28-letter words containing a, l, d
- roundheaded apple tree borer — apple tree borer (def 2).
- savings and loan association — a depositor-owned organization that solicits savings to be placed in saving accounts or in share accounts, on which interest or dividends are paid, and from which mortgage loans on homes or real estate are made
- second axiom of countability — the property satisfied by a topological space in which the neighborhood system of each point has a base consisting of a countable number of neighborhoods (first axiom of countability) or the property satisfied by a topological space that has a base for its topology consisting of a countable number of subsets of the space (second axiom of countability)
- second 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)
- second-order lambda-calculus — (language) (SOL) A typed lambda-calculus.
- sell someone a bill of goods — to persuade someone by deception or misrepresentation to accept, believe, or do something
- service advertising protocol — (networking) (SAP) A Novell NetWare protocol. SAP follows the spirit of the Xerox Clearinghouse protocol, it permits file, print, and gateway servers to advertise their services and addresses.
- sexually transmitted disease — any disease characteristically transmitted by sexual contact, as gonorrhea, syphilis, genital herpes, and chlamydia. Abbreviation: STD.
- simulation oriented language — (language) (SOL) An ALGOL extension for discrete simulation by Donald Knuth and McNeley.
- single sideband transmission — a method of transmitting radio waves in which either the upper or the lower sideband is transmitted, the carrier being either wholly or partially suppressed. This reduces the required bandwidth and improves the signal-to-noise ratio
- smooth 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.
- standard normal distribution — a normal distribution with mean zero and variance 1, with probability density function [exp(–1⁄2x2)]/√2π
- strictly decreasing function — a function having the property that for any two points in the domain such that one is larger than the other, the image of the larger point is less than the image of the smaller point.
- systems administrators guild — (body, job) (SAGE) A special technical group of the USENIX Association.
- television interface adaptor — (hardware, graphics) (TIA) The graphics chip in the Atari 2600, also used as a sound chip for some arcade game.
- text reckoning and compiling — (language) (TRAC) An interactive macro generator language for string manipulation by Calvin N. Mooers and Peter Deutsch of Sun Microsystems. TAC derived ideas from Macro SAP. There are versions for PDP-1, PDP-8, PDP-10 and PDP-11. See also MINT, SAM76. E-mail: Preston Briggs <[email protected]>.
- the everglades national park — the Florida park established to preserve the flora and fauna of the Everglade swamps
- the last word/the final word — If someone has the last word or the final word in a discussion, argument, or disagreement, they are the one who wins it or who makes the final decision.
- the long and the short of it — the essential points or facts
- the medical research council — a government body that uses public funds to finance research in medicine
- the world owes them a living — If you say that someone thinks that the world owes them a living, you are criticizing them because they think it is their right to have a comfortable life without having to make any effort at all.
- theophylline ethylenediamine — aminophylline.
- through rose-colored glasses — with optimism, esp. undue optimism
- to handle sb with kid gloves — to treat someone with great tact or caution
- to leave a lot to be desired — If you say that something leaves a lot to be desired, you mean that it is not as good as it should be.
- to make someone's blood boil — If you say that something makes your blood boil, you are emphasizing that it makes you very angry.
- to play into someone's hands — If you play into someone's hands, you do something which they want you to do and which places you in their power.
- to take something lying down — If someone takes an insult or attack lying down, they accept it without protesting.
- united states postal service — an independent federal agency created in 1971 to replace the Post Office Department as the division of the federal government responsible for postal services. Abbreviation: USPS.
- variable-density wind tunnel — a closed-circuit wind tunnel entirely contained in a casing in which the pressure and therefore the density of the working fluid can be maintained at a preselected value
- virgin islands national park — a national park on St. John Island, Virgin Islands: prehistoric Indian relics. 24 sq. mi. (62 sq. km).
- wake up and smell the coffee — to face up to reality, especially in an unpleasant situation
- walden, or life in the woods — a book of philosophical observations (1854) by Thoreau.
- would not say boo to a goose — is extremely timid or diffident
- wouldn't be seen/caught dead — If you say that you wouldn't be seen dead or be caught dead in particular clothes, places, or situations, you are expressing strong dislike or disapproval of them.
- xerox data systems model 530 — (computer) (XDS 530) A computer from the Scientific Data Systems range, announced sometime after 1968 when Xerox bought out SDS. The XDS 530 was probably under development at SDS before the buy-out but only announced afterwards.
- xerox data systems model 940 — (computer) (SDS 940, XDS 940) A time-sharing system, announced in February 1966, developed by Scientific Data Systems with help from The University of California at Berkeley and Tymshare. SDS 940 was backward compatible with SDS's previous systems (except the 12-bit SDS 92). It had monitor and user modes, dynamic program relocation, automatic memory fragmentation, and system protection. After 1968 Xerox bought out SDS and renamed the SDS machines "Xerox Data Systems" (XDS). Xerox then produced the XDS 530.
- zeroth law of thermodynamics — the principle that any two systems in thermal equilibrium with a third system are in thermal equilibrium with each other. Compare law of thermodynamics (def 2).