21-letter words containing a, y, e, r

salam-weinberg theory — the electroweak theory.
santa cruz water lily — a South American aquatic plant, Victoria cruziana, of the water lily family, having floating leaves from 2–5 feet (0.6–1.5 meters) and deep pink or red flowers.
saving your reverence — a form of apology for using an obscene or taboo expression
scarlet monkey flower — any of various plants belonging to the genus Mimulus, of the figwort family, as M. cardinalis (scarlet monkey flower) having spotted flowers that resemble a face.
schlieren photography — a type of photography which records schlieren
scorched earth policy — a military practice of devastating the property and agriculture of an area before abandoning it to an advancing enemy.
scorched-earth policy — a military practice of devastating the property and agriculture of an area before abandoning it to an advancing enemy.
secondary containment — Secondary containment is a system for dealing with hazardous spills.
sedimentary sequences — Sedimentary sequences are layers of rock which are derived from weathered rocks, biogenic (= of living organisms) activity, or precipitation from solution.
seventeen-year locust — a cicada, Magicicada septendecim, of the eastern U.S., having nymphs that live in the soil, usually emerging in great numbers after 17 years in the North or 13 years in the South.
skew symmetric matrix — a matrix that is equal to the negation of its transpose
social inquiry report — (in Britain) a report on a person and his or her circumstances, which may be required by a court before sentencing and is made by a probation officer or a social worker from a local authority social services department
split-screen facility — a facility allowing different scenes to be shown on screen at the same time
statutory declaration — a declaration made under statutory authority before a justice of the peace or commissioner for oaths which may in certain cases be substituted for a statement on oath
steady state universe — a universe described by the steady state theory.
steady-state response — A steady-state response is the behavior of a circuit after a long time when steady conditions have been reached after an external excitation.
stokes-adams syndrome — unconsciousness accompanying atrioventricular heart block, sometimes characterized by weakness, irregular pulse, and intermittent convulsive or nonconvulsive seizures.
strachey, christopher — Christopher Strachey
sunday school teacher — someone who teaches at a Sunday school
supplementary benefit — (formerly) an extra amount of money that is paid to someone by the government, in addition to their normal income. Replaced by income support in 1988
sympathetic vibration — a vibration induced by resonance.
systeme international — Système International d'Unités
take sb/sth seriously — If you take someone or something seriously, you believe that they are important and deserve attention.
tape operating system — (operating system) (TOS) An IBM operating system for System 360, used in the early days around 1965 to support the IBM 360 model 30 et al. TOS was a predecessor to IBM's Disk Operating System. TOS died out really early as disks such as the 2311 and 2314 became common with the IBM 360 whereas thet had been a real luxury on the IBM 7090.
tartarian honeysuckle — an Asian honeysuckle, Lonicera tatarica, having fragrant, white to pink flowers.
the apple of your eye — If you say that someone is the apple of your eye, you mean that they are very important to you and you are extremely fond of them.
the break of day/dawn — The break of day or the break of dawn is the time when it begins to grow light after the night.
the early renaissance — the period from about 1400 to 1500 in European, esp Italian, painting, sculpture, and architecture, when naturalistic styles and humanist theories were evolved from the study of classical sources, notably by Donatello, Masaccio, and Alberti
the household cavalry — a group of British soldiers on horseback who have the job of protecting the king or queen and their family
the maastricht treaty — a treaty on European economic and monetary union agreed by government leaders of the 12 EC states at a meeting in Maastricht in December 1991
the royal scots greys — (formerly) a British cavalry regiment, the Second Dragoons
the stationery office — (in the UK) the company that supplies the civil service with all its office supplies, machinery, printing and binding, etc
the throwaway society — a society full of excessive consumption and waste of food, products, etc
the women's land army — a unit of women recruited to do agricultural work in the United Kingdom during World War I and World War II
the yellow brick road — the road to success or happiness (in the film the Wizard of Oz the yellow brick road leads to Oz)
theoretical physicist — a scientist who studies theoretical physics
therapeutic community — a group-based form of therapy for mental disorders, sometimes residential
third party procedure — impleader.
third-party insurance — insurance that compensates for a loss to a party other than the insured for which the insured is liable.
threshold wage policy — a policy whereby wages are increased in accordance with inflation
to be arrayed against — to be opposed to
to have money to burn — If you say that someone has money to burn, you mean that they have more money than they need or that they spend their money on things that you think are unnecessary.
to lay down your life — If someone lays down their life for another person, they die so that the other person can live.
to lay something bare — If you lay something bare, you uncover it completely so that it can then be seen.
to let your hair down — If you let your hair down, you relax completely and enjoy yourself.
to look the other way — If you say that someone looks the other way, you are critical of them because they pay no attention to something unpleasant that is happening, when they should be dealing with it properly.
to mix your metaphors — If you mix your metaphors, you use two conflicting metaphors. People do this accidentally, or sometimes deliberately as a joke.
to play the race card — if someone plays the race card they bring up the issue of race in a discussion, perhaps for sympathy or to seek popularity by appealing to racist sentiment
to rear its ugly head — If something unpleasant rears its head or rears its ugly head, it becomes visible or noticeable.
to take your mind off — If something takes your mind off a problem or unpleasant situation, it helps you to forget about it for a while.

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