15-letter words containing a, p, o, r
- unix conspiracy — [ITS] According to a conspiracy theory long popular among ITS and TOPS-20 fans, Unix's growth is the result of a plot, hatched during the 1970s at Bell Labs, whose intent was to hobble AT&T's competitors by making them dependent upon a system whose future evolution was to be under AT&T's control. This would be accomplished by disseminating an operating system that is apparently inexpensive and easily portable, but also relatively unreliable and insecure (so as to require continuing upgrades from AT&T). This theory was lent a substantial impetus in 1984 by the paper referenced in the back door entry. In this view, Unix was designed to be one of the first computer viruses (see virus) - but a virus spread to computers indirectly by people and market forces, rather than directly through disks and networks. Adherents of this "Unix virus" theory like to cite the fact that the well-known quotation "Unix is snake oil" was uttered by DEC president Kenneth Olsen shortly before DEC began actively promoting its own family of Unix workstations. (Olsen now claims to have been misquoted.)
- unleaded petrol — petrol containing a reduced amount of tetraethyl lead
- unpatriotically — in a manner that is not enthusiastically supporting one's country and its ways of life
- unpronounceable — to enunciate or articulate (sounds, words, sentences, etc.).
- unproportionate — proportioned; being in due proportion; proportional.
- unprotestantize — to make something (e.g. a church, country, etc) a religion other than Protestant
- unsportsmanlike — a man who engages in sports, especially in some open-air sport, as hunting, fishing, racing, etc.
- up to your ears — If you are up to your ears in something, it is taking up all of your time, attention, or resources.
- upper arlington — a city in central Ohio, near Columbus.
- upperclasswoman — An upperclasswoman is a junior or senior student in a high school, college, or university.
- upward mobility — movement from one social level to a higher one (upward mobility) or a lower one (downward mobility) as by changing jobs or marrying.
- upwardly mobile — See under vertical mobility (def 1).
- uropygial gland — a gland opening on the back at the base of the tail in most birds that secretes an oily fluid used by the bird in preening its feathers.
- utility program — system software used to perform standard operations, as sorting data or copying data from one file to another, for application programs or other system software.
- vapour pressure — the pressure exerted by a vapour. The saturated vapour pressure is that exerted by a vapour in equilibrium with its solid or liquid phase at a particular temperature
- variola porcina — an acute infectious viral disease of pigs characterized by skin eruptions
- vernier compass — a compass on a transit (vernier transit) having a vernier for adjusting magnetic bearings to read as true bearings.
- vicar apostolic — Roman Catholic Church. a titular bishop serving either in a district where no episcopal see has been established, or in one where the succession of bishops has been interrupted.
- vine phylloxera — a homopterous insect, Phylloxera vitifolia, typically feeding on vine juices
- water pennywort — any of numerous perennial herbs of the genus Hydrocotyle, of the parsley family, having rounded leaves and living in water or marshy places.
- water pollution — the pollution of the sea and rivers
- weapons carrier — a light truck for transporting weapons or munitions in the field.
- weatherproofing — Present participle of weatherproof.
- west hartlepool — a former borough, now part of Hartlepool, in Cleveland County, in NE England, at the mouth of the Tees.
- windfall profit — a profit that arises thanks to an external event over which the person profiting had no control
- working capital — the amount of capital needed to carry on a business.
- wraparound care — a childcare facility intended to help working parents, in which young children are looked after before and after school
- xenotransplants — Plural form of xenotransplant.
- xerographically — In a xerographic way; by xerography.
- xeroradiography — an x-ray utilizing a specially coated plate that allows a picture to be developed without the use of liquid chemicals.
- xylotypographic — involving or pertaining to xylotypography
- yorke peninsula — a peninsula in S Australia between Spencer Gulf and the Gulf of St. Vincent. 160 miles (257 km) long and 20–35 miles (32–56 km) wide.
- z-zero particle — one of three particles, called intermediate vector bosons, that are believed to transmit the weak force. Symbol: Z 0.
- zoogeographical — Pertaining to zoogeography.