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16-letter words containing b, a, c, k

  • champagne bucket — A champagne bucket is a container that holds ice cubes or cold water and ice. You can use it to put bottles of champagne in and keep the champagne cool.
  • chernobyl packet — (networking)   /cher-noh'b*l pak'*t/ A network packet that induces a broadcast storm and/or network meltdown, named in memory of the April 1986 nuclear accident at Chernobyl in Ukraine. The typical scenario involves an IP Ethernet datagram that passes through a gateway with both source and destination Ethernet address and IP address set as the respective broadcast addresses for the subnetworks being gated between. Compare Christmas tree packet.
  • chiclet keyboard — (hardware, abuse)   A keyboard with a small, flat rectangular or lozenge-shaped rubber or plastic keys that look like pieces of Chiclets chewing gum. Used especially to describe the original IBM PCjr keyboard. Vendors unanimously liked these because they were cheap, and a lot of early portable and laptop computers were launched with them. Customers rejected the idea with almost equal unanimity, and chiclets are not often seen on anything larger than a digital watch any more.
  • class background — a person's background with reference to social class
  • clbuttic mistake — the humorous effect created by anti-obscenity filters that automatically replace offensive words in online articles with more acceptable variants
  • cocktail cabinet — a cupboard in which glasses and bottles are kept
  • combination lock — A combination lock is a lock which can only be opened by turning a dial or a number of dials according to a particular series of letters or numbers.
  • combination skin — facial skin that is dry in some areas and greasy in others
  • commercial break — A commercial break is the interval during a commercial television programme, or between programmes, during which advertisements are shown.
  • commonplace book — a notebook in which quotations, poems, remarks, etc, that catch the owner's attention are entered
  • cooperative bank — a cooperative savings institution, chartered and regulated by a state or the federal government, that receives deposits in exchange for shares of ownership and invests its funds chiefly in loans secured by first mortgages on homes.
  • cracked up to be — alleged or believed to be
  • diamondback moth — a small moth Plutella xylostella that has diamond-shaped markings on the underside of its front wings that are visible when the wings are folded
  • electric blanket — electrically-heated bedcover
  • embarkation card — an official document that allows travellers to leave a country by boarding a ship or plane
  • feedback control — (electronics)   A control system which monitors its effect on the system it is controlling and modifies its output accordingly. For example, a thermostat has two inputs: the desired temperature and the current temperature (the latter is the feedback). The output of the thermostat changes so as to try to equalise the two inputs. Computer disk drives use feedback control to position the read/write heads accurately on a recording track. Complex systems such as the human body contain many feedback systems that interact with each other; the homeostasis mechanisms that control body temperature and acidity are good examples.
  • flat-track bully — a sportsperson who dominates inferior opposition, but who cannot beat top-level opponents
  • gapless playback — audio or visual playback without any interruptions or silence between tracks or scenes
  • hit a brick wall — unable to continue or make progress because of a hindrance
  • horseback riding — activity: riding a horse
  • insurance broker — person who sells insurance policies
  • kentucky warbler — a wood warbler, Oporornis formosus, of the U.S., olive-green above, yellow below, and marked with black on the face.
  • khakass republic — a constituent republic of S central Russia, formerly in Krasnoyarsk Territory: formed in 1930. Capital: Abakan. Pop: 546 100 (2002). Area: 61 900 sq km (23 855 sq miles)
  • kit and caboodle — a set or collection of tools, supplies, instructional matter, etc., for a specific purpose: a first-aid kit; a sales kit.
  • knapsack problem — the problem of determining which numbers from a given collection of numbers have been added together to yield a specific sum: used in cryptography to encipher (and sometimes decipher) messages.
  • krebs urea cycle — urea cycle.
  • labtech notebook — (tool, product)   Commercial data aquisition software.
  • lick observatory — the astronomical observatory of the University of California, situated on Mount Hamilton, near San Jose, California, and having a 120-inch (3-meter) reflecting telescope and a 36-inch (91-cm) refracting telescope.
  • lipstick lesbian — a lesbian who is feminine in manner or appearance; a femme.
  • little black ant — a widely distributed ant, Monomorium minimum, sometimes a household pest.
  • lumberjack shirt — a thick checked shirt, as worn by lumberjacks
  • mackinaw blanket — a thick woolen blanket, often woven with bars of color, formerly used in the northern and western U.S. by Indians, loggers, etc.
  • man on horseback — a military leader who presents himself as the savior of the country during a period of crisis and either assumes or threatens to assume dictatorial powers.
  • megakaryoblastic — (cytology) Of or pertaining to a megakaryoblast.
  • nubuck (leather) — tanned leather similar to suede, but with the nap on the grain side
  • observation deck — an area on a high building that is surrounded with railings or fencing and which provides panoramic views
  • on the back foot — at a disadvantage; outmanoeuvred or outclassed by an opponent
  • pocket billiards — pool2 (def 1).
  • rack one's brain — If you rack your brains, you try very hard to think of something.
  • round lake beach — a town in NE Illinois.
  • run the blockade — to go past or through a blockade
  • scotch blackface — one of a Scottish breed of mountain sheep having a black face and growing long, coarse wool.
  • security blanket — a blanket or other familiar item carried especially by a young child to provide reassurance and a feeling of psychological security.
  • slap on the back — to congratulate
  • stab in the back — to pierce or wound with or as if with a pointed weapon: She stabbed a piece of chicken with her fork.
  • strike a balance — compromise
  • symbolical books — the books containing the creeds, beliefs, or doctrine of religious groups that have emerged since the Reformation
  • take a back seat — a seat at the rear.
  • take the biscuit — Take the biscuit means the same as take the cake.
  • the black forest — a hilly wooded region of SW Germany, in Baden-Württemberg: a popular resort area
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