18-letter words containing b, p, a, r
- double-page spread — two pages treated as one in a publication, with images or text extending across the binding
- eclipsing variable — a variable star whose changes in brightness are caused by periodic eclipses of two stars in a binary system.
- elizabeth petrovna — 1709-62; empress of Russia (1741-62): daughter of Peter I
- epstein-barr virus — a virus belonging to the herpes family that causes infectious mononucleosis; it is also implicated in the development of Burkitt's lymphoma and Hodgkin's disease
- farmer-labor party — a political party in Minnesota, founded in 1920 and merged with the Democratic Party in 1944.
- football supporter — a person who supports a particular football team
- forward compatible — forward compatibility
- gas-permeable lens — a semisoft contact lens, usually removed each day, that allows air to pass through to the eye and affords a wider range of vision corrections than a soft contact lens.
- giuseppe garibaldi — Giuseppe [juh-sep-ee;; Italian joo-zep-pe] /dʒəˈsɛp i;; Italian dʒuˈzɛp pɛ/ (Show IPA), 1807–82, Italian patriot and general.
- great pastern bone — the part of the foot of a horse, cow, etc., between the fetlock and the hoof.
- grumbling appendix — a condition in which the appendix causes intermittent pain but appendicitis has not developed
- hamilton's problem — Hamiltonian problem
- hermaphrodite brig — a two-masted sailing vessel, square-rigged on the foremast and fore-and-aft-rigged on the mainmast.
- hexachlorobiphenyl — (organic compound) Either of forty-two isomers of the polychlorinated biphenyl containing six chlorine atoms.
- hyperbaric chamber — a steel vessel in which atmospheric pressure can be raised or lowered by air compressors, used to treat divers or pilots afflicted with aeroembolism and to provide high-oxygen environments for certain medical treatments and operations.
- hyperbilirubinemia — an abnormally high level of bilirubin in the blood, manifested by jaundice, anorexia, and malaise, occurring in association with liver disease and certain hemolytic anemias.
- impressionableness — The quality of being impressionable.
- in all probability — the quality or fact of being probable.
- in good/bad repair — If something such as a building is in good repair, it is in good condition. If it is in bad repair, it is in bad condition.
- incremental backup — (operating system) A kind of backup that copies all files which have changed since the date of the previous backup. The first backup of a file system should include all files - a "full backup". Call this level 0. The next backup could also be a full level 0 backup but it is usually much quicker to do a level 1 backup which will include only those files which have changed since the level 0 backup. Together the level 0 and level 1 backups will include the latest version of every file. Level 1 backups can be made until, say, the backup tape is nearly full, after which we can switch to level 2. Each level includes those files which have changed since the last backup at a lower level. The more levels you use, the longer it will take to restore the latest version of a file (or all files) if you don't know when it was last modified. Compare differential backup.
- interdependability — capable of being depended on; worthy of trust; reliable: a dependable employee.
- irreproachableness — The quality or state of being irreproachable; integrity; innocence.
- kakorrhaphiophobia — (rare) the fear of failure or defeat.
- lubber grasshopper — plains grasshopper.
- membrane transport — the process by which physiologically important substances, such as calcium ions, sugars, etc, are conveyed across a biological membrane
- mordovian republic — a constituent republic of W central Russia, in the middle Volga basin. Capital: Saransk. Pop: 888 700 (2002). Area: 26 200 sq km (10 110 sq miles)
- motor torpedo boat — PT boat.
- napoleon bonaparte — Jérôme [juh-rohm;; French zhey-rohm] /dʒəˈroʊm;; French ʒeɪˈroʊm/ (Show IPA), 1784–1860, king of Westphalia 1807 (brother of Napoleon I).
- nebular hypothesis — the theory that the solar system evolved from a mass of nebular matter: prominent in the 19th century following its precise formulation by Laplace.
- nobiliary particle — a preposition forming part of a title of nobility or surname, as French de or German von.
- nonachlorobiphenyl — (organic compound) Either of three isomers of the polychlorinated biphenyl containing nine chlorine atoms.
- nuclear capability — If a country has nuclear capability, it is able to produce nuclear power and usually nuclear weapons.
- octachlorobiphenyl — (organic compound) Either of twelve isomers of the polychlorinated biphenyl containing eight chlorine atoms.
- one-banana problem — (jargon, abuse) At computer installations where the computers have operators for routine administrivia, the programmers and hardware people tend to look down on the operators and claim that a trained monkey could do their job. The incentives offered to said monkeys would then describe the difficulty of a task. A one-banana problem is simple; hence, "It's only a one-banana job at the most; what's taking them so long?" See also Infinite-Monkey Theorem.
- open pandora's box — If someone or something opens Pandora's box or opens a Pandora's box, they do something that causes a lot of problems to appear that did not exist or were not known about before.
- optical brightener — an additive that dyes and brightens fabric or paper
- palm beach gardens — a city in SE Florida, near North Palm Beach.
- passive vocabulary — all the words, collectively, that a person can understand
- pattern bargaining — a collective bargaining technique in which contract terms in one settlement are used as models to be imposed on other negotiating parties within an industry.
- payment by results — a system of wage payment whereby all or part of the wage varies systematically according to the level of work performance of an employee
- personal bodyguard — a person employed to protect a particular person
- pileolated warbler — either of two western subspecies of Wilson's warbler.
- play silly buggers — to fool around and waste time
- plumber's merchant — a shop or business that sells things needed for the job of installing and repairing pipes, fixtures, etc, for water, drainage, and gas
- point-bearing pile — a pile depending on the soil or rock beneath its foot for support.
- portable equipment — Portable equipment is electrical equipment that can easily be moved from one place to another while in operation or while connected to the supply.
- prairie crab apple — a tree, Malus ioensis, of the rose family, native to the central U.S., having downy branchlets, white or rose-tinted flowers, and round, waxy, greenish fruit.
- prairie wake-robin — a woodland trillium, Trillium recurvatum, of the central U.S., having purple-mottled leaves and brown-purple flowers.
- precipitable water — the total water vapor contained in a unit vertical column of the atmosphere.
- prepositional verb — a combination of verb and preposition, often with idiomatic meaning, differing from other phrasal verbs in that an object must always follow the preposition, as take after in The children take after their mother.