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17-letter words containing a, r, e, o, f

  • cut a poor figure — to appear or behave badly
  • damp-proof course — A damp-proof course is the same as a damp course.
  • david copperfield — a novel (1850) by Charles Dickens.
  • de facto standard — A widespread consensus on a particular product or protocol which has not been ratified by any official standards body, such as ISO, but which nevertheless has a large market share. The archetypal example of a de facto standard is the IBM PC which, despite is many glaring technical deficiencies, has gained such a large share of the personal computer market that it is now popular simply because it is popular and therefore enjoys fierce competition in pricing and software development.
  • dedifferentiation — the reversion of the cells of differentiated tissue to a less specialized form
  • defamiliarisation — (arts) The representation of objects anew, in a way that we do not recognize, or that changes our reading of them.
  • defamiliarization — Art, Literature. a theory and technique, originating in the early 20th century, in which an artistic or literary work presents familiar objects or situations in an unfamiliar way, prolonging the perceptive process and allowing for a fresh perspective.
  • denial of service — a deliberate interruption in access to a computer system or network, esp by using multiple computers to generate an unmanageable volume of traffic (distributed denial of service)
  • denial-of-service — pertaining to or being an incident in which a computer or computer network is disabled, disrupting access or service: a website hit by a denial-of-service attack; unintentional denial-of-service problems.
  • deprofessionalise — to remove from professional control, influence, manipulation, etc.
  • deprofessionalize — to remove from professional control, influence, manipulation, etc.
  • differential tone — a musical sound sometimes heard when two loud notes are sounded together, lower in pitch than either
  • dimethylformamide — a colourless liquid widely used as a solvent and sometimes as a catalyst. Formula: (CH3)2NCHO
  • double quatrefoil — a charge having the form of a foil with eight leaves, used especially as the cadency mark of a ninth son.
  • double refraction — the separation of a ray of light into two unequally refracted, plane-polarized rays of orthogonal polarizations, occurring in crystals in which the velocity of light rays is not the same in all directions.
  • drained of colour — colourless
  • dress-down friday — In some companies employees are allowed to wear clothes that are less smart than usual on a Friday. This day is known as a dress-down Friday.
  • drool-proof paper — (jargon)   Documentation that has been obsessively dumbed down, to the point where only a cretin could bear to read it, is said to have succumbed to the "drool-proof paper syndrome" or to have been "written on drool-proof paper". For example, this is an actual quote from Apple Computer's LaserWriter manual: "Do not expose your LaserWriter to open fire or flame."
  • due course of law — the regular administration of the law, according to which no citizen may be denied his or her legal rights and all laws must conform to fundamental, accepted legal principles, as the right of the accused to confront his or her accusers.
  • electrofiltration — Electrofiltration is a separation process in which an electric field is applied across a filter to improve separation.
  • electron affinity — a measure of the ability of an atom or molecule to form a negative ion, expressed as the energy released when an electron is attached
  • empirical formula — a chemical formula indicating the proportion of each element present in a molecule
  • ends of the earth — remote regions
  • exfoliating cream — a granular cosmetic preparation that removes dead cells from the skin's surface
  • factory inspector — a person who inspects factories
  • fade in (or out) — to appear or cause to appear (or disappear) gradually; make or become more (or less) distinct
  • fairness doctrine — a policy mandated by the Federal Communications Commission, requiring radio and television stations to grant equal time to a political candidate, group, etc., to present an opposing viewpoint to one already aired.
  • fall off the roof — to drop or descend under the force of gravity, as to a lower place through loss or lack of support.
  • fall on deaf ears — the organ of hearing and equilibrium in vertebrates, in humans consisting of an external ear that gathers sound vibrations, a middle ear in which the vibrations resonate against the tympanic membrane, and a fluid-filled internal ear that maintains balance and that conducts the tympanic vibrations to the auditory nerve, which transmits them as impulses to the brain.
  • fall over oneself — to do everything within one's power
  • far be it from me — I would not presume; on no account
  • fear and loathing — (Hunter S. Thompson) A state inspired by the prospect of dealing with certain real-world systems and standards that are totally brain-damaged but ubiquitous - Intel 8086s, COBOL, EBCDIC, or any IBM machine except the Rios (also known as the RS/6000).
  • fellow countryman — sb of same nationality
  • fendalton tractor — a four-wheel drive recreational vehicle
  • fermentation lock — a valve placed on the top of bottles of fermenting wine to allow bubbles to escape
  • ferroelectric ram — Ferroelectric Random Access Memory
  • field sales force — a team of people selling a product or service in the field as opposed to over the telephone, etc
  • fingerling potato — a finger-shaped potato
  • first commandment — “Thou shalt have no other gods before me”: first of the Ten Commandments.
  • first performance — the first time that a play or concert is performed
  • fish out of water — any of various cold-blooded, aquatic vertebrates, having gills, commonly fins, and typically an elongated body covered with scales.
  • fitness programme — a plan to help someone improve their health and physical condition
  • flagrante delicto — Law. in the very act of committing the offense.
  • flea in one's ear — a sharp rebuke
  • floating currency — a currency that is free to fluctuate against other currencies in accordance with market forces
  • flog a dead horse — a large, solid-hoofed, herbivorous quadruped, Equus caballus, domesticated since prehistoric times, bred in a number of varieties, and used for carrying or pulling loads, for riding, and for racing.
  • flower-of-an-hour — a malvaceous Old World herbaceous plant, Hibiscus trionum, having pale yellow flowers with a bladder-like calyx
  • flowering currant — an ornamental shrub, Ribes sanguineum, growing to 2 to 3 metres (6 to 9ft) in height, with red, crimson, yellow, or white flowers: family Saxifragaceae
  • flowering tobacco — any plant belonging to the genus Nicotiana, of the nightshade family, as N. alata and N. sylvestris, having clusters of fragrant flowers that usually bloom at night, grown as an ornamental.
  • fluvioterrestrial — (of animals) able to live in rivers and on land
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