17-letter words containing b, i, o, s, l
- impossible figure — a picture of an object that at first sight looks three-dimensional but cannot be a two-dimensional projection of a real three-dimensional object, for example a picture of a staircase that re-enters itself while appearing to ascend continuously
- impressionability — easily impressed or influenced; susceptible: an impressionable youngster.
- in double figures — An amount or number that is in single figures is between zero and nine. An amount or number that is in double figures is between ten and ninety-nine. You can also say, for example, that an amount or number is in three figures when it is between one hundred and nine hundred and ninety-nine.
- in double harness — in a harness for two animals pulling the same carriage, plow, etc.
- incompatibilities — not compatible; unable to exist together in harmony: She asked for a divorce because they were utterly incompatible.
- incompressibility — The quality of being incompressible, of not compressing under pressure.
- inconceivableness — The quality of being inconceivable.
- inertial observer — a hypothetical observer who is not accelerated with respect to an inertial system. Newton's laws of motion and the special theory of relativity apply to the measurements which would be made by such observers
- insupportableness — The state of being insupportable; insufferableness.
- insurmountability — incapable of being surmounted, passed over, or overcome; insuperable: an insurmountable obstacle.
- invisible exports — services sold to a foreign country or countries
- invisible imports — imports of services rather than goods
- irrecoverableness — The quality of being irrecoverable.
- john of salisbury — c1115–80, English prelate and scholar.
- john wilkes booth — Ballington [bal-ing-tuh n] /ˈbæl ɪŋ tən/ (Show IPA), 1859–1940, founder of the Volunteers of America 1896 (son of William Booth).
- lambda expression — (mathematics) A term in the lambda-calculus denoting an unnamed function (a "lambda abstraction"), a variable or a constant. The pure lambda-calculus has only functions and no constants.
- lambdoidal suture — the lambda-shaped seam or line of joining between the occipital and two parietal bones at the back part of the skull.
- lebanon mountains — a mountain range extending the length of Lebanon, in the central part. Highest peak, 10,049 feet (3063 meters).
- leibniz mountains — a mountain range on the SW limb of the moon, containing the highest peaks (10 000 metres) on the moon
- liberal democrats — (in Britain) a political party with centrist policies; established in 1988 as the Social and Liberal Democrats when the Liberal Party merged with the Social Democratic Party; renamed Liberal Democrats in 1989
- liberty of speech — freedom of speech.
- librocubicularist — (rare) A person who reads in bed.
- lick the boots of — to be servile, obsequious, or flattering towards
- light dawns on sb — If light dawns on you, you begin to understand something after a period of not being able to understand it.
- limousine liberal — a wealthy left-wing person
- lobster thermidor — a dish of cooked lobster meat placed back in the shell with a cream sauce, sprinkled with grated cheese and melted butter, and browned in the oven.
- lombrosian school — a school of criminology, promulgating the theories and employing the methods developed by Lombroso.
- loose-leaf binder — a hard cover with metal rings inside which is used to hold loose pieces of paper
- mis en bouteilles — (of a wine) bottled by a specified château, shipper, etc.
- national assembly — the body constituted by the French Third Estate in June 1789 after the calling of the Estates General. It was dissolved in Sept 1791 to be replaced by the new Legislative Assembly
- 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
- non-assignability — capable of being specified: The word has no assignable meaning in our language.
- objectionableness — The quality of being objectionable.
- old contemptibles — the British expeditionary force to France in 1914
- 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.
- paleobiochemistry — the study of biochemical processes that occurred in fossil life forms.
- percussion bullet — a bullet that is exploded by percussion
- 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.
- pseudo-biological — pertaining to biology.
- public prosecutor — an officer charged with the conduct of criminal prosecution in the interest of the public.
- public television — a type of noncommercial, usually educational, television programming funded by the government, grants, viewers, and corporations. Compare educational television.
- rhinoceros beetle — any of several scarabaeid beetles, especially of the genus Dynastes, which comprises the largest beetles, characterized by one or more horns on the head and prothorax.
- rhode island bent — a European pasture grass, Agrostis tenuis, naturalized in North America, having red flower clusters.
- roseate spoonbill — a tropical New World spoonbill, Ajaia ajaja, having rose-colored plumage and a bare head.
- sable island pony — a variety of wild pony found on Sable Island, Nova Scotia
- sandro botticelli — Sandro [san-droh,, sahn-;; Italian sahn-draw] /ˈsæn droʊ,, ˈsɑn-;; Italian ˈsɑn drɔ/ (Show IPA), (Alessandro di Mariano dei Filipepi) 1444?–1510, Italian painter.
- self-incompatible — not capable of self-pollination.
- semi-biographical — of or relating to a person's life: He's gathering biographical data for his book on Milton.
- shopping bag lady — bag lady (def 1).