26-letter words containing a, u, d, i, e
- intellectually handicapped — having learning difficulties
- intermediate-value theorem — the theorem that a function continuous between two points and having unequal values, a and b, at the two points takes on all values between a and b.
- intermodulation distortion — (electronics, communications) (IMD) Nonlinear distortion in a system or transducer, characterised by the appearance in the output of frequencies equal to the sums and differences of integral multiples of the two or more component frequencies present in the input waveform.
- kick you when you are down — If you say that someone kicks you when you are down, you think they are behaving unfairly because they are attacking you when you are in a weak position.
- knights of the round table — a legendary order of knights created by King Arthur.
- law of diminishing returns — diminishing returns (def 2).
- lossless audio compression — (audio, compression) Any kind of audio compression in which the original signal and the decoded signal are bitwise identical. Lossless audio compression algorithms are usually based on a data compression algorithm like PKzip or gzip but specialized for PCM audio data. The signal is divided into predictable tonal components and unpredictable noisy components. Tonal components are stored as coefficients of a predictor, the remaining signal is coded by Rice coding, Huffman coding or arithmetic coding.
- micronetics standard mumps — (MSM) A version of MUMPS for the IBM PC RT and R6000.
- monday morning quarterback — a person who criticizes the actions or decisions of others after the fact, using hindsight to assess situations and specify alternative solutions.
- mongolian hordes technique — (programming, jargon) (Or "Chinese Army technique") Assigning a large number of inexperienced programmers to a job which would better performed by a few skilled ones. The term was first used by Dr. Fred Brooks in his book "The Mythical Man-Month", Chapter 3. According to Dr. Brooks, he had in mind the vision of the Mongol Hordes sweeping across Asia and Europe when he created the term.
- monobasic sodium phosphate — Chemistry. sodium phosphate (def 1).
- most-favored-nation clause — a clause in a commercial treaty or contract by which each signatory agrees to give the other the same treatment that is or will be accorded any other nation.
- mutual assured destruction — a U.S. doctrine of reciprocal deterrence resting on the U.S. and Soviet Union each being able to inflict unacceptable damage on the other in retaliation for a nuclear attack.
- national database language — (database, standard) (NDL) A US standard for portability of database definitions and application programs.
- newfoundland standard time — one of the standard times used in Canada, three and a half hours behind Greenwich Mean Time
- nondeterministic automaton — (theory) (Or "probabilistic automaton") An automaton in which there are several possible actions (outputs and next states) at each state of the computation such that the overall course of the computation is not completely determined by the program, the starting state, and the initial inputs. See also nondeterministic Turing Machine.
- obscene publications squad — a division of the police force which deals with illegal books, pictures, or films which are judged obscene because they deal with sex or violence in a way that is considered offensive to the general public
- official production system — (language) (OPS) The first production system (i.e. rule based) programming language, developed at CMU in 1970 and used for building expert systems. OPS was originally written in Franz Lisp and later ported to other LISP dialects.
- open document architecture — (standard) (ODA) ISO standard (8613) for describing documents. It allows text, graphics, and facsimile documents to be transferred between different systems.
- overdraft checking account — a bank account with a credit line permitting checks to be written for an amount above the account balance, subject to a finance charge on the overdraft.
- period-luminosity relation — the relationship between the period of light variation and of the absolute magnitude of Cepheid variable stars.
- phenylethylbarbituric acid — phenobarbital.
- pick up the threads of sth — If you pick up the threads of an activity, you start it again after an interruption. If you pick up the threads of your life, you become more active again after a period of failure or bad luck.
- post-and-beam construction — wall construction in which beams rather than studs are used to support heavy posts.
- pulse-amplitude modulation — modulation of the amplitude of a train of electric pulses used to carry signals (pulse carrier) Abbreviation: PAM.
- quasi-stellar radio source — a quasar having detectable radio emission. Abbreviation: QSS.
- red-backed squirrel monkey — a related species, Saimiri oerstedi, of Central America, having a reddish coat and dark brown limbs
- reformed church in america — a Protestant denomination having a Calvinist theology and originally called the Dutch Reformed Church.
- renderman shading language — ["The RenderMan Companion", S. Upstill, A-W 1989, chaps 13-15].
- reticuloendothelial system — the aggregate of the phagocytic cells, including certain cells of the bone marrow, lymphatic system, liver, and spleen, that have reticular and endothelial characteristics and function in the immune system's defense against foreign bodies. Abbreviation: RES.
- richardson ground squirrel — a ground squirrel, Citellus richardsoni, of sagebrush and grassland areas of the northwestern U.S. and adjacent regions in Canada.
- round peg in a square hole — a person in a position, situation, etc. for which he or she is unsuited or unqualified
- sangre de cristo mountains — a mountain range in S Colorado and N New Mexico: part of the Rocky Mountains. Highest peak: Blanca Peak, 4364 m (14 317 ft)
- simulating digital systems — Fortran-like language for describing computer logic design. Sammet 1969, p.622.
- sixty-four-dollar question — the critical or basic question or problem: Whether the measure will get through Congress this session or not is the sixty-four-dollar question.
- square peg in a round hole — If you describe someone as a square peg in a round hole, you mean that they are in a situation or doing something that does not suit them at all.
- st andrews static language — (language) (SASL) A functional programming language designed by Professor David Turner in 1976 whilst at St. Andrews University. SASL is a derivative of ISWIM with infinite data structures. It is fully lazy but weakly typed. It was designed for teaching functional programming, with very simple syntax. Example syntax: def fac n = n = 0 -> 1 ; n x fac(n-1) A version of the expert system EMYCIN has been written in SASL. SASL was originally known as "St Andrews Standard Language". Not to be confused with SISAL.
- staffordshire bull terrier — one of an English breed of strong, stocky, muscular dogs having a broad skull and a smooth coat, in combinations of red, white, black, or blue, originally raised for bullbaiting and later dogfighting, but now bred as a companion dog.
- state of the union address — an annual message to Congress in which the president reports on the state of the nation and outlines a legislative program: required by the Constitution (Article II, Section 3). Abbreviation: SOTU.
- straight from the shoulder — direct, honest, and forceful in expression; outspoken.
- straight-from-the-shoulder — direct, honest, and forceful in expression; outspoken.
- super video graphics array — (hardware) (SVGA) A video display standard created by VESA for IBM PC compatible personal computers. The resolution is 800 x 600 4-bit pixels. Each pixel can therefore be one of 16 colours. See Video Graphics Array.
- tarred with the same brush — any of various dark-colored viscid products obtained by the destructive distillation of certain organic substances, as coal or wood.
- temperature-humidity index — a number representing an estimate of the effect of temperature and moisture on humans, computed by multiplying the sum of dry-bulb and wet-bulb temperature readings by 0.4 and adding 15, with 65 assumed as the highest comfortable index. Abbreviation: T.H.I.
- textured vegetable protein — soya meat; a meat substitute that is made from soy flour
- the entertainment industry — the businesses connected with music, films, TV etc
- the inland revenue service — (in the US) a government board that administers and collects major direct taxes
- the royal and ancient club — a golf club, headquarters of the sport's ruling body, based in St Andrews, Scotland
- to be made public property — to become known to everyone
- to rub salt into the wound — If someone or something rubs salt into the wound, they make the unpleasant situation that you are in even worse, often by reminding you of your failures or faults.