from Truevision and The Graphics File Format Page.
- tear sb limb from limb — If someone threatens to tear you limb from limb, they mean that they are extremely angry with you, and may use violence against you.
- tell it to the marines — of or relating to the sea; existing in or produced by the sea: marine vegetation.
- temporal lobe epilepsy — a type of seizure disorder produced by abnormal electric discharges in the temporal lobe of the brain, characterized by the occurrence of any of a variety of auras followed by a brief loss of consciousness with accompanying repetitive, automatic movements.
- temporal-lobe epilepsy — a type of seizure disorder produced by abnormal electric discharges in the temporal lobe of the brain, characterized by the occurrence of any of a variety of auras followed by a brief loss of consciousness with accompanying repetitive, automatic movements.
- ten-spined stickleback — a small teleost fish, Gasterosteus pungitius, of the family Gasterosteidae, of rivers and coastal regions, having ten spines along the back and occurring in cold and temperate northern regions
- texas independence day — March 2, observed in Texas as the anniversary of the declaration in 1836 of the independence of Texas from Mexico and also as the birthday of Sam Houston.
- textual user interface — (interface) (TUI) Either a text-based version of a GUI, or a full-screen version of a CLI.