23-letter words containing a, p, e, l
- refuse disposal service — a place or facility where rubbish and waste can be disposed
- relative sunspot number — a number indicating the degree of sunspot activity on the sun as a factor of observer idiosyncrasies, the number of sunspot groups, and the number of individual sunspots.
- respectability politics — the set of beliefs holding that conformity to socially acceptable or mainstream standards of appearance and behavior will protect a member of a marginalized or minority group from prejudices and systemic injustices: Black respectability politics perpetuate the fiction of a meritocracy in public education.
- response generalization — generalization (def 4b).
- response-generalization — the act or process of generalizing.
- retrolental fibroplasia — an unusual eye disease occurring in premature infants, usually from being given high concentrations of oxygen, which causes abnormal formation of fibrous tissue behind the lens and often results in blindness.
- reverse polish notation — postfix notation
- rocky mountain beeplant — a rank-smelling plant, Cleome serrulata, of the caper family, native to the western U.S., having showy, dense clusters of pink or white flowers, frequented by bees.
- schematic type variable — generic type variable
- schizotypal personality — a personality disorder characterized by a group of symptoms similar to but less severe than schizophrenia, as odd behavior, peculiar thinking, and social isolation.
- self-addressed envelope — addressed to self
- separation of variables — a grouping of the terms of an ordinary differential equation so that associated with each differential is a factor consisting entirely of functions of the independent variable appearing in the differential.
- sidewalk superintendent — a bystander who watches the building, demolition, repair, or other work being done at a construction site.
- silicone breast implant — silicone filled bags that are implanted into a woman in order to increase the size of her breasts
- slip between the cracks — to break without complete separation of parts; become fissured: The plate cracked when I dropped it, but it was still usable.
- slum clearance campaign — a campaign to rehouse those people who live in a slum area, and to prepare the area for demolition and rebuilding
- social democratic party — History/Historical. a political party in Germany advocating a form of social organization based on the economic and political ideology of Karl Marx.
- social security payment — a payment of social security made to an individual
- sodium tripolyphosphate — a white powder, Na 5 P 3 O 1 0 , used as a water softener, sequestering agent, and food additive.
- software developers kit — (jargon, product) (SDK, or "Software Development Kit") Software provided by a software vendor to allow their products to be used with those of other software vendors.
- somaliland protectorate — official name of the former British Somaliland.
- sparkling mineral water — Sparkling mineral water is mineral water that is slightly carbonated.
- speak the same language — to communicate with understanding because of common background, values, etc
- speak well/highly of sb — If you speak well of someone or speak highly of someone, you say good things about them. If you speak ill of someone, you criticize them.
- specialite de la maison — the specialty of the house (used in referring to the most important dish served by a restaurant).
- split-fingered fastball — a pitch, similar to the forkball but thrown with the same arm speed as a fastball, that drops suddenly as it nears the batter.
- st. pierre and miquelon — two small groups of islands off the S coast of Newfoundland: an overseas territory of France; important base for fishing. 3 sq. mi. (240 sq. km). Capital: St. Pierre.
- stereospecific catalyst — a catalyst for stereospecific chemical reactions
- structural unemployment — unemployment caused by basic changes in the overall economy, as in demographics, technology, or industrial organization.
- supplementary insurance — Supplementary insurance is insurance coverage that is purchased in addition to an insurance policy to provide additional benefits or coverage.
- suprasegmental phonemes — phonemes or features of speech, as pitch, stress, and juncture, that may extend over and modify series of segmental phonemes
- sustainable development — supporting economy via renewable resources
- talk/speak of the devil — People say speak of the devil, or in British English talk of the devil, if someone they have just been talking about appears unexpectedly.
- the metropolitan police — the police organization that is responsible for Greater London, excluding the City of London
- the scottish parliament — the devolved national legislature of Scotland, located in Edinburgh
- there'll be hell to pay — If you say there'll be hell to pay, you are emphasizing that there will be serious trouble.
- to call a spade a spade — If you say that someone calls a spade a spade, you mean that they speak clearly and directly about things, even embarrassing or unpleasant things.
- to clap eyes on someone — To clap eyes on someone or something, or set or lay eyes on them, means to see them.
- to have a police record — If you say that somebody has a police record, you mean that they have committed a crime or crimes and the police have a record of this.
- to keep your nose clean — If you keep your nose clean, you behave well and stay out of trouble.
- to play for high stakes — to gamble on something very important
- to pluck up the courage — If you pluck up the courage to do something that you feel nervous about, you make an effort to be brave enough to do it.
- to take a leap of faith — to risk belief
- to win the popular vote — to get a majority as regards the votes cast by individual voters
- to wipe the slate clean — If you wipe the slate clean, you decide to forget previous mistakes, failures, or debts and to start again.
- topological equivalence — the property of two topological spaces such that there is a homeomorphism from one to the other.
- trans-new guinea phylum — the largest grouping of the non-Austronesian languages of Papua and New Guinea and the surrounding regions
- transplantation antigen — a histocompatibility antigen identified by its effect on the rejection of transplanted cells or tissues.
- triple expansion engine — (formerly) a steam engine in which the steam is expanded in three stages in cylinders of increasing diameter to accommodate the increasing volume of the steam
- variable contrast paper — printing paper in which the contrast of the image is controlled by the color of the printing light.