22-letter words containing b, a, n, s
- not be sb's department — If you say that a task or area of knowledge is not your department, you mean that you are not responsible for it or do not know much about it.
- object-oriented pascal — Object Pascal
- on a shoestring budget — with very little money to spend
- one's ears are burning — one is aware of being the topic of another's conversation
- peanut-butter sandwich — a sandwich with a filling of peanut-butter
- portable standard lisp — (language) (PSL) A dialect of Lisp from Utah University. PSL is available as a kit for 68000 and also runs on VAX. It compiles Lisp to C-code virtual machine language.
- prawn-sandwich brigade — sports fans who are perceived to lack passion and commitment, and who it is supposed attend matches in order to eat food and buy merchandise rather than cheer on their team
- preestablished harmony — (in the philosophy of Leibnitz) synchronous operation of all monads, since their simultaneous creation, in accordance with the preexisting plan of God.
- probationary assistant — a teacher in the first probationary years
- public domain software — public domain
- pulmonary tuberculosis — tuberculosis of the lungs.
- read between the lines — a mark or stroke long in proportion to its breadth, made with a pen, pencil, tool, etc., on a surface: a line down the middle of the page.
- red-breasted merganser — a widely distributed merganser, Mergus serrator of America and Europe: family Anatidae
- replacement cost basis — Replacement cost basis is a method of valuing insured property in which the cost of replacing property is calculated without a reduction for depreciation.
- research establishment — an establishment or institution where research or investigation into a subject, topic, etc, can be conducted
- round-table discussion — a discussion held at a meeting of parties or people on equal terms
- sainte anne de beaupre — a village in S Quebec, Canada, on the St. Lawrence River: shrine and basilica.
- sainte-anne-de-beaupré — village in S Quebec, Canada, on the St. Lawrence: site of a Rom. Catholic shrine (established 1658): pop. 3,000
- satellite broadcasting — the transmission of television or radio programmes from an artificial satellite at a power suitable for direct reception in the home
- sb can whistle for sth — If you say that someone can whistle for a particular thing, you mean that you are not willing or able to give it to them.
- scalable sampling rate — (compression, standard, algorithm) (SSR) See, e.g., MPEG-4 AAC SSR.
- scissors-and-paste job — if you describe a piece of work as a scissors and paste job, you mean that it has been mechanically compiled, as if by simply cutting and pasting different parts to make a new whole
- search the fucking web — (web, jargon) (Always abbreviated STFW) A response implying that an inquirer could have easily found an answer to his question using Google or some other web search engine. It is now often quicker and more productive to search the World-Wide Web than to RTFM.
- second-hand bookseller — a person who has a second-hand bookshop
- shaken but not stirred — If you say that someone has been shaken but not stirred by an experience, you mean that they have been slightly disturbed or emotionally affected by it, but not deeply enough to change their behaviour or way of thinking.
- simultaneous broadcast — a programme, etc, broadcast simultaneously on radio and television
- sir william blackstone — Sir William, 1723–80, English jurist and writer on law.
- sixteen bit organisers — (communications) (SIBO) Psion's family of PDAs running EPOC, including the MC200, MC400, Series 3 (1991-1998), Series 3a, Series 3c, Series 3mx, Siena, Workabout and Workabout mx.
- small business edition — Microsoft Office Small Business Edition
- social security number — A Social Security number is a nine digit number that is given to U.S. citizens and to people living in the U.S. You need it to get a job, collect Social Security benefits and receive some government services.
- softening of the brain — a softening of the cerebrum, caused by impairment of the blood supply; encephalomalacia.
- south african republic — former name of Transvaal.
- southern redbelly dace — any of the small, brightly colored North American freshwater cyprinids, especially Phoxinus oreas (northern redbelly dace) and P. erythrogaster (southern redbelly dace)
- spontaneous combustion — the ignition of a substance or body from the rapid oxidation of its own constituents without heat from any external source.
- start the ball rolling — to open or initiate (an action, discussion, movement, etc)
- subliminal advertising — a form of advertising on film or television that employs subliminal images to influence the viewer unconsciously
- subornation of perjury — the offense of bribing or otherwise persuading another to commit perjury.
- substantive agreements — collective agreements that regulate jobs, pay, and conditions
- swings and roundabouts — If you say that a situation is swings and roundabouts, you mean that there are as many gains as there are losses.
- take a fancy to sb/sth — If you take a fancy to someone or something, you start liking them, usually for no understandable reason.
- take one's breath away — the air inhaled and exhaled in respiration.
- take/tickle sb's fancy — If something takes your fancy or tickles your fancy, you like it a lot when you see it or think of it.
- ten-spined stickleback — a small teleost fish, Gasterosteus pungitius, of the family Gasterosteidae, of rivers and coastal regions, having ten spines along the back and occurring in cold and temperate northern regions
- the edinburgh festival — an arts festival held in Edinburgh in August
- threespine stickleback — a widely distributed stickleback, Gasterosteus aculeatus, occurring in marine, brackish, or fresh waters throughout the northern hemisphere.
- tip the scales/balance — If something tips the scales or tips the balance, it gives someone a slight advantage.
- to be a one-way street — if you describe an agreement or a relationship as a one-way street, you mean that only one of the sides in the agreement or relationship is offering something or is benefitting from it
- to be knocked sideways — If you are knocked sideways by something, it makes you feel very surprised, confused, or upset.
- to be on the safe side — If you say you are doing something to be on the safe side, you mean that you are doing it in case something undesirable happens, even though this may be unnecessary.
- to bend over backwards — If you say that someone is bending over backwards to be helpful or kind, you are emphasizing that they are trying very hard to be helpful or kind.