17-letter words containing a, s, h, d
- 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.
- fourfold purchase — a tackle that is composed of a rope passed through two fourfold blocks in such a way as to provide mechanical power in the ratio of 1 to 5 or 1 to 4, depending on whether hauling is done on the running or the standing block and without considering friction. Compare tackle (def 2).
- french somaliland — a former name of Djibouti (def 1).
- fuss and feathers — an excessively elaborate or pretentious display; ostentation.
- gaucher's disease — a rare inherited disorder of fat metabolism that causes spleen and liver enlargement, abnormal fragility and pain of the bones, and progressive neurologic disturbances, leading to early death.
- general discharge — a discharge from military service of a person who has served honorably but who has not met all the conditions of an honorable discharge.
- go by the wayside — to be put aside on account of something more urgent
- golden hand-shake — a special incentive, as generous severance pay, given to an older employee as an inducement to elect early retirement.
- grande chartreuse — the Carthusian monastery at Grenoble, France: the chief monastery of the Carthusians until 1903.
- grandstand finish — a close or exciting ending to a sports match or competition
- grid merchandiser — A grid merchandiser is a lightweight, free-standing, flexible fixture made up of moveable grids of wire and used by retailers can display large volumes of merchandise in a small space.
- ground angle shot — a photograph or film shot in which the lens is near the ground, usually pointing up somewhat
- guardhouse lawyer — a person in military service, especially an inmate of a guardhouse or brig, who is or claims to be an authority on military law, regulations, and soldiers' rights.
- gustavus adolphus — (Gustavus Adolphus) 1778–1837, king of Sweden 1792–1809 (son of Gustavus III).
- gustavus-adolphus — (Gustavus Adolphus) 1778–1837, king of Sweden 1792–1809 (son of Gustavus III).
- haitian solenodon — a rare shrewlike nocturnal mammal of the Caribbean, Solenodon paradoxus, having a long hairless tail and an elongated snout: family Solenodontidae, order Insectivora (insectivores)
- half-round chisel — a cold chisel with a semicircular cutting edge used for making narrow channels
- hall of residence — Halls of residence are buildings with rooms or flats, usually built by universities or colleges, in which students live during the term.
- hammer and sickle — the emblem of the Soviet Union, adopted in 1923 and consisting of an insignia of a hammer with its handle across the blade of a sickle and a star above.
- handicap register — a list of the disabled people in its area that a local authority had a duty to compile under the Chronically Sick and Disabled Persons Act 1970
- hard-shelled clam — quahog
- hard-shelled crab — a crab, esp. an edible sea crab, before it has shed its hard shell
- hardware register — (hardware, system administration) (Or "hardware log") A list of all hardware, both internal and external, that is attached to a particular computer.
- haroun-al-raschid — Harun al-Rashid.
- have no words for — to be incapable of describing
- heart of darkness — a short novel (1902) by Joseph Conrad.
- herbaceous border — A herbaceous border is a flower bed containing a mixture of plants that flower every year.
- heritage industry — an industry that manages the historical sites, buildings, and museums in a particular place, with the aim of encouraging tourism
- heterochlamydeous — (of a plant) having a perianth consisting of distinct sepals and petals
- hexacosanoic acid — cerotic acid.
- historical method — the process of establishing general facts and principles through attention to chronology and to the evolution or historical course of what is being studied.
- hit the headlines — be prominently featured in the news
- hodgkin's disease — a type of cancer characterized by progressive chronic inflammation and enlargement of the lymph nodes of the neck, armpit, groin, and mesentery, by enlargement of the spleen and occasionally of the liver and the kidneys, and by lymphoid infiltration along the blood vessels.
- hold all the aces — If you say that someone holds all the aces, you mean that they have all the advantages in a contest or situation.
- hold one's breath — If you say that someone is holding their breath, you mean that they are waiting anxiously or excitedly for something to happen.
- hold sb to ransom — If you say that someone is holding you to ransom in British English, or holding you for ransom in American English, you mean that they are using their power to try to force you to do something which you do not want to do.
- hollandaise sauce — a sauce of egg yolks, butter, lemon juice, and seasonings.
- homeland security — national defence
- homogentisic acid — an intermediate compound in the metabolism of tyrosine and of phenylalanine, found in excess in the blood and urine of persons affected with alkaptonuria.
- horseradish sauce — a piquant sauce made from horseradish root, vinegar, etc, and traditionally eaten in Britain with roast beef
- hot-and-sour soup — a spicy Chinese soup made with pork, chicken, beans, vinegar, etc., served hot
- hottentot's bread — elephant's-foot.
- household ammonia — diluted ammonia, often having a small quantity of detergent, used in the home for cleaning.
- household cavalry — (in Britain) cavalry units forming part of the ceremonial guard of the monarch.
- how the land lies — the prevailing conditions or state of affairs
- hydrogasification — a high-temperature, high-pressure process for producing liquid or gaseous fuels from fine particles of coal and hydrogen gas
- hydrotherapeutics — hydrotherapy.
- hypochlorous acid — a weak, unstable acid, HOCl, existing only in solution and in the form of its salts, used as a bleaching agent and disinfectant.
- icosidodecahedron — A semiregular polyhedron with twelve faces that are regular pentagons and twenty that are equilateral triangles.
- icositetrahedrons — Plural form of icositetrahedron.