21-letter words containing a, s, p, o
- corpus juris canonici — the official compilation of canon law published by authority of Gregory XIII in 1582, superseded by the Codex Juris Canonici in 1918
- corpuscular radiation — radiation consisting of atomic and subatomic particles, as alpha particles, beta particles, and neutrons.
- corrupt practices act — any of several U.S. statutes for ensuring the purity of elections by forbidding the purchase of votes, restricting the amount and source of political contributions, limiting campaign expenditures, and requiring the submission of an itemized statement of such expenditures.
- countably compact set — a set for which every cover consisting of a countable number of sets has a subcover consisting of a finite number of sets.
- court of common pleas — (formerly) a superior court exercising jurisdiction in civil actions between private citizens
- crankcase compression — Crankcase compression is the method of starting some smaller two-stroke engines, where the mixture charge is compressed in a sealed crankcase by the descending piston before passing to the combustion chamber.
- crystallographic axis — one of the imaginary reference lines passing through the center of an ideal crystal, designated a, b, or c.
- dark-field microscope — ultramicroscope
- decompression chamber — a chamber in which the pressure of air can be varied slowly for returning people from abnormal pressures to atmospheric pressure without inducing decompression sickness
- department of defense — the department of the U.S. federal government charged with ensuring that the military capacity of the U.S. is adequate to safeguard the national security. Abbreviation: DOD.
- department of justice — the department of the U.S. federal government charged with the responsibility for the enforcement of federal laws. Abbreviation: DOJ.
- deprovincialization's — to make provincial in character.
- designated employment — (in Britain) any of certain kinds of jobs reserved for handicapped workers under the Disabled Persons (Employment) Act 1944
- diapason normal pitch — a standard of pitch in which A above middle C is established at 435 vibrations per second.
- disk operating system — DOS.
- double predestination — the doctrine that God has foreordained both those who will be saved and those who will be damned.
- double spanish burton — a tackle having one standing block and two running blocks, giving a mechanical advantage of five, neglecting friction.
- drop in someone's lap — give someone the responsibility of
- dusky seaside sparrow — a species of sparrow, Ammospiza maritima, existing in two subspecies, one (Cape Sable seaside sparrow) having dark olive-drab plumage with a lighter breast and underbelly, and the other (dusky seaside sparrow) having bold black and white markings on the breast and underbelly: the dusky seaside sparrow is almost extinct.
- eastern european time — a standard time used by some countries in Eastern Europe, such as Finland, Romania, etc and also some countries of the Middle East and North Africa
- electroencephalograms — Plural form of electroencephalogram.
- electromagnetic pulse — a surge of electromagnetic radiation, esp one resulting from a nuclear explosion, which can disrupt electronic devices and, occasionally, larger structures and equipment
- electronystagmography — A diagnostic test to record involuntary movements of the eye caused by a condition known as nystagmus. It can also be used to diagnose the cause of vertigo, dizziness or balance dysfunction by testing the vestibular system.
- endoplasmic reticulum — an extensive intracellular membrane system whose functions include synthesis and transport of lipids and, in regions where ribosomes are attached, of proteins
- epidermolysis bullosa — type of genetic skin disorder
- european space agency — an organization dedicated to space exploration with 18 European countries as members
- exposure compensation — the act of overriding a camera's automatic exposure in order to achieve a particular effect or due to difficult lighting conditions
- fluorophosphoric acid — any of three acids containing fluorine and phosphorus, HPF 6 , HPO 2 F 2 , or H 2 PO 3 F.
- forensic anthropology — the branch of physical anthropology in which anthropological data, criteria, and techniques are used to determine the sex, age, genetic population, or parentage of skeletal or biological materials in questions of civil or criminal law.
- framing specification — A specification of the "protocol bits" that surround the "data bits" on a communications channel to allow the data to be "framed" into chunks, like start and stop bits in EIA-232. It allows a receiver to synchronize at points along the data stream.
- french fried potatoes — a more formal name for chips
- frequent wash shampoo — a shampoo whose mildness allows it to be used frequently
- gastrohepatic omentum — lesser omentum.
- gender disappointment — a feeling of depression or anxiety experienced by an expectant parent when the gender of the baby does not match his or her preference
- gestalt psychotherapy — a therapy devised in the US in the 1960s in which patients are encouraged to concentrate on the immediate present and to express their true feelings
- give place to someone — to make room for or be superseded by someone
- give someone a leg up — to help someone to climb an obstacle by pushing upwards
- grease someone's palm — the part of the inner surface of the hand that extends from the wrist to the bases of the fingers.
- help a person on with — to assist a person in the putting on of (clothes)
- historic places trust — (in New Zealand) the statutory body concerned with the conservation of historic buildings, esp with ancient Māori sites
- hop, skip, and a jump — a short distance: The laundry is just a hop, skip, and a jump away.
- human papilloma virus — a species of virus that causes genital warts. Abbreviation: HPV.
- humanistic psychology — an approach to psychology that emphasizes emotions and the better understanding of the self in terms of observation of oneself and one's relations with others
- hypercholesterolaemia — the condition of having a high concentration of cholesterol in the blood
- hysterosalpingography — (medicine) X-ray examination of the uterus and oviducts following injection of a radiopaque substance.
- identical proposition — a proposition in which the subject and predicate have the same meaning, as, “That which is mortal is not immortal.”.
- identification papers — documents that serve to establish someone's identity
- imprecise probability — (probability) A probability that is represented as an interval (as opposed to a single number) included in [0,1].
- in (or out of) phase — in (or not in) a state of exactly parallel movements, oscillations, etc.; in (or not in) synchronization
- in phase/out of phase — If two things are out of phase with each other, they are not working or happening together as they should. If two things are in phase, they are working or occurring together as they should.