20-letter words containing b, o, e, r, s

set the ball rolling — to open or initiate (an action, discussion, movement, etc)
shaken baby syndrome — a usually fatal condition of abused infants brought on by violent shaking by the arms or shoulders that causes severe internal bleeding, especially around the brain and in the eyes.
short back and sides — If a man has a short back and sides, his hair is cut very short at the back and sides with slightly thicker, longer hair on the top of the head.
skull and crossbones — a representation of a front view of a human skull above two crossed bones, originally used on pirates' flags and now used as a warning sign, as in designating substances as poisons.
soke of peterborough — a former administrative unit of E central England, generally considered part of Northamptonshire or Huntingdonshire: absorbed into Cambridgeshire in 1974
solid rocket booster — a solid-propellant strap-on rocket used to accelerate a missile or launch vehicle during liftoff. Abbreviation: SRB.
special boat service — a unit of the Royal Marines specializing in reconnaissance and sabotage
spectroscopic binary — a binary star having components that are not sufficiently separated to be resolved by a telescope, known to be a binary only bythe variations in wavelength of emitted light that are detected by a spectroscope.
spherical aberration — variation in focal length of a lens or mirror from center to edge, due to its spherical shape.
spontaneous abortion — miscarriage (def 1).
spontaneous-abortion — Also called voluntary abortion. the removal of an embryo or fetus from the uterus in order to end a pregnancy.
spotted crane's-bill — the American wild geranium, Geranium maculatum.
standard book number — International Standard Book Number. Abbreviation: SBN.
step into the breach — If you step into the breach, you do a job or task which someone else was supposed to do or has done in the past, because they are suddenly unable to do it.
subscription edition — an edition of one or more volumes for which a number of prospective purchasers place orders, usually in advance of publication.
switchboard operator — a person who operates an installation in a telephone exchange, office, hotel, etc, at which the interconnection of telephone lines is manually controlled
telephone subscriber — a person who subscribes to a telephone service
television broadcast — sth shown on tv
the better to do sth — If you do something the better to do something else, you do the first thing in order to be able to do the second thing more effectively.
the toronto blessing — a variety of emotional reactions such as laughing, weeping, and fainting, experienced by participants in a form of charismatic Christian worship
to be a warning shot — to be a warning
to be at loggerheads — to be in conflict
to beat one's breast — If you say that someone beats their breast, you are emphasizing that they are very angry or upset about something, or that they are pretending to be very angry or upset about it.
to burst into flames — If something bursts into flames or bursts into flame, it suddenly starts burning strongly.
to cross the rubicon — If you say that someone has crossed the Rubicon, you mean that they have reached a point where they cannot change a decision or course of action.
to disturb the peace — If someone is accused of disturbing the peace, they are accused of behaving in a noisy and offensive way in public.
to get your bearings — to find out where one is or to find out what one should do next
to give sb their due — You can say 'to give him his due', or 'giving him his due' when you are admitting that there are some good things about someone, even though there are things that you do not like about them.
to have it in for sb — If someone has it in for you, they do not like you and they want to make life difficult for you.
to hope for the best — If you are in a difficult situation and do something and hope for the best, you hope that everything will happen in the way you want, although you know that it may not.
to scrape the barrel — If you say that someone is scraping the barrel, or scraping the bottom of the barrel, you disapprove of the fact that they are using or doing something of extremely poor quality.
to show sb the ropes — to show someone how to do a particular job or task
to take years off sb — if you say that something such as an experience or a way of dressing has taken years off someone, you mean that it has made them look or feel much younger
to waste your breath — If someone says you are wasting your breath, they mean that the person you are talking to will not take any notice and so there is no point saying anything to them.
toothbrush moustache — a short narrow moustache, resembling the filaments of a toothbrush
tropical disturbance — a very weak, or incipient, tropical cyclone.
under/below strength — If an army or team is under strength or below strength, it does not have all the members that it needs or usually has.
webster's dictionary — Informal. a dictionary of the English language, especially American English, such as Dictionary.com.
wilson cloud chamber — cloud chamber.
yellow-breasted chat — an American warbler, Icteria virens, having a yellow throat and breast and greenish-brown upper parts and noted for imitating the songs of other species.

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