19-letter words containing c, o, u

to change your tune — If you say that someone has changed their tune, you are criticizing them because they have changed their opinion or way of doing things.
to click your heels — If someone such as a soldier clicks their heels, they make a sound by knocking the heels of their shoes together when saluting or greeting someone.
to clutch at straws — If you are clutching at straws or grasping at straws, you are trying unusual or extreme ideas or methods because other ideas or methods have failed.
to come full circle — If you say that you have come full circle or have turned full circle, you mean that after a long series of events or changes the same situation that you started with still exists.
to lick your wounds — If you say that someone is licking their wounds, you mean that they are recovering after being defeated or made to feel ashamed or unhappy.
to make a fast buck — When someone makes a fast buck or makes a quick buck, they earn a lot of money quickly and easily, often by doing something which is considered to be dishonest.
to rack your brains — If you rack your brains, you try very hard to think of something.
to stick out a mile — If you say that something or someone sticks out a mile or stands out a mile, you are emphasizing that they are very obvious and easy to recognize.
to suck someone dry — If you say that someone is sucking something dry or milking it dry, you are criticizing them for taking all the good things from it until there is nothing left.
to take the biscuit — If someone has done something very stupid, rude, or selfish, you can say that they take the biscuit or that what they have done takes the biscuit, to emphasize your surprise at their behaviour.
to the exclusion of — If you do one thing to the exclusion of something else, you only do the first thing and do not do the second thing at all.
to the prejudice of — to the detriment of
torricellian vacuum — the vacuum at the top of a Torricellian tube
total communication — the theory or practice of incorporating all means of communication, including speech, speechreading, auditory training, sign language, and writing, in the education of deaf or hearing-impaired children.
touch all the bases — to deal with all related details
traffic regulations — rules designed to expedite the flow of traffic and prevent collisions
training instructor — a person who teaches people the skills they need for a particular field or profession
triple counterpoint — invertible counterpoint involving three transposable voices.
trooping the colour — a military ceremony, performed by regiments of the British army and the Commonwealth, in which the regimental colour or flag is marched past ranks of troops
trumpet honeysuckle — an American honeysuckle, Lonicera sempervirens, having spikes of large, tubular flowers, deep-red outside and yellow within.
trusteeship council — a United Nations body that supervises the government of a territory by a foreign country
tuamotu archipelago — a group of about 80 coral islands in the S Pacific, in French Polynesia. Pop: 15 973 (2002; including the Gambier Islands). Area: 860 sq km (332 sq miles)
turn of the century — point when one century becomes another
tussock caterpillar — the larva of a tussock moth.
twenty-six counties — the counties of the Republic of Ireland
u.s. robotics, inc. — (company) A US modem manufacturer. Finger: usr.com. E-mail: <[email protected]>, <[email protected]> (USA and Canada), <[email protected]>, <[email protected]> (Europe), <[email protected]> (other).
ultramicrochemistry — the branch of microchemistry dealing with minute quantities of material weighing one microgram or less.
ultrasonic cleaning — the use of ultrasound to vibrate a piece to be cleaned while the piece is immersed in a cleaning fluid. The process produces a very high degree of cleanliness, and is used for jewellery and ornately shaped items
unconstitutionality — not constitutional; unauthorized by or inconsistent with the constitution, as of a country.
under consideration — being deliberated
under one's control — If something is under your control, you have the power to make all the important decisions about the way that it is run.
under police escort — If you go somewhere or are taken somewhere under police escort, you go there accompanied by a police escort.
up to one's neck in — deeply involved in
upper carboniferous — Pennsylvanian (defs 2, 4).
use the source luke — (humour, programming) (UTSL) (A pun on Obi-Wan Kenobi's "Use the Force, Luke!" in "Star Wars") A more polite version of RTFS. This is a common way of suggesting that someone would be better off reading the source code that supports whatever feature is causing confusion, rather than making yet another futile pass through the manuals, or broadcasting questions on Usenet that haven't attracted wizards to answer them. Once upon a time in Elder Days, everyone running Unix had source. After 1978, AT&T's policy tightened up, so this objurgation was in theory appropriately directed only at associates of some outfit with a Unix source licence. In practice, bootlegs of Unix source code (made precisely for reference purposes) were so ubiquitous that one could utter it at almost anyone on the network without concern. Nowadays, free Unix clones are becoming common enough that almost anyone can read source legally. The most widely distributed is probably Linux. FreeBSD, NetBSD, 386BSD, jolix also have their followers. Cheap commercial Unix implementations with source such as BSD/OS from BSDI are accelerating this trend.
vacuum coffee maker — a coffee pot with upper and lower glass units, the upper for ground coffee and the lower for water that, when boiled, rises through the filter-stoppered bottom of the upper unit and remains there until drawn back down to the lower unit as brewed coffee by a reduction in pressure caused by the removal of heat.
vacuum distillation — a process of distillation employing a vacuum that by lowering the pressure on a liquid allows volatilization at a lower temperature than normal.
vaginal intercourse — intercourse involving insertion of the penis into the vagina
valencian community — region comprising three provinces of E Spain: 8,998 sq mi (23,305 sq km); pop. 4,029,000; cap. Valencia
vapor recovery unit — A vapor recovery unit is a system for recovering vapors from inside sealed crude oil or condensate tanks, with a scrubber (= a device for removing unwanted substances) and compressor (= a device that raises pressure).
velocity modulation — the modulation in velocity of a beam of electrons or ions caused by passing the beam through a high-frequency electric field, as in a cavity resonator
victor emmanuel iii — 1869–1947, king of Italy 1900–46.
vinculum matrimonii — the bond of matrimony.
vocational guidance — the process of assisting a student to choose, prepare for, and enter an occupation for which he or she shows aptitude.
volumetric analysis — determination of the concentration, by volume, of a substance in a solution, as by titration.
von neumann machine — the stored-program computer developed by John von Neumann and his associates
what-do-you-call-it — whachamacallit.
wide-angle glaucoma — open-angle glaucoma. See under glaucoma.
with flying colours — If you pass a test with flying colours, you have done very well in the test.
young conservatives — the youth section of the United Kingdom Conservative Party until 1998

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