19-letter words containing a, l, s, t
- nine plus two array — the arrangement of microtubules in a flagellum or cilium, consisting of a ring of nine evenly spaced couplets surrounding two central singlets. Symbol: 9 + 2.
- nominative absolute — a construction consisting in English of a noun, noun phrase, or pronoun in the nominative case followed by a predicate lacking a finite verb, used as a loose modifier of the whole sentence, as the play done in The play done, the audience left the theater.
- non-distinguishable — to mark off as different (often followed by from or by): He was distinguished from the other boys by his height.
- non-transferability — to convey or remove from one place, person, etc., to another: He transferred the package from one hand to the other.
- nonrepresentational — not resembling or portraying any object in physical nature: a nonrepresentational painting.
- nordrhein-westfalen — German name of North Rhine-Westphalia.
- normal distribution — a theoretical frequency distribution represented by a normal curve.
- north valley stream — a town on W Long Island, in SE New York.
- north-central state — a state of N Nigeria. Capital: Kaduna. Pop: 4 438 007 (1995 est). Area: 46 053 sq km (17 781 sq miles)
- north-northeasterly — a wind or storm coming from the north-northeast
- not by a long sight — on no account; not at all
- novell data systems — (company) A small computer hardware company building CP/M Z80-based systems. They later went on to become Novell, Inc. and develop Novell Netware.
- nuclear disarmament — the gradual reduction and eventual elimination of all nuclear weapons in the world
- observation balloon — a balloon that is used for gathering information and reconnaissance purposes and spotting aircraft
- oil-catalyst slurry — Oil-catalyst slurry is a heavy aromatic by-product of a refinery's fluid catalytic cracking unit, that forms a small part of global fuel oil supply.
- old english pattern — a spoon pattern having a stem curving backward at the end.
- old man and the sea — a novel (1952) by Ernest Hemingway.
- old spanish customs — irregular practices among a group of workers to gain increased financial allowances, reduced working hours, etc
- olive-backed thrush — Swainson's thrush.
- on the baker's list — in good health
- open the floodgates — If events open the floodgates to something, they make it possible for that thing to happen much more often or much more seriously than before.
- operational testing — (testing) A US DoD term for testing performed by the end-user on software in its normal operating environment.
- optical double star — two stars that appear as one if not viewed through a telescope with adequate magnification, such as two stars that are separated by a great distance but are nearly in line with each other and an observer (optical double star) or those that are relatively close together and comprise a single physical system (physical double star)
- oscillating circuit — a circuit producing electrical oscillations.
- out at (the) elbows — shabby; poverty-stricken
- over-sentimentality — the quality or state of being sentimental or excessively sentimental.
- palaeoethnobotanist — someone who studies fossil seeds and grains to further archaeological knowledge, esp of the domestication of cereals
- paleoanthropologist — the study of the origins and predecessors of the present human species, using fossils and other remains.
- palomar observatory — an astronomical observatory situated on Palomar Mountain in S California, having a 200-inch (508-cm) reflecting telescope and a 48-inch (122-cm) Schmidt telescope.
- parallactic ellipse — the apparent ellipse, as seen against the background of more distant stars, described annually by a nearby star because of the earth's orbital motion around the sun. Compare parallax (def 2).
- particle dispersoid — A particle dispersoid is a suspension of solid particles in a gas.
- particle kinematics — Particle kinematics is the study of the movement of particles, without considering the forces that cause this movement.
- particle separation — a rule that moves the particle of a phrasal verb, thus deriving a sentence like He looked the answer up from a structure that also underlies He looked up the answer
- particular solution — a solution of a differential equation containing no arbitrary constants.
- pastoral counseling — the use of psychotherapeutic techniques by trained members of the clergy to assist parishioners who seek help for personal or emotional problems.
- peak listening time — the time at which the highest numbers of audiences are listening to the radio
- periodontal disease — any of various mixed bacterial infections that affect the soft tissues and bones supporting the teeth.
- peritoneal dialysis — a form of dialysis in which the peritoneum is used as an autogenous semipermeable membrane
- persian gulf states — group of Arab sheikdoms along the Persian Gulf: Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, & United Arab Emirates
- personal stationery — headed notepaper
- personal watercraft — a jet-propelled boat ridden like a motorcycle.
- phacoemulsification — the removal of a cataract by first liquefying the affected lens with ultrasonic vibrations and then extracting it by suction.
- phakoemulsification — the removal of a cataract by first liquefying the affected lens with ultrasonic vibrations and then extracting it by suction.
- physical impairment — A physical impairment is a condition in which a part of a person's body is damaged or is not working properly.
- physical sequential — (file format) (PS, QSAM, Queued Sequential Access Method) The simplest data set on an IBM mainframe. Sequential files can only be read or written from the beginning: they do not support random access.
- pinwheel escapement — a clock escapement in which two pallets, usually of unequal length, alternately engage and release pins set on the escape wheel perpendicular to its plane of rotation.
- pistol-handle knife — a table knife, especially of the 18th century, having a slightly curved handle resembling the grip of a flintlock pistol.
- plastic deformation — In plastic deformation a material changes shape when a stress is applied to it and does not go back to its original state when the stress is removed.
- play fast and loose — a dramatic composition or piece; drama.
- play footsie (with) — to touch feet or rub knees (with) in a caressing way, as under the table