15-letter words containing d, e, r, u, s
- double standard — any code or set of principles containing different provisions for one group of people than for another, especially an unwritten code of sexual behavior permitting men more freedom than women. Compare single standard (def 1).
- double-breasted — (of a coat, jacket, etc.) overlapping sufficiently in front to allow for two rows of buttons.
- draw oneself up — to assume a straighter posture; stand or sit straight
- droste-hulshoff — Annette Elisabeth Freiin von [ah-net-uh ey-lee-zah-bet frahy-in fuh n] /ɑˈnɛt ə eɪˈli zɑˌbɛt ˈfraɪ ɪn fən/ (Show IPA), 1797–1848, German poet.
- duchesse brisee — See under duchesse.
- dumpster diving — the practice of foraging in garbage that has been put out on the street in dumpsters, garbage cans, etc., for discarded items that may still be valuable, useful, or fixable.
- dyer's woodruff — a European plant, Asperula tinctoria, of the madder family, having red or pinkish-white flowers and red roots.
- ease the rudder — to reduce the angle the rudder makes with the fore-and-aft line so that the vessel will turn more gradually
- eastern sudanic — a group of languages belonging to the Nilo-Saharan family, spoken in eastern and central Africa and including the Nilotic languages.
- echinodermatous — belonging or pertaining to the echinoderms.
- edriophthalmous — (of certain crustaceans) having stalkless eyes
- edwards plateau — a highland area in SW Texas. 2000–5000 feet (600–1500 meters) high.
- elastic rebound — a theory of earthquakes that envisages gradual deformation of the fault zone without fault slippage until friction is overcome, when the fault suddenly slips to produce the earthquake
- entre-deux-mers — any wine produced in the area of the Gironde between the rivers Dordogne and Garonne in S France
- epsilon squared — (jargon) A quantity even smaller than epsilon, as small in comparison to epsilon as epsilon is to something normal; completely negligible. If you buy a supercomputer for a million dollars, the cost of the thousand-dollar terminal to go with it is epsilon, and the cost of the ten-dollar cable to connect them is epsilon squared. Compare lost in the underflow, lost in the noise.
- eureka stockade — a violent incident in Ballarat, Australia, in 1854 between gold miners and the military, as a result of which the miners won their democratic rights in the state parliament
- exclusion order — law: ban spouse from home
- expulsion order — a legal document ordering someone's expulsion
- fair and square — free from bias, dishonesty, or injustice: a fair decision; a fair judge.
- feeding grounds — the place where animals gather to find food
- ferrous sulfide — a dark or black metallic crystalline compound, FeS, insoluble in water, soluble in acids, used in ceramics and to generate hydrogen sulfide.
- fiduciary issue — an issue of banknotes not backed by gold
- fischer-dieskau — Dietrich [dee-trik;; German dee-trikh] /ˈdi trɪk;; German ˈdi trɪx/ (Show IPA), 1925–2012, German baritone.
- flood insurance — insurance covering loss or damage to property arising from a flood, flood tide, or the like.
- food insecurity — an economic and social condition of limited or uncertain access to adequate food.
- foster daughter — a girl raised like one's own daughter, though not such by birth or adoption.
- four-poster bed — bed: post at each corner
- freshwater drum — an edible drum, Aplodinotus grunniens, of the fresh waters of North and Central America, sometimes reaching a weight of 60 pounds (27 kg).
- frozen shoulder — joint stiffness at top of arm
- gaudier-brzeska — Henri (ɑ̃ri), original name Henri Gaudier. 1891–1915, French vorticist sculptor
- general studies — a school subject that includes a variety of skills and topics (such as comprehension, and current affairs, which may complement the study of A-levels in specific subjects)
- geodetic survey — a land area survey in which the curvature of the surface of the earth is taken into account.
- graduate school — a school, usually a division of a university, offering courses leading to degrees more advanced than the bachelor's degree.
- griqualand east — a former district in S South Africa, SW of Natal.
- griqualand west — a former district in S South Africa, N of the Orange River and W of the Orange Free State: diamonds found 1867.
- ground meristem — an area of primary meristematic tissue, emerging from and immediately behind the apical meristem, that develops into the pith and the cortex.
- ground observer — a person stationed in a position on the ground to watch, follow, and report on flights of aircraft, especially of enemy aircraft.
- ground squirrel — any of several terrestrial rodents of the squirrel family, as of the genus Citellus and chipmunks of the genus Tamias. circ;circ;
- groundbreakings — Plural form of groundbreaking.
- guardian angels — an angel believed to protect a particular person, as from danger or error.
- guns and butter — a symbol for the economic policy of a government insofar as spending is allocated for either military or social purposes
- half-understood — partially understood
- hardship clause — a clause in a contract which covers unforeseen events that would make it more difficult for one party to complete the contract, and in which case offers alternative terms
- hare and hounds — an outdoor game in which certain players, the hares, start off in advance on a long run, scattering small pieces of paper, called the scent, with the other players, the hounds, following the trail so marked in an effort to catch the hares before they reach a designated point.
- hausdorff space — a topological space in which each pair of points can be separated by two disjoint open sets containing the points.
- hazardous waste — any industrial by-product, especially from the manufacture of chemicals, that is destructive to the environment or dangerous to the health of people or animals: Hazardous wastes often contaminate ground water.
- hedge your bets — play it safe, lessen a risk
- heterodactylous — having the first and fourth toes directed backward, and the second and third forward, as in trogons.
- horse latitudes — the latitudes near 30°N or 30°S at sea, characterized by baffling winds, calms, and high barometric pressure
- horse-and-buggy — of or relating to the last few generations preceding the invention of the automobile: vivid recollections of horse-and-buggy days.