20-letter words containing a, n, g, s, t
- operational strategy — a plan or set of plans for successfully running a business, etc
- organization expense — the costs associated with organizing a business entity and bringing it into existence
- orthognathic surgery — the surgical correction of deformities or malpositions of the jaw.
- oscillating universe — a variant model of the closed universe in which the universe undergoes cycles of expansion and contraction.
- patagonian toothfish — a large food fish, Dissostichus eleginoides, found in the cold deep waters of the southern Atlantic and Indian oceans
- pay through the nose — the part of the face or facial region in humans and certain animals that contains the nostrils and the organs of smell and functions as the usual passageway for air in respiration: in humans it is a prominence in the center of the face formed of bone and cartilage, serving also to modify or modulate the voice.
- personnel management — the branch of management dealing with staff recruitment and matters relating to employees
- photogelatin process — collotype (def 1).
- poor man's something — a (cheaper) substitute for something
- postgraduate student — a student who has obtained a degree from a university, etc, and is pursuing studies for a more advanced qualification
- pound cost averaging — a method of accumulating capital by investing a fixed sum in a particular security at regular intervals, in order to achieve an average purchase price below the arithmetic average of the market prices on the purchase dates
- prescription glasses — corrective spectacles
- presentation manager — The elephantine graphical user interface to the OS/2 operating system.
- price-earnings ratio — the current price of a share of common stock divided by earnings per share over a 12-month period, often used in stock evaluation. Abbreviation: p/e.
- private investigator — private detective. Abbreviation: PI, p.i., P.I.
- proportional spacing — a feature of some typewriters and other output devices whereby the space allotted to each character is determined by the width of the character
- prosecuting attorney — the public officer in a county, district, or other jurisdiction charged with carrying on the prosecution in criminal proceedings.
- psychological moment — the proper or critical time for achieving a desired result: She found the right psychological moment to make her request.
- quaker meeting house — a place where Quakers gather for worship
- quantum bogodynamics — /kwon'tm boh"goh-di:-nam"iks/ A theory that characterises the universe in terms of bogon sources (such as politicians, used-car salesmen, TV evangelists, and suits in general), bogon sinks (such as taxpayers and computers), and bogosity potential fields. Bogon absorption causes human beings to behave mindlessly and machines to fail (and may also cause both to emit secondary bogons); however, the precise mechanics of bogon-computron interaction are not yet understood. Quantum bogodynamics is most often invoked to explain the sharp increase in hardware and software failures in the presence of suits; the latter emit bogons, which the former absorb.
- raise one's glass to — to drink the health of; drink a toast to
- real-time processing — data-processing by a computer which receives constantly changing data, such as information relating to air-traffic control, travel booking systems, etc, and processes it sufficiently rapidly to be able to control the source of the data
- refracting telescope — an optical instrument for making distant objects appear larger and therefore nearer. One of the two principal forms (refracting telescope) consists essentially of an objective lens set into one end of a tube and an adjustable eyepiece or combination of lenses set into the other end of a tube that slides into the first and through which the enlarged object is viewed directly; the other form (reflecting telescope) has a concave mirror that gathers light from the object and focuses it into an adjustable eyepiece or combination of lenses through which the reflection of the object is enlarged and viewed. Compare radio telescope.
- registered dietitian — a person who has fulfilled all the educational and examination requirements of the American Dietetic Association for recognition as a qualified nutrition specialist.
- reminder advertising — a type of advertising designed to remind customers that an existing or well-known product is still available and for sale
- repurchase agreement — a contract between a dealer, as a bank, and an investor, whereby the investor purchases securities with the promise that they will be bought back by the dealer on a designated date, for which the investor receives a fixed return.
- reservations manager — A reservations manager at a hotel is responsible for the reservations at the hotel.
- restriction fragment — a length of DNA cut from the strand by a restriction enzyme.
- retinitis pigmentosa — degeneration of the retina manifested by night blindness and gradual loss of peripheral vision, eventually resulting in tunnel vision or total blindness.
- ring-necked pheasant — a gallinaceous Asian bird, Phasianus colchicus, having a white band around its neck, introduced into Great Britain, North America, and the Hawaiian Islands.
- royal british legion — an organization founded in 1921 to provide services and assistance for former members of the armed forces
- royal leamington spa — a city in Warwickshire, central England: health resort.
- saint george's cross — the Greek cross as used in the flag of Great Britain.
- saint mary magdalene — a woman of Magdala (ˈmæɡdələ ) in Galilee whom Jesus cured of evil spirits (Luke 8:2) and who is often identified with the sinful woman of Luke 7:36–50. In Christian tradition she is usually taken to have been a prostitute. Feast day: July 22
- sanitary engineering — a branch of civil engineering dealing with matters affecting public health, as water supply or sewage disposal.
- sarcastic fringehead — any fish of the genus Neoclinus, characterized by a row of fleshy processes on the head, as N. blanchardi (sarcastic fringehead) of California coastal waters.
- satellite navigation — navigation using data received from satellites
- scatter site housing — public housing, especially for low-income families, built throughout an urban area rather than being concentrated in a single neighborhood.
- scavenger's daughter — an instrument of torture that doubled over and squeezed the body so strongly and violently that blood was brought forth from the ears and nose: invented in 16th-century England.
- schrodinger equation — the wave equation of nonrelativistic quantum mechanics. Also called Schrödinger wave equation. Compare wave equation (def 2).
- seating arrangements — the seating plan for a formal occasion
- self-belaying system — (in climbing) equipment used to pay out rope as required and thus enable a climber to self-belay
- self-differentiating — to form or mark differently from other such things; distinguish.
- sensitivity training — a form of group therapy designed to develop understanding of oneself and others through free, unstructured discussion.
- sergeant first class — a noncommissioned officer ranking next above a staff sergeant and below a first or master sergeant.
- serve a person right — to pay a person back, esp for wrongful or foolish treatment or behaviour
- set the ball rolling — to open or initiate (an action, discussion, movement, etc)
- seven against thebes — (used with a plural verb) Classical Mythology. seven heroes, Amphiaraus, Capaneus, Eteoclus, Hippomedon, Parthenopaeus, Polynices, and Tydeus, who led an expedition against Thebes to depose Eteocles in favor of his brother Polynices: the expedition failed, but the Epigoni, the sons of the Seven against Thebes, conquered the city ten years later.
- sex change operation — a surgical operation designed to change a person's physical sexual characteristics to those of the opposite sex
- shank of the evening — the latter part of the afternoon