28-letter words containing d, r
- keep one's ear to the ground — the organ of hearing and equilibrium in vertebrates, in humans consisting of an external ear that gathers sound vibrations, a middle ear in which the vibrations resonate against the tympanic membrane, and a fluid-filled internal ear that maintains balance and that conducts the tympanic vibrations to the auditory nerve, which transmits them as impulses to the brain.
- knowledge systems laboratory — (KSL) An artificial intelligence research laboratory within the Department of Computer Science at Stanford University. Current work focuses on knowledge representation for sharable engineering knowledge bases and systems, computational environments for modelling physical devices, architectures for adaptive intelligent systems, and expert systems for science and engineering.
- krupp von bohlen und halbach — Gustav Krupp von Bohlen und Halbach. 1870–1950, German steel and armament manufacturer. He was the son-in-law of Friedrich Alfred Krupp
- leader of the house of lords — a member of the Government having primary authority in initiating legislative business
- like water off a duck's back — You say that criticism is like water off a duck's back or water off a duck's back to emphasize that it is not having any effect on the person being criticized.
- linear differential equation — an equation involving derivatives in which the dependent variables and all derivatives appearing in the equation are raised to the first power.
- lloyd's register of shipping — an annual publication giving details of all ships that have been built according to the various classifications established by this society
- machine-assisted translation — translation done by a human translator who uses computer software to assist with the translation
- make one's hair stand on end — any of the numerous fine, usually cylindrical, keratinous filaments growing from the skin of humans and animals; a pilus.
- marriage guidance counsellor — a person whose job is to give advice given to couples who have problems in their married life
- medical specialist registrar — a hospital doctor senior to a house officer but junior to a consultant, specializing in medicine
- meter-kilogram-second-ampere — of or relating to the system of units in which the meter, kilogram, second, and ampere are the principal units of length, mass, time, and electric current. Abbreviation: mksa, MKSA.
- microsoft foundation classes — (programming) (MFC) Software structures in C++, the Windows base classes which can respond to messages, make windows, and from which application specific classes can be derived.
- morpheme structure condition — (in generative phonology) a constraint on the occurrence of sounds or sequences of sounds in the phonological representation of morphemes.
- multimedia personal computer — (multimedia) (MPC) A specification published by the Multimedia PC Marketing Council in 1990 to encourage the adoption of a standard multimedia computing platform. In May 1993, the MPC Marketing Council published a new specification called MPC Level 2 Specification as an enhanced multimedia computer standard. The original MPC specification, now also known as the MPC Level 1 Specification, continues in full effect. The appearance of the MPC or MPC2 certification mark on a computer system or upgrade kit indicates that the hardware meets the corresponding (Level 1 or Level 2) MPC Marketing Council specification. Software bearing the Multimedia PC mark has been designed to work on Multimedia PC licensed hardware. By establishing a standard platform, certifying hardware compliance and providing inter-operability between software and hardware for the consumer, the MPC Marketing Council is encouraging widespread use of multimedia applications and hardware.
- munchausen syndrome by proxy — Psychiatry. a form of Munchausen syndrome in which a person induces or claims to observe a disease in another, usually a close relative, in order to attract the doctor's attention to herself or himself.
- national bureau of standards — National Institute of Standards and Technology
- national semiconductor 32000 — (processor) (NS32000)
The first of a series of microprocessors from National Semiconductor. The 320xx processors have an interface which allows coprocessors such as FPUs and MMUs to be attached in a chain. The 320xx was the predecessor of the Swordfish processor. - new revised standard version — a thorough revision of the Revised Standard Version of the Bible sponsored by the National Council of Churches in the U.S. and published in 1989
- newly industrialized country — a country that has recently become, or is now in the process of becoming, industrialized
- numerical weather prediction — a method of predicting weather through the use of high-speed computers, specifically by the time integration of the fundamental equations of hydrodynamics in a mathematically modeled atmosphere.
- object data management group — (body, database) (ODMG, previously ".. Database ..") An independent consortium that specifies universal object storage standards. ODMG's members include object-oriented database management system (ODBMS) vendors and other interested parties. They aim to increase portability of customer software across products. On 1998-04-27 ODMG changed its name from the Object Database Management Group to reflect the expansion of its efforts beyond merely setting storage standards for object databases.
- object-oriented polymorphism — (programming) The kind of polymorphism found in object-oriented programming languages where a variable can refer to an object whose class is not known exactly until run time. A method can use a variable of a given class - call other methods on it, pass it as an argument, etc. - without needing to know to which subclass it refers, as long as its actual class is compatible with those uses.
- on (or upon) someone's head — as someone's burden, responsibility, or misfortune
- ordinary-language philosophy — linguistic analysis.
