17-letter words containing b, y, t
- buys ballot's law — a law stating that if an observer stands with his back to the wind in the N hemisphere, atmospheric pressure is lower on his left, and vice versa in the S hemisphere
- buys-ballot's law — the law stating that if one stands with one's back to the wind, in the Northern Hemisphere the atmospheric pressure will be lower on one's left and in the Southern Hemisphere it will be lower on one's right: descriptive of the relationship of horizontal winds to atmospheric pressure.
- by return of post — by the next mail in the opposite direction
- by the same token — You use by the same token to introduce a statement that you think is true for the same reasons that were given for a previous statement.
- cabbage butterfly — a common white butterfly (Pieris rapae) whose green larvae feed upon cabbage and related plants
- camberwell beauty — a nymphalid butterfly, Nymphalis antiopa, of temperate regions, having dark purple wings with cream-yellow borders
- celebrity wedding — a wedding of famous people, usually reported at length in celebrity magazines
- chicklet keyboard — (spelling) It's spelled "chiclet keyboard".
- churchyard beetle — a blackish nocturnal ground beetle, Blaps mucronata, found in cellars and similar places
- city of gibraltar — a city on the Rock of Gibraltar, a limestone promontory at the tip of S Spain: settled by Moors in 711 and taken by Spain in 1462; ceded to Britain in 1713; a British crown colony (1830–1969), still politically associated with Britain; a naval and air base of strategic importance. Pop: 29 111 (2013 est). Area: 6.5 sq km (2.5 sq miles)
- combinatory logic — (logic) A system for reducing the operational notation of logic, mathematics or a functional language to a sequence of modifications to the input data structure. First introduced in the 1920's by Schoenfinkel. Re-introduced independently by Haskell Curry in the late 1920's (who quickly learned of Schoenfinkel's work after he had the idea). Curry is really responsible for most of the development, at least up until work with Feys in 1958. See combinator.
- common of turbary — (in England) the legal right to cut peat for fuel on a common
- comprehensibility — capable of being comprehended or understood; intelligible.
- contingency table — an array having the frequency of occurrence of certain events in each of a number of samples
- cypriot syllabary — a syllabic script in use on Cyprus in the first millennium b.c., used for the writing of Greek and of an unknown language.
- cyrillic alphabet — the alphabet derived from that of the Greeks, supposedly by Saint Cyril, for the writing of Slavonic languages: now used primarily for Russian, Bulgarian, and the Serbian dialect of Serbo-Croat
- cytotrophoblastic — Relating to, or containing, cytotrophoblasts.
- dibutyl phthalate — a colorless oily liquid, C 16 H 22 O 4 , insoluble in water, used as a solvent, insect repellent, and plasticizer.
- differentiability — The ability to be differentiated.
- disability clause — a clause in a life-insurance policy providing for waiver of premium and sometimes payment of monthly income if the policyholder becomes totally and permanently disabled.
- disrespectability — Lack of respectability.
- downward mobility — movement from one social level to a higher one (upward mobility) or a lower one (downward mobility) as by changing jobs or marrying.
- drive-by shooting — an incident in which a person, building, or vehicle is shot at by someone in a moving vehicle
- egyptian brackets — (programming, humour) A humourous term for K&R indent style, referring to the "one hand up in front, one down behind" pose which popular culture inexplicably associates with Egypt.
- electricity board — a company which supplies electricity
- embroidery thread — a thread used for embroidery
- employee benefits — benefits, such as health insurance, pension payments, or childcare, given to employees in addition to their usual salary or wage
- eyelet embroidery — a piece of embroidery decorated with such work
- feasibility study — (systems analysis) Part of the systems develpment life cycle which aims to determine whether it is sensible to develop some system. The most popular model of feasibility study is "TELOS", standing for Technical, Economic, Legal, Operational, Schedule. Technical Feasibility: does the technology exist to implement the proposed system? Is it a practical proposition? Economic Feasibility: is the system cost-effective? Do benefits outweigh costs? Legal Feasibility: is there any conflict between the proposed system and legal requirements, e.g. the Data Protection Act? Operational Feasibility: are the current work practices and procedures adequate to support the new system? Schedule Feasibility: can the system be developed in time? After the feasibility study, the requirements analysis should be carried out.
- gamma-ray burster — a source of gamma-ray bursts
- garden strawberry — a plant which has white flowers and red edible fruits and is spread by runners, Fragaria ananassa
- glastonbury chair — a folding chair having legs crossed front-to-back and having arms connected to the back and to the front seat rail.
- globus hystericus — the sensation of having a lump in the throat or difficulty in swallowing for which no medical cause can be found.
- go by the wayside — to be put aside on account of something more urgent
- gunboat diplomacy — diplomatic relations involving the use or threat of military force, especially by a powerful nation against a weaker one.
- haemoglobinopathy — (medicine) Any of a group of inherited disorders in which haemoglobin does not function properly.
- have it both ways — to try to get the best of a situation, argument, etc, by chopping and changing between alternatives or opposites
- henry cabot lodge — Henry Cabot, 1850–1924, U.S. public servant and author: senator 1893–1924.
- hyperbolic secant — a hyperbolic function that is the reciprocal of cosh; sech
- hyperexcitability — an excessive reaction to stimuli.
- hyperirritability — extreme irritability.
- i am bound to say — You can say 'I am bound to say' to introduce a statement expressing something that you find undesirable or unexpected.
- impressionability — easily impressed or influenced; susceptible: an impressionable youngster.
- in broad daylight — openly, in full public view
- in the public eye — featured prominently in the media
- incommunicability — incapable of being communicated, imparted, shared, etc.
- incompressibility — The quality of being incompressible, of not compressing under pressure.
- indecipherability — Quality of being indecipherable.
- indestructibility — not destructible; that cannot be destroyed.
- indian strawberry — a plant, Duchesnea indica, of the rose family, native to India, having yellow flowers and inedible fruit resembling strawberries.