16-letter words containing c, o, d, e, f
- dictionary flame — [Usenet] An attempt to sidetrack a debate away from issues by insisting on meanings for key terms that presuppose a desired conclusion or smuggle in an implicit premise. A common tactic of people who prefer argument over definitions to disputes about reality. Compare spelling flame.
- direction finder — a receiver with a loop antenna rotating on a vertical axis, used to ascertain the direction of incoming radio waves.
- diversifications — Plural form of diversification.
- documentary film — factual, informative film
- dolce far niente — pleasing inactivity.
- dome of the rock — a shrine in Jerusalem at the site from which Muhammad ascended through the seven heavens to the throne of God: built on the site of the Jewish Temple.
- dorothy canfield — Dorothy, Fisher, Dorothy Canfield.
- drag coefficient — a measure of the drag of an object in a moving fluid, esp air
- duchess of malfi — a tragedy (1614?) by John Webster.
- elected official — person voted into office
- false beechdrops — either of two parasitic or saprophytic plants of the genus Monotropa, especially the tawny or reddish M. hypopithys (false beechdrops) of eastern North America.
- fandango on core — (jargon, programming) (Unix/C, from the Mexican dance) In C, a wild pointer that runs out of bounds, causing a core dump, or corrupts the malloc arena in such a way as to cause mysterious failures later on, is sometimes said to have "done a fandango on core". On low-end personal machines without an MMU, this can corrupt the operating system itself, causing massive lossage. Other frenetic dances such as the rhumba, cha-cha, or watusi, may be substituted. See aliasing bug, precedence lossage, smash the stack, memory leak, memory smash, overrun screw, core.
- feedback control — (electronics) A control system which monitors its effect on the system it is controlling and modifies its output accordingly. For example, a thermostat has two inputs: the desired temperature and the current temperature (the latter is the feedback). The output of the thermostat changes so as to try to equalise the two inputs. Computer disk drives use feedback control to position the read/write heads accurately on a recording track. Complex systems such as the human body contain many feedback systems that interact with each other; the homeostasis mechanisms that control body temperature and acidity are good examples.
- feel constrained — If you feel constrained to do something, you feel that you must do it, even though you would prefer not to.
- feel-good factor — When journalists refer to the feel-good factor, they mean that people are feeling hopeful and optimistic about the future.
- ferdinand marcos — Ferdinand E(dralin) [ed-ruh-lin] /ˈɛd rə lɪn/ (Show IPA), 1917–1989, Philippine political leader: president 1965–86.
- ferrocyanic acid — a white, crystalline, unstable, water-soluble solid, H 4 Fe(CN) 6 , obtained by the interaction of a ferrocyanide and an acid.
- ferruginous duck — a common European duck, Aythyra nyroca, having reddish-brown plumage with white wing bars
- fielder's choice — a fielder's attempt to put out a base runner rather than the batter when a play at first base would put out the batter.
- finance director — financial manager
- find one's voice — If someone finds their voice, they start to speak in spite of fear or surprise or difficult circumstances.
- finished product — the product that emerges at the end of a manufacturing process
- floridean starch — the storage polysaccharide of red algae.
- focused strategy — a business strategy in which an organization divests itself of all but its core activities, using the funds raised to enhance the distinctive abilities that give it an advantage over its rivals
- follow the crowd — copy what others are doing
- food intolerance — an intolerance of a specific type of food, causing an adverse reaction
- for a good cause — If you say that something is for a good cause, you mean that it is worth doing or giving to because it will help other people, for example by raising money for charity.
- forbush decrease — the sudden decrease in the intensity of cosmic rays after an increase in solar activity.
- force one's hand — the terminal, prehensile part of the upper limb in humans and other primates, consisting of the wrist, metacarpal area, fingers, and thumb.
- forced vibration — Forced vibration is a type of vibration in which a force is repeatedly applied to a mechanical system.
- forward exchange — a foreign bill purchased at a stipulated price and payable at a future date.
- francis townsend — Francis Everett, 1867–1960, U.S. physician and proposer of the Townsend plan.
- french directory — the body of five directors in power in France from 1795 until their overthrow by Napoleon in 1799
- french indochina — an area in SE Asia, formerly a French colonial federation including Cochin-China, the protectorates of Annam, Cambodia, Tonkin, and Laos, and the leased territory of Kwangchowan: now comprising the three independent states of Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos. Capital: Hanoi.
- friction welding — a method of welding thermoplastics or metals by the heat generated by rubbing the members to be joined against each other under pressure.
- friedrich wohler — Friedrich [free-drikh] /ˈfri drɪx/ (Show IPA), 1800–82, German chemist.
- friendly society — law: mutual group providing benefits
- front and center — If a topic or question is front and center, a lot of attention is being paid to it or a lot of people are talking about it.
- funeral director — a person, usually a licensed embalmer, who supervises or conducts the preparation of the dead for burial and directs or arranges funerals.
- gazetted officer — (in India) a senior official whose appointment is published in the government gazette
- gold certificate — a former U.S. paper currency issued by the federal government for circulation from 1865 to 1933, equal to and redeemable for gold to a stated value.
- golden handcuffs — payments deferred over a number of years that induce a person to stay with a particular company or in a particular job
- grace-and-favour — (of a house, flat, etc) owned by the sovereign and granted free of rent to a person to whom the sovereign wishes to express gratitude
- head post office — the main post office in a town
- huffman encoding — Huffman coding
- hydroferricyanic — (chemistry) Pertaining to, or containing, or obtained from, hydrogen, ferric iron, and cyanogen.
- immunodeficiency — impairment of the immune response, predisposing to infection and certain malignancies.
- infant education — (in England and Wales) education provided for children at infant schools
- infinite product — a sequence of numbers in which an infinite number of terms are multiplied together.
- informed consent — a patient's consent to a medical or surgical procedure or to participation in a clinical study after being properly advised of the relevant medical facts and the risks involved.