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21-letter words containing d, e, f, r

  • law of thermodynamics — any of three principles variously stated in equivalent forms, being the principle that the change of energy of a thermodynamic system is equal to the heat transferred minus the work done (first law of thermodynamics) the principle that no cyclic process is possible in which heat is absorbed from a reservoir at a single temperature and converted completely into mechanical work (second law of thermodynamics) and the principle that it is impossible to reduce the temperature of a system to absolute zero in a finite number of operations (third law of thermodynamics)
  • learning difficulties — difficulty experienced in reaching the average standard of people of the same age group as regards intellectual and cognitive skills and performance
  • lender of last resort — the central bank of a country with authority for controlling its banking system
  • like a blue-arsed fly — in a state of frenzied activity
  • liquefied natural gas — a mixture of various gases, esp methane, liquefied under pressure for transportation and used as an engine fuel
  • lordship of the isles — an overlordship of the Western Isles of Scotland and adjacent lands instituted in 1266 when Magnus of Norway ceded the Hebrides, the Isle of Man, and Kintyre to the King of Scotland, and claimed by the chiefs of Clan Dougall and later by those of Clan Donald. The title was forfeited to James IV in 1493 and is now held by the eldest son of the sovereign
  • lost in the underflow — (jargon)   Too small to be worth considering; more specifically, small beyond the limits of accuracy or measurement. This is a reference to "floating point underflow". The Hacker's Jargon File claimed that it is also a pun on "undertow" (a kind of fast, cold current that sometimes runs just offshore and can be dangerous to swimmers). "Well, sure, photon pressure from the stadium lights alters the path of a thrown baseball, but that effect gets lost in the underflow". Compare epsilon, epsilon squared; see also overflow bit.
  • made of sterner stuff — If you say that someone is made of sterner stuff, you mean that they have a strong personality and are capable of overcoming difficulties and problems.
  • magnificent riflebird — a bird of paradise, Craspedophora magnifica
  • mayor of casterbridge — a novel (1886) by Thomas Hardy.
  • member of the wedding — a novel (1946) and play (1950) by Carson McCullers.
  • mother-of-pearl cloud — nacreous cloud.
  • nominative of address — a noun naming the person to whom one is speaking.
  • of time and the river — a novel (1935) by Thomas Wolfe.
  • pacific standard time — See under standard time.
  • pathfinder prospectus — a prospectus regarding the flotation of a new company that contains only sufficient details to test the market reaction
  • performance indicator — a quantitative or qualitative measurement, or any other criterion, by which the performance, efficiency, achievement, etc of a person or organization can be assessed, often by comparison with an agreed standard or target
  • peroxydisulfuric acid — persulfuric acid (def 2).
  • piero della francesca — Piero della [pee-air-oh del-uh;; Italian pye-raw del-lah] /piˈɛər oʊ ˈdɛl ə;; Italian ˈpyɛ rɔ ˈdɛl lɑ/ (Show IPA), (Piero dei Franceschi) c1420–92, Italian painter.
  • place of safety order — (in Britain) under the Children and Young Persons Act 1969, an order granted by a justice to a person or agency granting authority to detain a child or young person and take him or her to a place of safety for not more than 28 days, because of the child's actual or likely ill-treatment or neglect, etc
  • prefect of discipline — a senior master in a Jesuit school or college
  • purple-fringed orchid — either of two orchids, Habenaria fimbriata or H. psycodes, of eastern North America, having a cluster of fragrant purple flowers with a fringed lip.
  • purple-fringed orchis — either of two North American orchids (Habenaria psycodes and H. fimbriata) with purple-fringed flowers
  • radius of convergence — a positive number so related to a given power series that the power series converges for every number whose absolute value is less than this particular number.
  • record of achievement — a statement of the personal and educational development of each pupil
  • road traffic accident — an accident involving vehicles
  • rutherford scattering — the scattering of an alpha particle through a large angle with respect to the original direction of motion of the particle, caused by an atom (Rutherford atom) with most of the mass and all of the positive electric charge concentrated at a center or nucleus.
  • saint-maur-des-fosses — a town in N central France, near Paris, on the Marne River.
  • school of the soldier — an institution where instruction is given, especially to persons under college age: The children are at school.
  • semantic differential — a technique for measuring the connotative meaning of concepts by having an individual rate each concept on a series of graduated scales, each scale defined by a pair of polar adjectives, as good–bad or strong–weak.
  • set the world on fire — the earth or globe, considered as a planet.
  • silicon tetrafluoride — a colorless, fuming gas, SiF 4 , used chiefly in the manufacture of fluosilicic acid.
  • sing a different tune — a succession of musical sounds forming an air or melody, with or without the harmony accompanying it.
  • sovereign wealth fund — an investment fund created using the financial assets of a national government
  • staffordshire terrier — former name of American Staffordshire terrier.
  • stem-and-leaf diagram — a histogram in which the data points falling within each class interval are listed in order
  • step-down transformer — a device that transfers an alternating current from one circuit to one or more other circuits with a decrease of voltage
  • stockholder of record — a stockholder or his or her agent whose name is registered on the books of the issuing corporation at the close of a business day set for determining that stockholders shall receive dividends or vote on an issue.
  • 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
  • surface-to-underwater — (of a missile, message, etc.) traveling from the surface of the earth to a target underwater.
  • synchronized shifting — gear shifting in which the gears to be meshed are made to rotate at the same speed.
  • territoire de belfort — a department of E France, now in Franche-Comté region: the only part of Alsace remaining to France after 1871. Capital: Belfort. Pop: 139 383 (2003 est). Area: 608 sq km (237 sq miles)
  • the break of day/dawn — The break of day or the break of dawn is the time when it begins to grow light after the night.
  • the end of one's rope — the end of one's endurance, resources, etc.
  • the fall of the cards — the chance distribution of cards in a given deal
  • the middle of nowhere — remote place
  • the oldest profession — prostitution
  • the order of the bath — an order of knighthood founded by George I in 1725. It consists of the sovereign, the Great Master, and three classes of member: Knight (or Dame) Grand Cross, Knight (or Dame) Commander, and Companion
  • the san andreas fault — a geological fault in California
  • theater of the absurd — theater in which standard or naturalistic conventions of plot, characterization, and thematic structure are ignored or distorted in order to convey the irrational or fictive nature of reality and the essential isolation of humanity in a meaningless world.
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