16-letter words containing c, u, b, h
- cobweb houseleek — a small southern European plant, Sempervivum arachoideum, of the stonecrop family, having a dense, globular cluster of cobwebby leaves and red flowers on hairy stalks.
- columbia heights — a city in SE Minnesota, near Minneapolis.
- combined honours — (in British education) a degree course that includes more than one subject
- double-clutching — (of a bird) to produce a second clutch of eggs after the first has been removed, usually for hatching in an incubator.
- drumhead cabbage — acommon type of cabbage with tightly packed leaves and a rounded form with a slightly flattened top
- fish or cut bait — any of various cold-blooded, aquatic vertebrates, having gills, commonly fins, and typically an elongated body covered with scales.
- forbush decrease — the sudden decrease in the intensity of cosmic rays after an increase in solar activity.
- growth substance — any substance, produced naturally by a plant or manufactured commercially, that, in very low concentrations, affects plant growth; a plant hormone
- hairbrush cactus — a stout, spiny cactus, Pachycereus pecten-aboriginum, of Mexico, having white flowers and bristly fruits sometimes used locally as combs.
- hot-cathode tube — thermionic tube.
- hubble telescope — a telescope launched into orbit around the earth in 1990 to provide information about the universe in the visible, infrared, and ultraviolet ranges
- huckleberry finn — (The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn) a novel (1884) by Mark Twain.
- humboldt current — a cold Pacific Ocean current flowing N along the coasts of Chile and Peru.
- huntington beach — a city in SW California, SE of Los Angeles.
- hypersusceptible — hypersensitive (def 2).
- jacques bonhomme — the contemptuous title given by the nobles to the peasants in the revolt of the Jacquerie in 1358 and adopted by the peasants in subsequent revolts.
- jude the obscure — a novel (1895) by Thomas Hardy.
- khakass republic — a constituent republic of S central Russia, formerly in Krasnoyarsk Territory: formed in 1930. Capital: Abakan. Pop: 546 100 (2002). Area: 61 900 sq km (23 855 sq miles)
- lumberjack shirt — a thick checked shirt, as worn by lumberjacks
- multi-way branch — switch statement
- munchen-gladbach — former name of Mönchengladbach.
- niche publishing — publishing books that are intended for a very specialized market
- nubuck (leather) — tanned leather similar to suede, but with the nap on the grain side
- number crunching — a person or thing that performs a great many numerical calculations, as a financial analyst, statistician, computer, or computer program.
- number-crunching — a person or thing that performs a great many numerical calculations, as a financial analyst, statistician, computer, or computer program.
- public ownership — ownership by the state; nationalization
- public schoolboy — a boy attending a public school, or a man who attended one
- rich tea biscuit — any of various semisweet biscuits
- right about face — Military. a command, given to a soldier or soldiers at attention, to turn the body about toward the right so as to face in the opposite direction. the act of so turning in a prescribed military manner.
- round lake beach — a town in NE Illinois.
- roundabout chair — corner chair.
- run the blockade — to go past or through a blockade
- scarborough lily — a plant, Vallota speciosa, of the amaryllis family, native to southern Africa, having clusters of funnel-shaped, scarlet flowers.
- schaumburg-lippe — a former state in NW Germany.
- submarine chaser — a small patrol vessel, 100–200 feet (30–60 meters) long, designed for military operations against submarines.
- subtropical high — one of several highs, as the Azores and Pacific highs, that prevail over the oceans at latitudes of about 30 degrees N and S. Also called subtropical anticyclone. Compare high (def 37).
- synthetic cubism — the late phase of cubism, characterized chiefly by an increased use of color and the imitation or introduction of a wide range of textures and material into painting.
- synthetic rubber — any of several substances similar to natural rubber in properties and uses, produced by the polymerization of an unsaturated hydrocarbon, as butylene or isoprene, or by the copolymerization of such hydrocarbons with styrene, butadiene, or the like.
- take the biscuit — Take the biscuit means the same as take the cake.
- the public purse — money from or controlled by the government
- the subconscious — subconscious mental activity
- thumbnail sketch — small preliminary drawing
- to cut both ways — If you say that something cuts both ways, you mean that it can have two opposite effects, or can have both good and bad effects.
- to pass the buck — If you pass the buck, you refuse to accept responsibility for something, and say that someone else is responsible.
- typhoid bacillus — the bacterium Salmonella typhosa, causing typhoid fever.
- umbilical hernia — a hernia of the umbilicus.
- unaccomplishable — to bring to its goal or conclusion; carry out; perform; finish: to accomplish one's mission.
- uncomprehensible — capable of being comprehended or understood; intelligible.
- uniformed branch — the branch of a police force in which officers wear a uniform
- vestibule school — a school in an industrial establishment where new employees are given specific training in the jobs they are to perform.