15-letter words containing c, a, r, n, i
- sharing economy — a system in which people rent, borrow, or share commodities, services, and resources owned by individuals, usually with the aid of online technology, in an effort to save money, cut costs, and reduce waste.
- shock probation — the release on probation of a criminal after brief imprisonment
- shock resistant — not affected by impact
- shock-resistant — strong or resilient enough to sustain minor impacts without damage to the internal mechanism: a shock-resistant watch.
- shopping arcade — a place where a number of shops are connected together under one roof
- silicon carbide — a very hard, insoluble, crystalline compound, SiC, used as an abrasive and as an electrical resistor in objects exposed to high temperatures.
- simple fraction — a ratio of two integers.
- sinclair, clive — Clive Sinclair
- singing teacher — a teacher who gives instruction in how to sing
- snafu principle — /sna'foo prin'si-pl/ [WWII Army acronym for "Situation Normal: All Fucked Up"] "True communication is possible only between equals, because inferiors are more consistently rewarded for telling their superiors pleasant lies than for telling the truth." - a central tenet of Discordianism, often invoked by hackers to explain why authoritarian hierarchies screw up so reliably and systematically. The effect of the SNAFU principle is a progressive disconnection of decision-makers from reality. This lightly adapted version of a fable dating back to the early 1960s illustrates the phenomenon perfectly: In the beginning was the plan, and then the specification; And the plan was without form, and the specification was void. And darkness was on the faces of the implementors thereof; And they spake unto their leader, saying: "It is a crock of shit, and smells as of a sewer." And the leader took pity on them, and spoke to the project leader: "It is a crock of excrement, and none may abide the odor thereof." And the project leader spake unto his section head, saying: "It is a container of excrement, and it is very strong, such that none may abide it." The section head then hurried to his department manager, and informed him thus: "It is a vessel of fertilizer, and none may abide its strength." The department manager carried these words to his general manager, and spoke unto him saying: "It containeth that which aideth the growth of plants, and it is very strong." And so it was that the general manager rejoiced and delivered the good news unto the Vice President. "It promoteth growth, and it is very powerful." The Vice President rushed to the President's side, and joyously exclaimed: "This powerful new software product will promote the growth of the company!" And the President looked upon the product, and saw that it was very good. After the subsequent disaster, the suits protect themselves by saying "I was misinformed!", and the implementors are demoted or fired.
- social contract — the voluntary agreement among individuals by which, according to any of various theories, as of Hobbes, Locke, or Rousseau, organized society is brought into being and invested with the right to secure mutual protection and welfare or to regulate the relations among its members.
- social drinking — the practice of drinking alcohol occasionally and usually only in social situations
- social-drinking — a person who drinks alcoholic beverages usually in the company of others and is in control of his or her drinking.
- spanish america — the Spanish-speaking countries south of the U.S.: Mexico, Central America (with the exception of Belize), South America (with the exceptions of Brazil, French Guiana, Guyana, and Suriname), and most of the West Indies.
- spanish morocco — French Maroc. Spanish Marruecos. a kingdom in NW Africa: formed from a sultanate that was divided into two protectorates (French Morocco and Spanish Morocco) and an international zone. 172,104 sq. mi. (445,749 sq. km). Capital: Rabat. Compare Tangier Zone.
- sparcstation 10 — (computer) A SPARCStation with a 4-way associative data cache and a five-way associative instruction cache. The 10/31, 10/41 and 10/51 also have a secondary cache not present on earlier SPARCStations.
- sparcstation 20 — (computer) A SPARCStation based on the HyperSPARC processor. The 20 is compatible with the earlier SPARCstation 10. It has a clock rate of 100MHz and delivers a SPECfp92 of 127.6. The SPARCstation 20 Model 71 and 712MP uses the 75MHz SuperSPARC processors that give a 35% and 14% boost to SPECint92 and SPECfp92 respectively compared to the 61/612MP.
- special partner — a partner whose liability for the firm's debts is limited to the amount that partner has invested in the firm.
- speech training — training designed to improve spoken skills, such as voice projection
- speed indicator — an instrument for counting the number of revolutions of a gasoline engine.
- spherical angle — an angle formed by arcs of great circles of a sphere.
- spinach-rhubarb — an Ethiopian plant, Rumex abyssinicus, of the buckwheat family, having leaves that are sometimes used as spinach and leafstalks sometimes used as rhubarb.
- sporting chance — an even or fair opportunity for a favorable outcome in an enterprise, as winning in a game of chance or in any kind of contest: They gave the less experienced players a sporting chance by handicapping the experts.
- spring-cleaning — a complete cleaning of a place, as a home, done traditionally in the spring of the year.
- sprinkler dance — a celebratory dance in which participants extend one arm and shake it to imitate the action of a rotating water sprinkler
- stage direction — an instruction written into the script of a play, indicating stage actions, movements of performers, or production requirements.
- standing charge — fixed energy costs
- star attraction — the main or most popular attraction, as of a tourist destination, etc
- star connection — a connection used in a polyphase electrical device or system of devices in which the windings each have one end connected to a common junction, the star point, and the other end to a separate terminal
- starting blocks — the rigid blocks adjustable at an angle and mounted on a track against which a runner's shoes are placed to aid in starting
- station officer — a person who is in charge of a fire station
- storm insurance — insurance cover against damage caused by windstorms
- straight-acting — (of a gay person) having the mannerisms of a heterosexual person: used esp by gay people of other gay people
- straining piece — (in a queen-post roof) a horizontal beam uniting the tops of the two queen posts, and resisting the thrust of the roof.
- strait of canso — a channel in Canada, between the Nova Scotia mainland and S Cape Breton Island
- street accident — a traffic accident
- stretch a point — a sharp or tapering end, as of a dagger.
- structural iron — iron shaped for use in construction.
- sub-corporation — an association of individuals, created by law or under authority of law, having a continuous existence independent of the existences of its members, and powers and liabilities distinct from those of its members. See also municipal corporation, public corporation.
- subject-raising — a rule that moves the subject of a complement clause into the clause in which it is embedded, as in the derivation of He is likely to be late from It is likely that he will be late
- subsidiary coin — a coin, especially one made of silver, having a value less than that of the monetary unit.
- subtrochanteric — Anatomy. either of two knobs at the top of the femur, the greater on the outside and the lesser on the inside, serving for the attachment of muscles between the thigh and pelvis.
- superexcitation — the act of exciting.
- superficialness — being at, on, or near the surface: a superficial wound.
- surface density — quantity, as of electric charge, per unit surface area.
- surface tension — the elasticlike force existing in the surface of a body, especially a liquid, tending to minimize the area of the surface, caused by asymmetries in the intermolecular forces between surface molecules.
- surface-ripened — (of cheese) ripened on the surface by molds or other microorganisms.
- surgical needle — a needle for suturing.
- synergistically — pertaining to, characteristic of, or resembling synergy: a synergistic effect.
- syngeneic graft — a tissue or organ transplanted from one member of a species to another, genetically identical member of the species, as a kidney transplanted from one identical twin to the other.