17-letter words containing b, a, h, s
- nicholas bourbaki — the pseudonym of a group of mainly French mathematicians that, since 1939, has been producing a monumental work on advanced mathematics, Eléments de Mathématique
- northeast by east — a point on the compass 11°15′ east of northeast. Abbreviation: NEbE.
- old south arabian — a group of four closely related Semitic languages, having a writing system and used from about the eighth to the fifth centuries b.c. in the southern part of Arabia.
- on one's deathbed — about to die
- on the pig's back — successful; established
- opisthobranchiate — (zoology) Of or pertaining to the Opisthobranchiata.
- out at the elbows — the bend or joint of the human arm between upper arm and forearm.
- paleobiochemistry — the study of biochemical processes that occurred in fossil life forms.
- plains of abraham — a high plain adjoining the city of Quebec, Canada: battlefield where the English under Wolfe defeated the French under Montcalm in 1759.
- pocket battleship — a small heavily armed and armored warship serving as a battleship because of limitations imposed by treaty.
- purple shore crab — any of numerous crabs that live along the shoreline between the tidemarks, as Hemigrapsus nudus (purple shore crab) of the Pacific coast of North America.
- push the boat out — to celebrate, esp lavishly and expensively
- red-backed shrike — a common Eurasian shrike, Lanius collurio, the male of which has a grey crown and rump, brown wings and back, and a black-and-white face
- rhode island bent — a European pasture grass, Agrostis tenuis, naturalized in North America, having red flower clusters.
- rubarth's disease — a common, rapidly progressing viral hepatitis of dogs and other carnivores, often confused with canine distemper.
- save one's breath — the air inhaled and exhaled in respiration.
- saved by the bell — a hollow instrument of cast metal, typically cup-shaped with a flaring mouth, suspended from the vertex and rung by the strokes of a clapper, hammer, or the like.
- saxe-coburg-gotha — a member of the present British royal family, from the establishment of the house in 1901 until 1917 when the family name was changed to Windsor.
- say the unsayable — to express an opinion thought to be too controversial to mention
- scrape the barrel — to be forced to use one's last and weakest resource
- semi-biographical — of or relating to a person's life: He's gathering biographical data for his book on Milton.
- september weather — weather characteristic of the month of September, esp in being unpredictable as summer is ending and autumn is beginning
- shake one's booty — to dance
- shopping bag lady — bag lady (def 1).
- shopping-bag lady — bag lady (def 1).
- shubra al khaymah — a city in NE Egypt, a Cairo suburb.
- sinbad the sailor — a merchant in The Arabian Nights who makes seven adventurous voyages
- sodium bichromate — a red or orange crystalline, water-soluble solid, Na 2 Cr 2 O 7 ⋅2H 2 O, used as an oxidizing agent in the manufacture of dyes and inks, as a corrosion inhibitor, a mordant, a laboratory reagent, in the tanning of leather, and in electroplating.
- southeast by east — a point on the compass 11°15′ east of southeast. Abbreviation: SEbE.
- spoonbill catfish — flathead catfish.
- squash vine borer — the larva of a clearwing moth, Melittia satyriniformis, that bores into the stems of squash and related plants.
- squaw huckleberry — deerberry.
- star of bethlehem — the star that is supposed to have appeared above Bethlehem at the birth of Christ
- star-of-bethlehem — any of several plants belonging to the genus Ornithogalum, of the lily family, having grasslike leaves and clusters of white flowers.
- state the obvious — point out sth already evident
- stymphalian birds — a flock of predacious birds of Arcadia that were driven away and killed by Hercules as one of his labors.
- substantive right — a right, as life, liberty, or property, recognized for its own sake and as part of the natural legal order of society.
- sunbury-on-thames — a town in SE England, in N Surrey. Pop: 27 415 (2001)
- take sth by storm — If someone or something takes a place by storm, they are extremely successful.
- the bag of tricks — every device; everything
- the barbary coast — a historic name for the Mediterranean coast of North Africa: a centre of piracy against European shipping from the 16th to the 19th centuries
- the beehive state — Utah
- the buckeye state — a nickname for Ohio
- the carboniferous — the Carboniferous period or rock system
- the establishment — a group or class of people having institutional authority within a society, esp those who control the civil service, the government, the armed forces, and the Church: usually identified with a conservative outlook
- the last sb heard — You can use expressions such as the last I heard and the last she heard to introduce a piece of information that is the most recent that you have on a particular subject.
- the tabloid press — (considered as a whole) newspapers with pages about 30 cm (12 inches) by 40 cm (16 inches), usually characterized by an emphasis on photographs and a concise and often sensational style
- the twelve tables — the earliest code of Roman civil, criminal, and religious law, promulgated in 451–450 bc
- the whole shebang — The whole shebang is the whole situation or business that you are describing.
- the-invisible-man — a novel (1897) by H.G. Wells.