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15-letter words containing a, l, e, s, n

  • singapore sling — a cocktail of gin, cherry brandy, sugar, and water.
  • single standard — a single set of principles or rules applying to everyone, as a single moral code applying to both men and women, especially in sexual behavior. Compare double standard.
  • single-breasted — (of a coat, jacket, etc.) having a front closure directly in the center with only a narrow overlap secured by a single button or row of buttons.
  • single-handedly — in a single-handed manner; single-handed.
  • single-sideband — of or pertaining to a system of radio transmission in which one of the two sidebands produced during modulation is suppressed
  • sinistrodextral — moving or extending from the left to the right.
  • sink a borehole — To sink a borehole means to drill a deep hole in the ground.
  • sinoatrial node — a small mass of tissue in the right atrium functioning as pacemaker of the heart by giving rise to the electric impulses that initiate heart contractions.
  • slab plastering — coarse plastering, as between the studs in a half-timbered wall.
  • slap and tickle — sexual play
  • slavonian grebe — a N Eurasian or N American grebe with reddish underside and a black and gold crest; Podiceps auritus
  • sleeping beauty — a beautiful princess, the heroine of a popular fairy tale, awakened from a charmed sleep by the kiss of the prince who is her true love.
  • sleeping tablet — A sleeping tablet is the same as a sleeping pill.
  • sleight of hand — skill in feats requiring quick and clever movements of the hands, especially for entertainment or deception, as jugglery, card or coin magic, etc.; legerdemain.
  • small cranberry — See under cranberry (def 1).
  • small intestine — intestine (def 2).
  • smoking-related — (of a disease, illness, etc) caused by smoking tobacco, etc
  • snafu principle — /sna'foo prin'si-pl/ [WWII Army acronym for "Situation Normal: All Fucked Up"] "True communication is possible only between equals, because inferiors are more consistently rewarded for telling their superiors pleasant lies than for telling the truth." - a central tenet of Discordianism, often invoked by hackers to explain why authoritarian hierarchies screw up so reliably and systematically. The effect of the SNAFU principle is a progressive disconnection of decision-makers from reality. This lightly adapted version of a fable dating back to the early 1960s illustrates the phenomenon perfectly: In the beginning was the plan, and then the specification; And the plan was without form, and the specification was void. And darkness was on the faces of the implementors thereof; And they spake unto their leader, saying: "It is a crock of shit, and smells as of a sewer." And the leader took pity on them, and spoke to the project leader: "It is a crock of excrement, and none may abide the odor thereof." And the project leader spake unto his section head, saying: "It is a container of excrement, and it is very strong, such that none may abide it." The section head then hurried to his department manager, and informed him thus: "It is a vessel of fertilizer, and none may abide its strength." The department manager carried these words to his general manager, and spoke unto him saying: "It containeth that which aideth the growth of plants, and it is very strong." And so it was that the general manager rejoiced and delivered the good news unto the Vice President. "It promoteth growth, and it is very powerful." The Vice President rushed to the President's side, and joyously exclaimed: "This powerful new software product will promote the growth of the company!" And the President looked upon the product, and saw that it was very good. After the subsequent disaster, the suits protect themselves by saying "I was misinformed!", and the implementors are demoted or fired.
  • snaggle toothed — a tooth growing out beyond or apart from others.
  • snaggle-toothed — a tooth growing out beyond or apart from others.
  • snapping beetle — click beetle.
  • snapping turtle — either of two large, edible, freshwater turtles of the family Chelydridae, of North and Central America, having a large head and powerful hooked jaws, especially the common snapping turtle, Chelydra serpentina.
  • snowball effect — a process of continuously accelerating change in size, importance, etc
  • social benefits — the social welfare provision made available to those in need
  • social distance — the extent to which individuals or groups are removed from or excluded from participating in one another's lives.
  • social movement — a group of diffusely organized people or organizations striving toward a common goal relating to human society or social change, or the organized activities of such a group: The push for civil rights was a social movement that peaked in the 1950s and 1960s.
  • social spending — the money that is spent on welfare payments
  • society islands — a group of islands in the S Pacific: administratively part of French Polynesia; consists of the Windward Islands and the Leeward Islands; became a French protectorate in 1843 and a colony in 1880. Pop: 214 445 (2002). Area: 1595 sq km (616 sq miles)
  • somerset island — an island in the Arctic Ocean in Nunavut, Canada, NW of Baffin Island. 9594 sq. mi. (24,848 sq. km).
  • sons and lovers — a novel (1913) by D. H. Lawrence.
  • sooner or later — within a short period after this or that time, event, etc.: We shall know soon after he calls.
  • sostenuto pedal — a pedal on a grand piano that raises the dampers, allowing the tone to be sustained for those strings struck at the time the pedal is depressed.
  • sound as a bell — in perfect condition
  • source language — the language in which a text appears that is to be translated into another language. Compare target language (def 1).
  • spanish needles — (used with a singular or plural verb) a composite plant, Bidens bipinnata, having achenes with downwardly barbed awns.
  • spanish trefoil — alfalfa.
  • sparkling water — soda water (def 1).
  • special edition — newspaper, magazine: extra issue
  • special licence — a licence permitting a marriage to take place by dispensing with the usual legal conditions
  • special partner — a partner whose liability for the firm's debts is limited to the amount that partner has invested in the firm.
  • special session — a session, as of a legislature or council, called to meet in addition to those held regularly.
  • special student — a student who is not seeking a degree but enrols in a course, esp to gain academic credits
  • speckle pattern — the visual appearance of a star as viewed through a large telescope, with irregularities caused by the distorting effect of local turbulence in the earth's atmosphere.
  • spherical angle — an angle formed by arcs of great circles of a sphere.
  • spill the beans — the edible nutritious seed of various plants of the legume family, especially of the genus Phaseolus.
  • spiral notebook — a notebook held together by a coil of wire passed through small holes punched at the back edge of the covers and individual pages
  • splanchnopleure — the double layer formed by the association of the lower layer of the lateral plate of mesoderm with the underlying entoderm, which develops into the embryonic viscera.
  • spread sampling — the selection of a corpus for statistical analysis by selecting a number of short passages at random throughout the work and considering their aggregation
  • spring-cleaning — a complete cleaning of a place, as a home, done traditionally in the spring of the year.
  • sprinkler dance — a celebratory dance in which participants extend one arm and shake it to imitate the action of a rotating water sprinkler
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