21-letter words containing c, o, r, e
- the face of the earth — You can use the expression 'on the face of the earth' to mean 'in the whole world', when you are emphasizing a statement that you are making or making a very exaggerated statement.
- the fall of the cards — the chance distribution of cards in a given deal
- the fast track to sth — the quickest or most direct route or system
- the household cavalry — a group of British soldiers on horseback who have the job of protecting the king or queen and their family
- the joker in the pack — If you describe someone or something as the joker in the pack, you mean that they are different from the other people or things in their group, and can be unpredictable.
- the microsoft network — (networking) (MSN) Microsoft's ISP and online content service, launched in October 1996. Not to be confused with Microsoft Networking. MSN was originally based on custom software and protocols, however Microsoft saw the error of their ways and adopted Internet standards. MSN now provides standard WWW and email facilities, albeit with Microsoft's Internet Explorer web-browser and the Outlook Express email software. The service also provides "Community Services" including newsgroups, forums, and chat.
- the origin of species — (On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, or the Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life) a treatise (1859) by Charles Darwin setting forth his theory of evolution.
- the press association — the national news agency for the United Kingdom and Ireland
- the probation service — a criminal justice service that is mainly responsible for dealing with offenders by placing them under the supervision of a probation officer
- the rock of gibraltar — a limestone promontory at the tip of S Spain
- the royal scots greys — (formerly) a British cavalry regiment, the Second Dragoons
- the shipping forecast — a radio broadcast made by the BBC of weather reports and forecasts for the seas around the British Isles
- the stationery office — (in the UK) the company that supplies the civil service with all its office supplies, machinery, printing and binding, etc
- the throwaway society — a society full of excessive consumption and waste of food, products, etc
- the yellow brick road — the road to success or happiness (in the film the Wizard of Oz the yellow brick road leads to Oz)
- theoretical physicist — a scientist who studies theoretical physics
- therapeutic community — a group-based form of therapy for mental disorders, sometimes residential
- thermal decomposition — Thermal decomposition is the process in which a chemical species breaks down when its temperature is increased.
- thermoelectric couple — thermocouple.
- thermoelectric effect — the production of an electromotive force in a thermocouple.
- thermophosphorescence — thermoluminescence.
- third party procedure — impleader.
- three-toed woodpecker — either of two woodpeckers of the genus Picoides, of the Northern Hemisphere, having only three toes on each foot.
- threshold wage policy — a policy whereby wages are increased in accordance with inflation
- throw sb a curve ball — If someone throws you a curve or throws you a curve ball, they surprise you by doing something that you do not expect.
- throw someone a curve — a continuously bending line, without angles.
- ticker-tape reception — (mainly in New York) the showering of the motorcade of a distinguished politician, visiting head of state, etc, with ticker tape as a sign of welcome
- tide-generating force — the difference between the force of gravity exerted by the moon or the sun on a particle of water in the ocean and that exerted on an equal mass of matter at the centre of the earth. The lunar tide-generating forces are about 2.2 times greater than are the solar ones
- to be hard luck on sb — to be unfortunate or unlucky for someone
- to be public property — to be publicly owned
- to cross your fingers — If you cross your fingers, you put one finger on top of another and hope for good luck. If you say that someone is keeping their fingers crossed, you mean they are hoping for good luck.
- to get your rocks off — to reach orgasm; gain sexual satisfaction
- to play the race card — if someone plays the race card they bring up the issue of race in a discussion, perhaps for sympathy or to seek popularity by appealing to racist sentiment
- to sink without trace — If you say that someone or something sinks without trace or sinks without a trace, you mean that they stop existing or stop being successful very suddenly and completely.
- topgallant forecastle — a partial weather deck on top of a forecastle superstructure; forecastle deck.
- total recoverable gas — Total recoverable gas is the amount of gas which is still left in the ground in gas fields that have already been worked.
- total recoverable oil — Total recoverable oil is the amount of oil which is still left in the ground in oilfields that have already been worked.
- trades union congress — The Trades Union Congress in Britain is the same as the TUC.
- traffic control tower — an elevated structure for the visual observation and control of the air and ground traffic at an airport
- trichloroacetaldehyde — chloral (def 1).
- trichloronitromethane — chloropicrin.
- truth or consequences — a game in which each contestant is asked a question and upon failure to answer or give a correct answer receives a penalty imposed by the leader or the group.
- tumor necrosis factor — a protein, produced in humans and other animals, that is destructive to cells showing abnormally rapid growth: identical with cachectin. Abbreviation: TNF.
- two-point perspective — a mathematical system for representing three-dimensional objects and space on a two-dimensional surface by means of intersecting lines that are drawn vertically and horizontally and that radiate from one point (one-point perspective) two points (two-point perspective) or several points on a horizon line as perceived by a viewer imagined in an arbitrarily fixed position.
- uniform resource name — (web) (URN, previously Uniform/Universal Resource Number) 1. Any URI which is not a URL. 2. A particular scheme which is currently (1991-4) under development by the IETF, which should provide for the resolution using Internet protocols of names which have a greater persistence than that currently associated with Internet host names or organisations (as used in URLs). Uniform Resource Names will be URI schemes that improve on URLs in reliability over time, including authenticity, replication, and high availability. When defined, a URN in sense 1 will be an example of a URN in sense 2.
- universe of discourse — the totality of known or supposed objects and phenomena throughout space; the cosmos; macrocosm.
- university of iceland — (body, education) The Home of Fjolnir.
- up close and personal — face to face, intimately
- voice-stress analyzer — a machine purported to detect stress in a human voice and to ascertain a person's truthfulness.
- volumetric efficiency — the ratio of fluid delivered by a piston or ram pump per stroke to the displacement volume of the piston or ram