21-letter words containing d, e, a, r, i
- strategic air command — a U.S. Air Force command charged with intercontinental air strikes, especially nuclear attacks.
- student participation — the extent to which students participate or involve themselves in a class, course, etc
- submerged arc welding — a type of heavy electric-arc welding using mechanically fed bare wire with the arc submerged in powdered flux to keep out oxygen
- suction and curettage — a technique involving extraction of the fetus through a suction tube, used to perform abortions during the early stages of pregnancy.
- surface friction drag — the part of the drag on a body moving through a fluid that is dependent on the nature of the surface of the body
- take sb at their word — If you take someone at their word, you believe what they say, when they did not really mean it or when they meant something slightly different.
- take under advisement — to consider carefully
- terrestrial radiation — long-wave electromagnetic radiation in the form of heat emitted from the earth's surface and atmosphere.
- the moral high ground — If you say that someone has taken the moral high ground, you mean that they consider that their policies and actions are morally superior to the policies and actions of their rivals.
- the stars and stripes — the national flag of the United States of America, consisting of 50 white stars representing the present states on a blue field and seven red and six white horizontal stripes representing the original states
- the yellow brick road — the road to success or happiness (in the film the Wizard of Oz the yellow brick road leads to Oz)
- thermal decomposition — Thermal decomposition is the process in which a chemical species breaks down when its temperature is increased.
- third party procedure — impleader.
- third-party insurance — insurance that compensates for a loss to a party other than the insured for which the insured is liable.
- three-quarter binding — a binding in which the material used for the back extends further over the covers than in half binding.
- threshold wage policy — a policy whereby wages are increased in accordance with inflation
- 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 arrayed against — to be opposed to
- to be in dire straits — to be in a position of acute difficulty
- to lay down your life — If someone lays down their life for another person, they die so that the other person can live.
- to let your hair down — If you let your hair down, you relax completely and enjoy yourself.
- to rear its ugly head — If something unpleasant rears its head or rears its ugly head, it becomes visible or noticeable.
- to risk life and limb — If someone risks life and limb, they do something very dangerous that may cause them to die or be seriously injured.
- to take the high road — to take the course of action which is safest and most familiar
- to take your mind off — If something takes your mind off a problem or unpleasant situation, it helps you to forget about it for a while.
- trades union congress — The Trades Union Congress in Britain is the same as the TUC.
- transactinide element — any element having an atomic number higher than 103, the last of the actinide series. These superheavy, radioactive elements are extremely short-lived, and can only be created in the laboratory.
- trichloroacetaldehyde — chloral (def 1).
- tripartite and fretty — (of a cross) having the limbs divided into three longitudinal strips each, intermingled in the manner of those in a cross parted and fretty.
- turn state's evidence — If someone who is accused of a crime turns state's evidence, they agree to give evidence in a law court against another person such as a former accomplice, usually in exchange for a reduced sentence for themselves.
- undesirable discharge — a discharge under other than honorable conditions of a person from military service by administrative action.
- universal disk format — (storage, standard) (UDF) A CD-ROM file system standard that is required for DVD ROMs. UDF is the OSTA's replacement for the ISO 9660 file system used on CD-ROMs, but will be mostly used on DVD. DVD multimedia disks use UDF to contain MPEG audio and video streams. To read DVDs you need a DVD drive, the kernel driver for the drive, MPEG video support, and a UDF driver. DVDs containing both UDF filesystems and ISO 9660 filesystems can be read without UDF support. UDF can also be used by CD-R and CD-RW recorders in packet writing mode.
- university of iceland — (body, education) The Home of Fjolnir.
- vertically challenged — short in stature.
- virtual device driver — (operating system) (VxD) A device driver under Windows 3.x/Windows 95 running as part of the kernel and thus having access to the memory of the kernel and all running processes as well as raw access to the hardware. VxD's usually have the filename extension .386 under Windows 3.x and .vxd under Windows 95. VxD's written for Windows 3.x can be used under Windows 95 but not vice versa.
- vladivostok agreement — a preliminary arms control accord concluded by Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev and U.S. President Gerald Ford in Vladivostok, U.S.S.R., in December 1974.
- watenstedt-salzgitter — former name of Salzgitter.
- whip-and-tongue graft — a graft prepared by cutting both the scion and the stock in a sloping direction and inserting a tongue in the scion into a slit in the stock.
- whistling in the dark — If you say that someone is whistling in the dark, you mean that they are trying to remain brave and convince themselves that the situation is not as bad as it seems.
- white-crowned sparrow — a North American sparrow, Zonotrichia leucophrys, having black and white stripes on the head.
- white-knuckle paddler — an inexpert and timid canoeist.
- wholesale price index — an indicator of price changes in the wholesale market
- wildlife photographer — someone that specializes in taking photographs of wild animals, especially in their natural habitats, and plants
- with one's bare hands — If someone does something with their bare hands, they do it without using any weapons or tools.
- word association test — a technique for determining a subject's associative pattern by providing a verbal stimulus to which a verbal response is required.
- word-association test — a psychological test in which the person being tested responds to a given word with the first word (or the first word in a specified category, such as an antonym) brought to mind
- xeroderma pigmentosum — a rare inherited disease characterized by sensitivity to ultraviolet light, exposure resulting in lesions and tumors of the skin and eyes.
- yellow lady's-slipper — a showy orchid, Cypripedium calceolus, of eastern North America, having purple-tinged yellow flowers with an inflated lip petal.
- yellow-throated vireo — an olive-green vireo, Vireo flavifrons, of eastern North America, having a bright yellow throat and breast.