19-letter words containing a, l, e, k, s
- peak listening time — the time at which the highest numbers of audiences are listening to the radio
- phakoemulsification — the removal of a cataract by first liquefying the affected lens with ultrasonic vibrations and then extracting it by suction.
- pistol-handle knife — a table knife, especially of the 18th century, having a slightly curved handle resembling the grip of a flintlock pistol.
- prairie rattlesnake — a rattlesnake, Crotalus viridis viridis, of the prairies of western North America.
- presentation skills — the set of techniques and skills required successfully to present oral information to others
- raise one's hackles — one of the long, slender feathers on the neck or saddle of certain birds, as the domestic rooster, much used in making artificial flies for anglers.
- rake over the coals — a black or dark-brown combustible mineral substance consisting of carbonized vegetable matter, used as a fuel. Compare anthracite, bituminous coal, lignite.
- rap on the knuckles — a mild reprimand or light sentence
- red-shouldered hawk — a North American hawk, Buteo lineatus, having rufous shoulders.
- removable hard disk — (storage) A type of magnetic disk, or possibly magneto-optical disk which is not permanently attached to the disk drive (not a fixed disk) but which can be taken out and replaced, allowing many disks to be used in the same drive. The term "removable disk" would seem to be applicable to floppy disks but is generally reserved for hard disks in suitable cartridges such as those made by Syquest, Iomega and others. Removable disk packs were common on minicomputers such as the PDP-11 in use in the 1970s except that the drives were the size of washing machines and the disk packs as big as car wheels. Removable disks became popular on microcomputers in the 1990s as a cheap way of expanding disk space, transporting large amounts of data between computers and storing backups. Large, cheap fixed hard disks and USB memory sticks have made removable disks less attractive.
- rickettsial disease — any of several acute infectious diseases caused by ticks, mites, or body lice infected with rickettsiae. The main types include typhus, spotted fever, Q fever, trench fever, and tsutsugamushi disease
- sackcloth and ashes — a public display of extreme grief, remorse, or repentance
- saddle-billed stork — a large stork, Ephippiorhynchus senegalensis, of West Africa, having a white and black body and a long, red and black bill.
- saint luke's summer — a period of unusually warm weather in the autumn
- sale and lease back — leaseback.
- sell like hot cakes — a pancake or griddlecake.
- shield-tailed snake — any of several burrowing snakes of the family Uropeltidae, of the Indian peninsula and Sri Lanka, having a tail that ends in a flat disk.
- sickle-cell anaemia — Sickle-cell anaemia is an inherited illness in which the red blood cells become curved, causing a number of health problems.
- stakeholder pension — In Britain, a stakeholder pension is a flexible pension scheme with low charges. Both employees and the state contribute to the scheme, which is optional, and is in addition to the basic state pension.
- stanislavski method — method (def 5).
- stick to one's last — a wooden or metal form in the shape of the human foot on which boots or shoes are shaped or repaired.
- strike a false note — to behave inappropriately
- swallow-tailed kite — an American kite, Elanoides forficatus, having black upper parts, white head and underparts, and a long, deeply forked tail.
- sweetheart neckline — a neckline on a woman's garment, as a dress, with a high back and a low-cut front with two curved edges resembling the conventionalized shape of a heart.
- switchblade (knife) — a large jackknife that snaps open when a release button on the handle is pressed
- take sth personally — If you take someone's remarks personally, you are upset because you think that they are criticizing you in particular.
- take to one's heels — the back part of the human foot, below and behind the ankle.
- take up the cudgels — If you take up the cudgels for someone or something, you speak or fight in support of them.
- that's more like it — If you say that's more like it, you mean that the thing that you are referring to is more satisfactory than it was on earlier occasions.
- to make like sth/sb — If you make like you are doing something, you act as if you are doing it, and if you make like someone, you act as if you are that person.
- to stick out a mile — If you say that something or someone sticks out a mile or stands out a mile, you are emphasizing that they are very obvious and easy to recognize.
- tussock caterpillar — the larva of a tussock moth.
- valley of the kings — a valley on the west bank of the Nile near the site of Thebes: the necropolis of many of the kings and queens of the 18th and 19th dynasties of ancient Egypt, c1350–c1200 b.c.
- whistle in the dark — to make a clear musical sound, a series of such sounds, or a high-pitched, warbling sound by the forcible expulsion of the breath through a small opening formed by contracting the lips, or through the teeth, with the aid of the tongue.
- william shakespeare — William ("the Bard"; "the Bard of Avon") 1564–1616, English poet and dramatist.
- yellowtail kingfish — a large carangid game fish, Seriola grandis, of S Australian waters