23-letter words containing a, t, p, o

social security payment — a payment of social security made to an individual
sodium tripolyphosphate — a white powder, Na 5 P 3 O 1 0 , used as a water softener, sequestering agent, and food additive.
software developers kit — (jargon, product) (SDK, or "Software Development Kit") Software provided by a software vendor to allow their products to be used with those of other software vendors.
somaliland protectorate — official name of the former British Somaliland.
specialite de la maison — the specialty of the house (used in referring to the most important dish served by a restaurant).
spigot and socket joint — a joint between two pipes using male and female parts
st. pierre and miquelon — two small groups of islands off the S coast of Newfoundland: an overseas territory of France; important base for fishing. 3 sq. mi. (240 sq. km). Capital: St. Pierre.
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
stand up and be counted — express opinion
statutory maternity pay — the maternity pay a woman is legally entitled to
stereospecific catalyst — a catalyst for stereospecific chemical reactions
structural anthropology — a school of anthropology founded by Claude Lévi-Strauss and based loosely on the principles of structural linguistics.
structural unemployment — unemployment caused by basic changes in the overall economy, as in demographics, technology, or industrial organization.
suprasegmental phonemes — phonemes or features of speech, as pitch, stress, and juncture, that may extend over and modify series of segmental phonemes
sustainable development — supporting economy via renewable resources
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.
the chamber of deputies — the lower legislative assembly in some parliaments
the data protection act — a United Kingdom act of parliament designed to ensure the proper handling of information stored about individuals on computers and entitling individuals to find out what information is stored about them
the department of state — the United States federal department concerned with foreign policy
the metropolitan police — the police organization that is responsible for Greater London, excluding the City of London
the scottish parliament — the devolved national legislature of Scotland, located in Edinburgh
the teaching profession — the profession of a teacher
there'll be hell to pay — If you say there'll be hell to pay, you are emphasizing that there will be serious trouble.
thompson submachine gun — a portable, .45-caliber, automatic weapon designed to be fired from the shoulder or hip.
to call a spade a spade — If you say that someone calls a spade a spade, you mean that they speak clearly and directly about things, even embarrassing or unpleasant things.
to clap eyes on someone — To clap eyes on someone or something, or set or lay eyes on them, means to see them.
to get/put sb's back up — If someone or something puts your back up or gets your back up, they annoy you.
to have a police record — If you say that somebody has a police record, you mean that they have committed a crime or crimes and the police have a record of this.
to jump to a conclusion — If you say that someone jumps to a conclusion, you are critical of them because they decide too quickly that something is true, when they do not know all the facts.
to keep a straight face — If you manage to keep a straight face, you manage to look serious, although you want to laugh.
to keep a tight rein on — If you keep a tight rein on someone, you control them firmly.
to keep someone company — If you keep someone company, you spend time with them and stop them feeling lonely or bored.
to keep your nose clean — If you keep your nose clean, you behave well and stay out of trouble.
to pass the time of day — If you pass the time of day with someone, you have a short friendly conversation with them.
to pay through the nose — If you say that you paid through the nose for something, you are emphasizing that you had to pay what you consider too high a price for it.
to play for high stakes — to gamble on something very important
to pluck up the courage — If you pluck up the courage to do something that you feel nervous about, you make an effort to be brave enough to do it.
to send someone packing — If you send someone packing, you make them go away.
to take a leap of faith — to risk belief
to win the popular vote — to get a majority as regards the votes cast by individual voters
to wipe the slate clean — If you wipe the slate clean, you decide to forget previous mistakes, failures, or debts and to start again.
topological equivalence — the property of two topological spaces such that there is a homeomorphism from one to the other.
transplantation antigen — a histocompatibility antigen identified by its effect on the rejection of transplanted cells or tissues.
transverse presentation — presentation in which the fetus is turned with its long axis across the mouth of the uterus, at right angles to the axis of the birth canal.
triple expansion engine — (formerly) a steam engine in which the steam is expanded in three stages in cylinders of increasing diameter to accommodate the increasing volume of the steam
turn-and-slip indicator — bank-and-turn indicator.
unincorporated business — a privately owned business, often owned by one person who has unlimited liability as the business is not legally registered as a company
unipress software, inc. — (company) A developer and distributor of Unix software. They produce PC-UNIX connectivity software, development tools and applications and provide technical support and maintenance, porting services, training and consulting.
variable contrast paper — printing paper in which the contrast of the image is controlled by the color of the printing light.
virtual private network — (networking, security) (VPN) The use of encryption in the lower protocol layers to provide a secure connection through an otherwise insecure network, typically the Internet. VPNs are generally cheaper than real private networks using private lines but rely on having the same encryption system at both ends. The encryption may be performed by firewall software or possibly by routers. Link-level (layer 2 and 3) encryption provides extra protection by encrypting all of each datagram except the link-level information. This prevents a listener from obtaining information about network structure. While link-level encryption prevents traffic analysis (a form of attack), it must encrypt/decrypt on every hop and every path. Protocol-level encryption (layer 3 and 4) encryption encrypts protocol data but leaves protocol and link headers clear. While protocol-level encryption requires you to encrypt/decrypt data only once, and it encrypts/decrypts only those sessions that need it, headers are sent as clear text, allowing traffic analysis. Application (layer 5 up) encryption is based on a particular application and requires that the application be modified to incorporate encryption.

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