21-letter words containing a, n, k

s-k reduction machine — An abstract machine defined by Professor David Turner to evaluate combinator expressions represented as binary graphs. Named after the two basic combinators, S and K.
safe in the knowledge — If you do something safe in the knowledge that something else is the case, you do the first thing confidently because you are sure of the second thing.
scarlet monkey flower — any of various plants belonging to the genus Mimulus, of the figwort family, as M. cardinalis (scarlet monkey flower) having spotted flowers that resemble a face.
school of hard knocks — the experience gained from living, especially from disappointment and hard work, regarded as a means of education: The only school he ever attended was the school of hard knocks.
sequoia national park — a national park in central California: giant sequoia trees. 604 sq. mi. (1565 sq. km).
share and share alike — with each having an equal share
sick to one's stomach — afflicted with ill health or disease; ailing.
skeleton at the feast — a person or event that brings gloom or sadness to an occasion of joy or celebration
spark ignition engine — A spark ignition engine is an engine running on the Otto cycle.
stick in one's throat — to be difficult, or against one's conscience, for one to accept, utter, or believe
stock list department — (in an American stock exchange) the department dealing with monitoring compliance with its listing requirements and rules
stokes-adams syndrome — unconsciousness accompanying atrioventricular heart block, sometimes characterized by weakness, irregular pulse, and intermittent convulsive or nonconvulsive seizures.
take off one's hat to — a shaped covering for the head, usually with a crown and brim, especially for wear outdoors.
take one's (own) life — to commit suicide
take one's finger out — stop delaying or procrastinating
take one's hat off to — to salute or congratulate
take someone prisoner — to capture and hold someone as a prisoner, esp as a prisoner of war
take the consequences — to accept the results of one's actions
take under advisement — to consider carefully
take/come into effect — If a law or policy takes effect or comes into effect at a particular time, it officially begins to apply or be valid from that time. If it remains in effect, it still applies or is still valid.
tartarian honeysuckle — an Asian honeysuckle, Lonicera tatarica, having fragrant, white to pink flowers.
tenure track position — a position or office that carries with it the opportunity to eventually obtain tenure or the right to permanent employment
the break of day/dawn — The break of day or the break of dawn is the time when it begins to grow light after the night.
the corncracker state — a nickname for the state of Kentucky
the icing on the cake — If you describe something as the icing on the cake, you mean that it makes a good thing even better, but it is not essential.
the joker in the pack — If you describe someone or something as the joker in the pack, you mean that they are different from the other people or things in their group, and can be unpredictable.
ticker-tape reception — (mainly in New York) the showering of the motorcade of a distinguished politician, visiting head of state, etc, with ticker tape as a sign of welcome
to be hard luck on sb — to be unfortunate or unlucky for someone
to be on an even keel — If you say that someone or something is on an even keel, you mean that they are working or progressing smoothly and steadily, without any sudden changes.
to hit the bookstands — (of a book) to be published
to kick someone's ass — To kick ass or to kick someone's ass means to show them that you are angry with them, either by telling them or by using physical force.
to kill a mockingbird — a novel (1960) by Harper Lee.
to make a mental note — If you make a mental note of something, you make an effort to store it in your memory so that you will not forget it.
to my way of thinking — You add to my way of thinking to a statement in order to indicate that you are giving your opinion.
to risk life and limb — If someone risks life and limb, they do something very dangerous that may cause them to die or be seriously injured.
to sink without trace — If you say that someone or something sinks without trace or sinks without a trace, you mean that they stop existing or stop being successful very suddenly and completely.
to take the long view — If you take the long view, you consider what is likely to happen in the future over a long period, rather than thinking only about things that are going to happen soon.
to take your mind off — If something takes your mind off a problem or unpleasant situation, it helps you to forget about it for a while.
trans-alaska pipeline — a pipeline system opened in 1977 that transports oil 800 miles (1300 km) across Alaska, from Prudhoe Bay on the North Slope S to Valdez harbor.
trustee in bankruptcy — a person appointed by a court to administer the property of a bankrupt.
universal disk format — (storage, standard) (UDF) A CD-ROM file system standard that is required for DVD ROMs. UDF is the OSTA's replacement for the ISO 9660 file system used on CD-ROMs, but will be mostly used on DVD. DVD multimedia disks use UDF to contain MPEG audio and video streams. To read DVDs you need a DVD drive, the kernel driver for the drive, MPEG video support, and a UDF driver. DVDs containing both UDF filesystems and ISO 9660 filesystems can be read without UDF support. UDF can also be used by CD-R and CD-RW recorders in packet writing mode.
venus's flower basket — a glass sponge of the genus Euplectella, inhabiting deep waters off the Philippines and Japan, having a cylindrical skeleton formed of an intricate latticework of siliceous spicules.
venus's looking glass — a purple-flowered campanulaceous plant, Legousia hybrida, of Europe, W Asia, and N Africa
vladivostok agreement — a preliminary arms control accord concluded by Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev and U.S. President Gerald Ford in Vladivostok, U.S.S.R., in December 1974.
weak head normal form — (reduction, theory) (WHNF) A lambda expression is in weak head normal form (WHNF) if it is a head normal form (HNF) or any lambda abstraction. I.e. the top level is not a redex. The term was coined by Simon Peyton Jones to make explicit the difference between head normal form (HNF) and what graph reduction systems produce in practice. A lambda abstraction with a reducible body, e.g. \ x . ((\ y . y+x) 2) is in WHNF but not HNF. To reduce this expression to HNF would require reduction of the lambda body: (\ y . y+x) 2 --> 2+x Reduction to WHNF avoids the name capture problem with its need for alpha conversion of an inner lambda abstraction and so is preferred in practical graph reduction systems. The same principle is often used in strict languages such as Scheme to provide call-by-name evaluation by wrapping an expression in a lambda abstraction with no arguments: D = delay E = \ () . E The value of the expression is obtained by applying it to the empty argument list:
whistling in the dark — If you say that someone is whistling in the dark, you mean that they are trying to remain brave and convince themselves that the situation is not as bad as it seems.
white-knuckle paddler — an inexpert and timid canoeist.
workers' compensation — a government-sponsored insurance system, funded by contributions from employers, for compensating employees for injury or occupational disease suffered in connection with their employment

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