23-letter words containing a, s, h, t
- planetesimal hypothesis — one of the small celestial bodies that, according to one theory (planetesimal hypothesis) were fused together to form the planets of the solar system.
- potassium monophosphate — any of the three orthophosphates of potassium ((potassium monophosphate) (K 2 HPO 4), (potassium diphosphate) (KH 2 PO 4), and (tripotassium phosphate) (K 3 PO 4) )
- psychomotor retardation — a generalized slowing of psychological and physical activity, frequently occurring as a symptom of severe depression.
- put the record straight — to correct an error or misunderstanding
- put through one's paces — a rate of movement, especially in stepping, walking, etc.: to walk at a brisk pace of five miles an hour.
- queen charlotte islands — a group of about 150 islands off the W coast of Canada: part of British Columbia. Pop: about 6000 (latest est). Area: 9596 sq km (3705 sq miles)
- queen elizabeth islands — a group of islands off the N coast of Canada: the northernmost islands of the Canadian Arctic archipelago, lying N of latitude 74°N; part of Nunavut. Area: about 390 000 sq km (150 000 sq miles)
- quota share reinsurance — Quota share reinsurance is a form of reinsurance in which the reinsurer accepts a certain percentage of all or certain parts of the business of the reinsured person or company.
- quote chapter and verse — [by analogy with the mainstream phrase] To cite a relevant excerpt from an appropriate bible. "I don't care if "rn" gets it wrong; "Followup-To: poster" is explicitly permitted by RFC 1036. I'll quote chapter and verse if you don't believe me." See also legalese, language lawyer, RTFS (sense 2).
- reverse polish notation — postfix notation
- rheumatic heart disease — damage to the heart, especially to the valves, as a result of rheumatic fever, characterized by inflammation of the myocardium or scarring and malfunction of the heart valves.
- rub sb up the wrong way — If you rub someone up the wrong way in British English, or rub someone the wrong way in American English, you offend or annoy them without intending to.
- russian orthodox church — the national Church of Russia, constituting a branch of the Eastern Church, presided over by the Patriarch of Moscow
- saddle block anesthesia — a form of spinal anesthesia that produces loss of sensation in the buttocks, perineum, and inner thighs.
- saint christopher-nevis — St. Kitts-Nevis.
- saint george's mushroom — an edible whitish basidiomycetous fungus, Tricholoma gambosum, with a floury smell
- 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.
- scottish national party — a political party advocating the independence of Scotland, founded in 1934
- secondary seventh chord — a chord formed by superposition of three thirds upon any degree of the scale except the dominant.
- secondary sex character — any of a number of manifestations, as development of breasts or beard, muscularity, distribution of fat tissue, and change of pitch in voice, specific to each sex and incipient at puberty but not essential to reproduction.
- securities exchange act — a law passed in 1934 establishing the SEC.
- self extracting archive — (file format) (SEA) An archive format used on the Apple Macintosh. Double-clicking a file of this type should extract its contents.
- set one's heart at rest — Anatomy. a hollow, pumplike organ of blood circulation, composed mainly of rhythmically contractile smooth muscle, located in the chest between the lungs and slightly to the left and consisting of four chambers: a right atrium that receives blood returning from the body via the superior and inferior vena cavae, a right ventricle that pumps the blood through the pulmonary artery to the lungs for oxygenation, a left atrium that receives the oxygenated blood via the pulmonary veins and passes it through the mitral valve, and a left ventricle that pumps the oxygenated blood, via the aorta, throughout the body.
- sheltered accommodation — housing specially designed to provide a safe environment for the elderly, handicapped, or disabled, often with some shared facilities and a caretaker
- short-billed marsh wren — sedge wren.
- short-tailed shearwater — any of several long-winged seabirds, often used as food, especially Puffinus tenuirostris (short-tailed shearwater) of Australia and Puffinus griseus (sooty shearwater) which breeds in the Southern Hemisphere and winters in the Northern Hemisphere.
- site catchment analysis — the examination by survey, excavation, maps, and graphs of a contained area to evaluate the productivity of the resources customarily exploited by the inhabitants of a settlement, especially a prehistoric one.
- 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.
- smithsonian institution — an institution in Washington, D.C., founded 1846 with a grant left by James Smithson, for the increase and diffusion of knowledge: U.S. national museum and repository.
- sodium tripolyphosphate — a white powder, Na 5 P 3 O 1 0 , used as a water softener, sequestering agent, and food additive.
- speak the same language — to communicate with understanding because of common background, values, etc
- staggered directorships — a defence against unwelcome takeover bids in which a company resolves that its directors should serve staggered terms of office and that no director can be removed from office without just cause, thus preventing a bidder from controlling the board for some years
- statement of cash flows — A statement of cash flows is a financial statement that shows the amounts of cash that came into and went out of a company over a particular period of time.
- steal someone's thunder — to strike, drive, inflict, give forth, etc., with loud noise or violent action.
- straight bill of lading — a bill of lading that is issued to a specified consignee for the delivery of the goods and that cannot be endorsed to another party.
- structural anthropology — a school of anthropology founded by Claude Lévi-Strauss and based loosely on the principles of structural linguistics.
- suprasegmental phonemes — phonemes or features of speech, as pitch, stress, and juncture, that may extend over and modify series of segmental phonemes
- survival of the fittest — (not in technical use) natural selection.
- take it into one's head — If somebody takes it into their head to do something, especially something strange or foolish, they suddenly decide to do it.
- take sth in your stride — In British English, if you take a problem or difficulty in your stride, you deal with it calmly and easily. The American expression is take something in stride.
- take sthing on the chin — If you say that someone took something on the chin, you mean that they accepted an unpleasant or difficult situation bravely and without making a lot of fuss about it.
- talk someone's head off — to communicate or exchange ideas, information, etc., by speaking: to talk about poetry.
- 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.
- tennessee walking horse — an American breed of horse, marked by its stamina and trained to move at a fast running walk
- thank one's lucky stars — any of the heavenly bodies, except the moon, appearing as fixed luminous points in the sky at night.
- the chamber of deputies — the lower legislative assembly in some parliaments
- the department of state — the United States federal department concerned with foreign policy
- the haves and have-nots — the people who are very wealthy and the people who are very poor
- the library of congress — the official library of the United States in Washington, DC. It houses extensive collections in all subject areas and formats, important historical documents, and is also a depository for copyrighted materials.