16-letter words containing a, l, f, r
- head normal form — (theory, reduction) (HNF) A term describing a lambda expression whose top level is either a variable, a data value, a built-in function applied to too few arguments, or a lambda abstraction whose body is not reducible. I.e. the top level is neither a redex nor a lambda abstraction with a reducible body. An expression in HNF may contain redexes in argument postions whereas a normal form may not. Compare Weak Head Normal Form.
- hell for leather — If you say that someone is going hell for leather, you are emphasizing that they are doing something or are moving very quickly and perhaps carelessly.
- hell-for-leather — characterized by reckless determination or breakneck speed: The sheriff led the posse in a hell-for-leather chase.
- high-pass filter — a filter that allows high-frequency electromagnetic signals to pass while rejecting or attenuating others below a specific value.
- hold a brief for — to argue for; champion
- hourglass figure — the shape of a woman who is well-proportioned and has a small waist
- hydroformylation — the addition of a hydrogen atom and the formyl group to a double bond of a hydrocarbon by reaction with a mixture of carbon monoxide and hydrogen in the presence of a catalyst.
- imperfectability — The quality of not being perfectable; of being forever imperfect.
- infant mortality — death during infancy
- infernal machine — a concealed or disguised explosive device intended to destroy life or property.
- inflationary gap — the excess of total spending in an economy over the value, at current prices, of the output it can produce
- insufferableness — The state of being insufferable.
- interfacial area — The interfacial area is the total area of contact between two liquids in a liquid-liquid operation.
- intestinal flora — microorganisms that normally inhabit the lumen of the intestinal tract
- irrefragableness — The quality or degree of being irrefragable.
- isle of portland — a rugged limestone peninsula in SW England, in Dorset, connected to the mainland by a narrow isthmus and by Chesil Bank: the lighthouse of Portland Bill lies at the S tip; famous for the quarrying of Portland stone, a fine building material. Pop (town): 12 000 (latest est)
- isoplastic graft — syngraft.
- ivyleaf geranium — a geranium plant, pelargonium peltatum, with trailing leaves and white, pink, red, or violet flowers
- kekule's formula — the structural formula of benzene represented as a hexagonal ring with alternate single and double bonds between the carbon atoms.
- kingdom of arles — a kingdom in SE France which had dissolved by 1378: known as the Kingdom of Burgundy until about 1200
- kirchhoff's laws — the law that the algebraic sum of the currents flowing toward any point in an electric network is zero.
- knights of labor — a secret workingmen's organization formed in 1869 to defend the interests of labor.
- knock for a loop — a portion of a cord, ribbon, etc., folded or doubled upon itself so as to leave an opening between the parts.
- la rochefoucauld — François [frahn-swa] /frɑ̃ˈswa/ (Show IPA), 6th Duc de, 1613–80, French moralist and composer of epigrams and maxims.
- lady of pleasure — a prostitute.
- land-poor farmer — a farmer who owns much unprofitable land and lacks the money to maintain its fertility or improve it
- larger than life — If you say that someone or something is larger than life, you mean that they appear or behave in a way that seems more exaggerated or important than usual.
- larger-than-life — exceedingly imposing, impressive, or memorable, especially in appearance or forcefulness: a larger-than-life leader.
- larsen ice shelf — an ice barrier in Antarctica, in the NW Weddell Sea, on the E coast of the Antarctic Peninsula: first explored 1893.
- law of parsimony — a principle according to which an explanation of a thing or event is made with the fewest possible assumptions.
- leasehold reform — reform of the law relating to leasehold property
- least flycatcher — a small flycatcher, Empidonax minimus, of eastern North America.
- left parenthesis — (character) "(". ASCII character 40. Common names: left paren; left parenthesis; left; open; paren (")" = thesis); open paren; open parenthesis; left parenthesis; left banana. Rare: so (")" = already); lparen; ITU-T: opening parenthesis; open round bracket, left round bracket, INTERCAL: wax (")" = wane); parenthisey (")" = unparenthisey); left ear. Paired with right parenthesis (")").
- left-hand dagger — a dagger of the 16th and 17th centuries, held in the left hand in dueling and used to parry the sword of an opponent.
- letter of advice — a notification from a consignor to a consignee giving specific information as to a shipment, the name of the carrier, the date shipped, etc.
- letter of marque — license or commission granted by a state to a private citizen to capture and confiscate the merchant ships of another nation.
- life after death — If you talk about life after death, you are discussing the possibility that people may continue to exist in some form after they die.
- life-threatening — endangering life: a life-threatening illness.
- lissajous figure — the series of plane curves traced by an object executing two mutually perpendicular harmonic motions.
- littoral warfare — military combat conducted in coastal areas.
- louisiana french — French as spoken in Louisiana; Cajun. Abbreviation: LaF.
- lower california — Baja California.
- luck of the draw — the force that seems to operate for good or ill in a person's life, as in shaping circumstances, events, or opportunities: With my luck I'll probably get pneumonia.
- madame butterfly — an opera (1904) by Giacomo Puccini.
- maid of all work — a maid who does all types of housework
- make the fur fly — the fine, soft, thick, hairy coat of the skin of a mammal.
- mallowpuff māori — a Māori who is considered to behave like a white person
- man of the world — a man who is widely experienced in the ways of the world and people; an urbane, sophisticated man.
- managerial staff — staff in positions of management
- marsh cinquefoil — a variety of cinquefoil, Potentilla palustris, that grows in marshy areas