18-letter words containing a, l, e, y
- hysterical reasons — (Or "hysterical raisins") A variant on the stock phrase "for historical reasons", indicating specifically that something must be done in some stupid way for backward compatibility, and moreover that the feature it must be compatible with was the result of a bad design in the first place. "All IBM PC video adaptors have to support MDA text mode for hysterical reasons." Compare bug-for-bug compatible.
- i'll eat my hat if — I will be greatly surprised if (something happens that proves me wrong)
- i'll give you that — You say I'll give you that to indicate that you admit that someone has a particular characteristic or ability.
- in praise of folly — Latin Moriae Encomium. a prose satire (1509) by Erasmus, written in Latin and directed against theologians and church dignitaries.
- incommensurability — not commensurable; having no common basis, measure, or standard of comparison.
- inconsequentiality — of little or no importance; insignificant; trivial.
- individual liberty — the liberty of an individual to exercise freely those rights generally accepted as being outside of governmental control.
- indolebutyric acid — a white or yellowish, crystalline, water-insoluble powder, C 12 H 13 O 2 N, a plant hormone similar to indoleacetic acid and used for the same purposes.
- industrial hygiene — the science that assesses, controls, and prevents occupational factors or sources of stress in the workplace that may significantly affect the health and well-being of employees or of the community in general
- informatory double — a double intended to inform one's partner that one has a strong hand and to urge a bid regardless of the strength of his or her hand.
- interchangeability — (of two things) capable of being put or used in the place of each other: interchangeable symbols.
- interdependability — capable of being depended on; worthy of trust; reliable: a dependable employee.
- interface analysis — (testing) A software test which checks the interfaces between program elements for consistency and adherence to predefined rules or axioms.
- invalidity benefit — (formerly, in the British National Insurance scheme) a weekly payment to a person who had been off work through illness for more than six months: replaced by incapacity benefit in 1995
- investment analyst — a specialist in forecasting the prices of stocks and shares
- involuntary muscle — muscle: contracts involuntarily
- isoamyl salicylate — a colorless, sometimes slightly yellow, synthetic oil, C 12 H 16 O 3 , having an orchidlike odor: used in perfumery.
- james-lange theory — a theory that emotions are caused by bodily sensations; for example, we are sad because we weep
- jerusalem syndrome — a delusive condition affecting some visitors to Jerusalem in which the sufferer identifies with a major figure from his or her religious background
- johnny-come-lately — a late arrival or participant; newcomer: the Johnny-come-latelies producing space-war films after the trend had ended.
- joint life annuity — an annuity, the payments of which cease at the death of the first of two or more specified persons.
- kentucky bluegrass — a grass, Poa pratensis, of the Mississippi valley, used for pasturage and lawns.
- launching ceremony — a ceremony that celebrates the launch of a ship for the first time into the water
- lay at the door of — to blame (a person) for
- lay it on the line — a mark or stroke long in proportion to its breadth, made with a pen, pencil, tool, etc., on a surface: a line down the middle of the page.
- lay one's hands on — the terminal, prehensile part of the upper limb in humans and other primates, consisting of the wrist, metacarpal area, fingers, and thumb.
- lifecycle analysis — Lifecycle analysis is the consideration of all the energy and materials that are needed to make a product and to dispose of it.
- lily of the valley — a plant, Convallaria majalis, having an elongated cluster of small, drooping, bell-shaped, fragrant white flowers.
- lipopolysaccharide — any of a class of polysaccharides to which lipids are attached.
- literary criticism — study and review of literature
- locally finite set — a collection of sets in a topological space in which each point of the space has a neighborhood that intersects a finite number of sets of the collection.
- logically possible — capable of being described without self-contradiction
- lone-parent family — a family in which there is only one parent
- lonely hearts club — a club for people who are trying to find a lover or a friend
- look the other way — look in the opposite direction
- loosestrife family — the plant family Lythraceae, characterized by herbaceous plants, shrubs, and trees having usually opposite or whorled, simple leaves, clusters of flowers, and fruit in the form of a capsule, and including the crape myrtle, loosestrifes of the genus Lythrum, and the henna shrub.
- lowell observatory — the astronomical observatory, situated in Flagstaff, Arizona, at which Pluto was discovered in 1930.
- magnetocrystalline — (physics) Describing the interaction between the magnetization and the crystal structure of a material.
- magnetoelectricity — electricity developed by the action of magnets.
- marine archaeology — the branch of archaeology that deals with the recovery of ancient objects found beneath the sea, as shipwrecks or remains from submerged islands, and with the techniques of underwater exploration, excavation, and retrieval.
- maternity hospital — birthing facility
- may flower compact — an agreement to establish a government, entered into by the Pilgrims in the cabin of the Mayflower on November 11, 1620.
- medical dictionary — a specialized dictionary covering terms used in the health professions by doctors, nurses, and others involved in allied health care services. A dictionary with authoritative spellings and definitions is a particularly crucial resource in medicine, where a misspelling or misunderstanding can have unfortunate consequences for people under care. Print dictionaries in this field may be sorted alphabetically or may be categorized according to medical specializations or by the various systems in the body, as the immune system and the respiratory system. The online Medical Dictionary on Dictionary.com allows alphabetical browsing in the combined electronic versions of more than one authoritative medical reference, insuring access to correct spellings, as well as immediate, direct access to a known search term typed into the search box on the site: A medical dictionary reveals that large numbers of medical terms are formed from the same Latin and Greek parts combined and recombined.
- mercury delay line — (storage, history) An archaic first-in first-out fixed time period data storage device using acoustic transducers to transmit data as waves in a trough or tube of mercury. EDSAC (Cambridge) and UNIVAC I used delay lines.
- mercury-vapor lamp — a lamp producing a light with a high actinic and ultraviolet content by means of an electric arc in mercury vapor.
- metabolic syndrome — Pathology. a group of medical conditions present simultaneously in a patient, as high blood pressure, low HDL cholesterol levels, and an excess of abdominal fat, that increases a person's risk of heart disease, stroke, and diabetes. Also called insulin resistance syndrome.
- methacrylate resin — an acrylic resin formed by polymerizing the esters or amides of methacrylic acid.
- methyl transferase — any of a class of enzymes that catalyze the transfer of methyl groups from one molecule to another.
- methylated spirits — ethyl alcohol denatured with methyl alcohol for the purpose of preventing its use as an alcoholic beverage.
- methylcyclohexanol — a colorless, aromatic, viscous liquid mixture, chiefly of the ortho and para forms of CH 3 C 6 H 1 0 OH, derived from cresol by hydrogenation: used chiefly as a solvent for rubber, cellulose, esters, and phenols.