- organic light-emitting diode — a cell that emits light when voltage is applied: used as a display device replacing LCD technology in handheld devices such as mobile phones because it is brighter, thinner, faster,and cheaper
- ousterhout's false dichotomy — Ousterhout's dichotomy
- packet in plastic grid array — (integrated circuit) (PPGA) The package used for Intel's Celeron Socket 370 CPU.
- paged memory management unit — Memory Management Unit
- paper feed control character — (PFCC) An obscure mechanism used in Fortran run-time systems whereby the first character of a line of output to a line-printer caused various actions after the line was printed:
- paradox application language — (PAL) The programming language for Paradox, Borland's relational database.
- peaches-and-cream complexion — a pale complexion with rosy cheeks
- playboy of the western world — a satiric comedy (1907) by John Millington Synge.
- presidencia roque saenz pena — a city in N Argentina.
- probability density function — a function of a continuous variable whose integral over a region gives the probability that a random variable falls within the region.
- put one's cards on the table — a usually rectangular piece of stiff paper, thin pasteboard, or plastic for various uses, as to write information on or printed as a means of identifying the holder: a 3″ × 5″ file card; a membership card.
- quaternary ammonium compound — any of a class of salts derived from ammonium in which the nitrogen atom is attached to four organic groups, as in benzalkonium chloride; the salts are cationic surface-active compounds used as antiseptics and disinfectants.
- radio frequency interference — (hardware, testing) (RFI) Electromagnetic radiation which is emitted by electrical circuits carrying rapidly changing signals, as a by-product of their normal operation, and which causes unwanted signals (interference or noise) to be induced in other circuits. The most important means of reducing RFI are: use of bypass or "decoupling" capacitors on each active device (connected across the power supply, as close to the device as possible), risetime control of high speed signals using series resistors and VCC filtering. Shielding is usually a last resort after other techniques have failed because of the added expense of RF gaskets and the like. The efficiency of the radiation is dependent on the height above the ground or power plane (at RF one is as good as the other) and the length of the conductor in relationship to the wavelength of the signal component (fundamental, harmonic or transient (overshoot, undershoot or ringing)). At lower frequencies, such as 133 MHz, radiation is almost exclusively via I/O cables; RF noise gets onto the power planes and is coupled to the line drivers via the VCC and ground pins. The Rf is then coupled to the cable through the line driver as common node noise. Since the noise is common mode, shielding has very little effect, even with differential pairs. The RF energy is capacitively coupled from the signal pair to the shield and the shield itself does the radiating. At higher frequencies, usually above 500 Mhz, traces get electrically longer and higher above the plane. Two techniques are used at these frequencies: wave shaping with series resistors and embedding the traces between the two planes. If all these measures still leave too much RFI, sheilding such as RF gaskets and copper tape can be used. Most digital equipment is designed with metal, or coated plastic, cases. Switching power supplies can be a source of RFI, but have become less of a problem as design techniques have improved. Most countries have legal requirements that electronic and electrical hardware must still work correctly when subjected to certain amounts of RFI, and should not emit RFI which could interfere with other equipment (such as radios). See also Electrostatic Discharge, Electromagnetic Compatibility.
- read the riot act to someone — to warn or reprimand someone severely
- relative index of refraction — a number indicating the speed of light in a given medium as either the ratio of the speed of light in a vacuum to that in the given medium (absolute index of refraction) or the ratio of the speed of light in a specified medium to that in the given medium (relative index of refraction) Symbol: n.
- religious society of friends — a sect founded by George Fox in England about 1650, opposed to oath-taking and war.
- revised version of the bible — a recension of the Authorized Version, prepared by British and American scholars, the Old Testament being published in 1885, and the New Testament in 1881.
- richardson's ground squirrel — a ground squirrel of the NW USA and Canada, Citellus richardsoni
- rise/come back from the dead — If you say that someone or something rises or comes back from the dead, you mean that they become active or successful again after being inactive for a while.
- robert william andrew feller — Robert William Andrew ("Bob"; "Bullet Bob") 1918–2010, U.S. baseball player.
- rocky mountain spotted fever — an infectious disease characterized by high fever, pains in joints, bones, and muscles, and a cutaneous eruption, caused by rickettsii and transmitted by ticks: first reported in the Rocky Mountain area, but now more widely distributed.
- roundheaded apple tree borer — apple tree borer (def 2).
- scared to death scared stiff — If you are scared to death or scared stiff, you are extremely scared.
- second 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)
- second marquis of rockingham — Charles, 2nd Marquis of Rockingham [rok-ing-uh m] /ˈrɒk ɪŋ əm/ (Show IPA), 1730–82, British statesman: prime minister 1765–66, 1782.