19-letter words containing c, h, l, a
- physical sequential — (file format) (PS, QSAM, Queued Sequential Access Method) The simplest data set on an IBM mainframe. Sequential files can only be read or written from the beginning: they do not support random access.
- physically impaired — with reduced or weakened physical capacity
- pillars of hercules — the two promontories at the E end of the Strait of Gibraltar: the Rock of Gibraltar on the European side and the Jebel Musa on the African side; according to legend, formed by Hercules
- pinwheel escapement — a clock escapement in which two pallets, usually of unequal length, alternately engage and release pins set on the escape wheel perpendicular to its plane of rotation.
- pneumoencephalogram — an encephalogram made after the replacement of the cerebrospinal fluid by air or gas, rarely used since the development of the CAT scanner.
- police headquarters — building where police are stationed
- political geography — the branch of human geography that deals with the relationship between political processes and spatial structures (regions, territories, etc)
- polyphosphoric acid — any one of a series of oxyacids of phosphorus with the general formula Hn+2PnO3n+1. The first member is pyrophosphoric acid (n = 2) and the series includes the highly polymeric metaphosphoric acid. The higher acids exist in an equilibrium mixture
- professional school — a postgraduate school or college which trains students for a particular profession
- pseudo-biographical — of or relating to a person's life: He's gathering biographical data for his book on Milton.
- pseudopsychological — of or relating to psychology.
- psychological novel — a novel that focuses on the complex mental and emotional lives of its characters and explores the various levels of mental activity.
- psychophysiological — of or relating to psychophysiology.
- psychotechnological — of or relating to psychotechnology
- puerperal psychosis — a mental disorder sometimes occurring in women after childbirth, characterized by deep depression, delusions of the child's death, and homicidal feelings towards the child
- radiopharmaceutical — any of a number of radioactive drugs used diagnostically or therapeutically.
- raise one's hackles — one of the long, slender feathers on the neck or saddle of certain birds, as the domestic rooster, much used in making artificial flies for anglers.
- rake over the coals — a black or dark-brown combustible mineral substance consisting of carbonized vegetable matter, used as a fuel. Compare anthracite, bituminous coal, lignite.
- rancho palos verdes — a town in SW California.
- rap on the knuckles — a mild reprimand or light sentence
- rayleigh scattering — the scattering of light by particles that are very small in relation to the wavelength of the light, and in which the intensity of the scattered light varies inversely with the fourth power of the wavelength.
- rec room (or hall) — recreation room (or hall)
- reciprocal exchange — an unincorporated association formed so that its members can participate in reciprocal insurance.
- redress the balance — to make a fair adjustment; see that justice is done
- regular icosahedron — an icosahedron in which each of the faces is an equilateral triangle
- releasing mechanism — a hypothetical control complex in the central nervous system of animals that triggers the appropriate behavioral response to a releaser.
- republique malgache — French name of Malagasy Republic.
- research fellowship — the position or office of someone who conducts academic research into a subject at a university, etc
- research laboratory — place for scientific experimentation
- resorcinolphthalein — fluorescein.
- reticuloendothelial — pertaining to, resembling, or involving cells of the reticuloendothelial system.
- reverse charge call — callee pays fees
- rhetorical question — a question asked solely to produce an effect or to make an assertion and not to elicit a reply, as “What is so rare as a day in June?”.
- right circular cone — a cone whose surface is generated by lines joining a fixed point to the points of a circle, the fixed point lying on a perpendicular through the center of the circle.
- saccharolactic acid — mucic acid.
- sackcloth and ashes — a public display of extreme grief, remorse, or repentance
- salvage archaeology — the collection of archaeological data and materials from a site in danger of imminent destruction, as from new construction or flooding.
- samuel de champlain — Samuel de [sam-yoo-uh l duh;; French sa-my-el duh] /ˈsæm yu əl də;; French sa müˈɛl də/ (Show IPA), 1567–1635, French explorer in the Americas: founder of Quebec; first colonial governor 1633–35.
- school of the squad — an institution where instruction is given, especially to persons under college age: The children are at school.
- seleucia tracheotis — an ancient city in SE Asia Minor, on the River Calycadnus (modern Goksu Nehri): captured by the Turks in the 13th century; site of present-day Silifke (Turkey)
- sell like hot cakes — a pancake or griddlecake.
- sharp-focus realism — photorealism.
- shopping facilities — shops or other retail services
- simple carbohydrate — a carbohydrate, as glucose, that consists of a single monosaccharide unit.
- sissinghurst castle — a restored Elizabethan mansion near Cranbrook in Kent: noted for the gardens laid out in the 1930s by Victoria Sackville-West and Harold Nicolson
- sleepy hollow chair — an armchair of the mid-19th century, sometimes on rockers, having a single piece forming a high upholstered back and a concave upholstered seat.
- social anthropology — study of human culture
- solid-state physics — the branch of physics that deals with the macroscopic physical properties of matter, especially solids; the study of the electromagnetic, structural, and thermodynamic properties of solids.
- southern crab apple — a tree, Malus angustifolia, of the eastern U.S., having oblong leaves, fragrant, pink or rose-colored flowers, and small, round, yellow-green fruit.
- special partnership — limited partnership.