22-letter words containing a, l, i, n
- sb can whistle for sth — If you say that someone can whistle for a particular thing, you mean that you are not willing or able to give it to them.
- scalable sampling rate — (compression, standard, algorithm) (SSR) See, e.g., MPEG-4 AAC SSR.
- scandinavian peninsula — large peninsula in N Europe, consisting of Norway & Sweden
- school crossing patrol — the official name for lollipop man or lady
- second vatican council — the twenty-first Roman Catholic ecumenical council (1962–65) convened by Pope John XXIII. Its 16 documents redefined the nature of the church, gave bishops greater influence in church affairs, and increased lay participation in liturgy.
- secondary articulation — coarticulation (def 2).
- secondary-articulation — concomitance of articulation, as in fro, ostensibly a succession of three discrete sounds but physically a single articulation (f-) blending into a coarticulation (-fr-), which blends into an articulation (-r-), which blends into a coarticulation (-ro-), which blends into an articulation (-o).
- selective transmission — a transmission in which the available forward and reverse gears may be engaged in any order, without passing progressively through the different changes of gear.
- self-sustaining growth — economic growth that maintains itself without intervention
- semipalmated sandpiper — a common North American sandpiper, Calidris pusillus, having semipalmate feet.
- serial presence detect — presence detect
- silicon graphics, inc. — (company) (SGI) Manufacturer of workstations and software for graphics and image processing. SGI was founded by Dr. James H. Clark, who left some time before May 1994 to head Mosaic Communications Corporation. Quarterly sales $433M, profits $44M (Aug 1994).
- simple harmonic motion — vibratory motion in a system in which the restoring force is proportional to the displacement from equilibrium. Abbreviation: S.H.M., s.h.m.
- simultaneous broadcast — a programme, etc, broadcast simultaneously on radio and television
- simultaneous equations — a set of two or more equations, each containing two or more variables whose values can simultaneously satisfy both or all the equations in the set, the number of variables being equal to or less than the number of equations in the set.
- single virtual storage — OS/VS2
- sir william blackstone — Sir William, 1723–80, English jurist and writer on law.
- sleeping accommodation — place where people can sleep
- slender-tailed meerkat — the animal Suricata suricata
- small business edition — Microsoft Office Small Business Edition
- social differentiation — the distinction made between social groups and persons on the basis of biological, physiological, and sociocultural factors, as sex, age, or ethnicity, resulting in the assignment of roles and status within a society.
- social disorganization — disruption or breakdown of the structure of social relations and values resulting in the loss of social controls over individual and group behavior, the development of social isolation and conflict, and a sense of estrangement or alienation from the mainstream of one's culture; the condition or state of anomie.
- social networking site — a website that allows subscribers to interact, typically by requesting that others add them to their visible list of contacts, by forming or joining sub-groups based around shared interests, or publishing content so that a specified group of subscribers can access it
- social security number — A Social Security number is a nine digit number that is given to U.S. citizens and to people living in the U.S. You need it to get a job, collect Social Security benefits and receive some government services.
- solid dose formulation — A solid dose formation is a hard tablet made by compressing medicine in a powder form.
- solomon islands pidgin — the variety of Neo-Melanesian spoken in the Solomon Islands and neighbouring islands
- south african republic — former name of Transvaal.
- south atlantic current — an eastward-flowing ocean current formed by the merging of the Brazil Current and the southward-flowing current near the Falkland Islands and forming the southern part of the general circulation of the South Atlantic Ocean.
- south sandwich islands — a group of volcanic islands, administered by England, in the South Atlantic Ocean: part of the Falkland Islands dependency. 120 sq. mi. (310 sq. km).
- south shetland islands — a group of uninhabited islands in the S Atlantic, north of the Antarctic Peninsula: formerly a dependency of the Falkland Islands; part of British Antarctic Territory since 1962. (Claims are suspended under the Antarctic Treaty). Area: 4662 sq km (1800 sq miles)
- special drawing rights — the reserve assets of the International Monetary Fund on which member nations may draw in proportion to their contribution to the Fund
- special interest group — (SIG) One of several technical areas, sponsored by the Association for Computing Machinery. Well-known SIGs include SIGPLAN (the Special Interest Group on Programming Languages), SIGARCH (the Special Interest Group for Computer Architecture) and SIGGRAPH (the Special Interest Group for Computer Graphics).
- special marine warning — a National Weather Service warning of high-wind conditions at sea that are expected to last for up to two hours, and generally result from convective storm systems, as thunderstorms or squall lines. Compare warning (def 3).
- special-interest group — Also called special interest. a body of persons, corporation, or industry that seeks or receives benefits or privileged treatment, especially through legislation.
- spectroscopic analysis — the use of spectroscopy in determining the chemical or physical constitution of substances
- spelling pronunciation — a pronunciation based on spelling, usually a variant of the traditional pronunciation. The spelling pronunciation of waistcoat is [weyst-koht] /ˈweɪstˌkoʊt/ (Show IPA) rather than [wes-kuh t] /ˈwɛs kət/ (Show IPA).
- spherical trigonometry — the branch of trigonometry that deals with spherical triangles.
- spinal accessory nerve — accessory nerve.
- split-dollar insurance — life insurance in which someone helps pay the premiums for another, as when an employer contributes to the premiums of an employee's policy.
- st-pierre and miquelon — group of islands in the Atlantic, south of Newfoundland, constituting a political unit of France: includes the islands of St-Pierre (c. 10 sq mi, 26 sq km) & Miquelon & several islets: 93 sq mi (241 sq km); pop. 6,000
- start the ball rolling — to open or initiate (an action, discussion, movement, etc)
- statistical dependence — a condition in which two random variables are not independent. X and Y are positively dependent if the conditional probability, P(X|Y), of X given Y is greater than the probability, P(X), of X, or equivalently if P(X&Y) > P(X).P(Y). They are negatively dependent if the inequalities are reversed
- statute of limitations — a statute defining the period within which legal action may be taken.
- straining at the leash — eagerly impatient to begin something
- structural engineering — the branch of civil engineering dealing with the design and planning of large structures
- structural linguistics — a usually synchronic approach to language study in which a language is analyzed as an independent network of formal systems, each of which is composed of elements that are defined in terms of their contrasts with other elements in the system.
- subliminal advertising — a form of advertising on film or television that employs subliminal images to influence the viewer unconsciously
- supplementary question — a question asked in Parliament by an MP during Questions to the Prime Minister
- tactile user interface — (interface) (TUI) Hardware and software to provide access to computer-based graphical[?] information using touch, often intended for blind people. See also haptics.
- take/tickle sb's fancy — If something takes your fancy or tickles your fancy, you like it a lot when you see it or think of it.