16-letter words containing a, l, h, b
- school librarian — a librarian who works in or is in charge of a school library
- scotch blackface — one of a Scottish breed of mountain sheep having a black face and growing long, coarse wool.
- shoot-to-disable — of or relating to shooting by soldiers or police that is intended to disable rather than kill
- showy crab apple — a large Japanese bush or tree, Malus floribunda, of the rose family, having red fruit and rose-colored flowers that fade to white.
- slap on the back — to congratulate
- south sea bubble — the financial crash that occurred in 1720 after the South Sea Company had taken over the national debt in return for a monopoly of trade with the South Seas, causing feverish speculation in their stocks
- spanish bluebell — a bulbous plant, Endymion hispanicus, of the lily family, native to Spain and Portugal, having blue, white, or pink, bell-shaped flowers.
- sth rings a bell — If you say that something rings a bell, you mean that it reminds you of something, but you cannot remember exactly what it is.
- subtropical high — one of several highs, as the Azores and Pacific highs, that prevail over the oceans at latitudes of about 30 degrees N and S. Also called subtropical anticyclone. Compare high (def 37).
- take the liberty — do sth without permission
- take the trouble — If you take the trouble to do something, you do something which requires a small amount of additional effort.
- teachable moment — a specific occurrence, situation, or experience that can be used to teach people about something more general: Her death created a teachable moment about prescription drug abuse.
- thalidomide baby — a baby that has physical abnormalities due to the drug thalidomide being taken by the mother while the baby was still a developing fetus
- the arabian gulf — the arm of the Arabian Sea between SW Iran and Arabia; important for the oilfields on its shores
- the barren lands — a region of tundra in N Canada, extending westwards from Hudson Bay: sparsely inhabited, chiefly by Inuit
- the black forest — a hilly wooded region of SW Germany, in Baden-Württemberg: a popular resort area
- the eastern bloc — (formerly) the Soviet bloc
- the unobservable — something that cannot be observed
- the urban league — a civil rights organization based in New York City that advocates on behalf of African Americans and against racial discrimination in the United States
- the war-disabled — those people who have been disabled by war
- the wheel blacks — the international wheelchair rugby football team of New Zealand
- three-ball match — a match among three players each of whom plays a ball.
- thumbnail sketch — small preliminary drawing
- tracheobronchial — of, relating to, or affecting the trachea and bronchi.
- typhoid bacillus — the bacterium Salmonella typhosa, causing typhoid fever.
- umbilical hernia — a hernia of the umbilicus.
- unaccomplishable — to bring to its goal or conclusion; carry out; perform; finish: to accomplish one's mission.
- uninhabitability — to live or dwell in (a place), as people or animals: Small animals inhabited the woods.
- valet de chambre — valet (def 1).
- verbal diarrhoea — a tendency to speak at excessive length
- well-established — permanently founded; settled; firmly set: a well-established business; a well-established habit.
- wheelbarrow race — a race in which one member of each team of two walks on his or her hands while the legs are held up by the partner.
- wheelchair-bound — unable to walk through injury, illness, etc and relying on a wheelchair to move around
- whiptail wallaby — a wallaby of NE Australia, Macropus parryi, with a long slender tail
- yah-boo politics — adversarial politics in which politicians constantly deride their opponents and dismiss everything suggested by them
- your better half — If you talk about your better half or your other half you mean your wife, your husband, or the person of the opposite sex that you live with.