23-letter words containing d, s, u
- professional misconduct — a violation of the rules or boundaries set by the governing body of a profession
- profit and loss account — income account (def 2).
- program design language — Any of a large class of formal and profoundly useless pseudo-languages in which management forces one to design programs. Too often, management expects PDL descriptions to be maintained in parallel with the code, imposing massive overhead of little or no benefit. See also flow chart.
- put the record straight — to correct an error or misunderstanding
- quantum electrodynamics — the quantum field theory that deals with the electromagnetic field and its interaction with electrons and positrons. Abbreviation: QED.
- quantum flavourdynamics — a gauge theory of the electromagnetic and weak interactions
- queen charlotte islands — a group of about 150 islands off the W coast of Canada: part of British Columbia. Pop: about 6000 (latest est). Area: 9596 sq km (3705 sq miles)
- queen elizabeth islands — a group of islands off the N coast of Canada: the northernmost islands of the Canadian Arctic archipelago, lying N of latitude 74°N; part of Nunavut. Area: about 390 000 sq km (150 000 sq miles)
- quod erat demonstrandum — (at the conclusion of a proof, esp of a theorem in Euclidean geometry) which was to be proved
- quote chapter and verse — [by analogy with the mainstream phrase] To cite a relevant excerpt from an appropriate bible. "I don't care if "rn" gets it wrong; "Followup-To: poster" is explicitly permitted by RFC 1036. I'll quote chapter and verse if you don't believe me." See also legalese, language lawyer, RTFS (sense 2).
- rank outsider/outsiders — If one of the people in a competition is described as a rank outsider, they are considered to have very little chance of winning.
- rectangular coordinates — Usually, rectangular coordinates. either of two Cartesian coordinates in which the axes meet at right angles.
- refuse disposal service — a place or facility where rubbish and waste can be disposed
- residual current device — a circuit-breaking device installed in electrical equipment to protect the operator from electrocution
- residual debt insurance — Residual debt insurance is a type of risk insurance that banks often require when granting a loan, which is used to guarantee that the loan is repaid in the event of death or disability.
- rheumatic heart disease — damage to the heart, especially to the valves, as a result of rheumatic fever, characterized by inflammation of the myocardium or scarring and malfunction of the heart valves.
- route of administration — A route of administration is the means by which a drug or agent enters the body, such as by mouth or by injection.
- rsa data security, inc. — (cryptography, company) (After Rivest, Shamir, Adleman - see RSA) A recognised world leader in cryptography, with millions of copies of its software encryption and authentication installed and in use worldwide. RSA's technologies are the global de facto standard for public key cryptography and digital signatures, and are part of existing and proposed standards for the Internet, ITU-T, ISO, ANSI, PKCS, IEEE and business and financial networks around the world.
- russian orthodox church — the national Church of Russia, constituting a branch of the Eastern Church, presided over by the Patriarch of Moscow
- school (crossing) guard — a person, either an adult or an older student, whose duty it is to help children cross streets near schools safely
- security association id — (networking) (SAID) A 32-bit field added to packet headers for encryption and authentication in the proposed Internet Protocol Version 6.
- severinus de monzambano — Samuel von [zah-moo-uh l fuh n] /ˈzɑ mu əl fən/ (Show IPA), ("Severinus de Monzambano") 1632–94, German jurist and historian.
- sidewalk superintendent — a bystander who watches the building, demolition, repair, or other work being done at a construction site.
- social education centre — a daycentre, run by a local authority, for people with learning disabilities and sometimes also for people who have physical disabilities or are mentally ill
- sodium tripolyphosphate — a white powder, Na 5 P 3 O 1 0 , used as a water softener, sequestering agent, and food additive.
- st. pierre and miquelon — two small groups of islands off the S coast of Newfoundland: an overseas territory of France; important base for fishing. 3 sq. mi. (240 sq. km). Capital: St. Pierre.
- stand up and be counted — express opinion
- state-trading countries — countries whose export and import trading is government controlled
- steal someone's thunder — to strike, drive, inflict, give forth, etc., with loud noise or violent action.
- suit down to the ground — the solid surface of the earth; firm or dry land: to fall to the ground.
- sustainable development — supporting economy via renewable resources
- swine vesicular disease — a viral disease of swine characterized by vesicular lesions on the feet, legs, snout, and tongue
- take sth in your stride — In British English, if you take a problem or difficulty in your stride, you deal with it calmly and easily. The American expression is take something in stride.
- the chamber of deputies — the lower legislative assembly in some parliaments
- thousand and one nights — a collection of Eastern folk tales derived in part from Indian and Persian sources and dating from the 10th century a.d.
- to add insult to injury — You say to add insult to injury when mentioning an action or fact that makes an unfair or unacceptable situation even worse.
- to be at your wit's end — If you say that you are at your wits' end, you are emphasizing that you are so worried and exhausted by problems or difficulties that you do not know what to do next.
- to bring the house down — If a person or their performance or speech brings the house down, the audience claps, laughs, or shouts loudly because the performance or speech is very impressive or amusing.
- to have your hands full — If you have your hands full with something, you are very busy because of it.
- to put your mind to sth — If you put your mind to something, you start making an effort to do it.
- transcendental argument — an argument designed to make explicit the conditions under which a certain kind of knowledge is possible, esp those of Kant
- transcendental equation — an equation that involves transcendental functions.
- transcendental function — a function that is not an algebraic function.
- trellis code modulation — (TCM) A modulation technique with hardware error detection and correction.
- trials and tribulations — difficult experiences
- turn a cold shoulder to — to treat with disdain; snub
- turn-and-slip indicator — bank-and-turn indicator.
- ulster defence regiment — a former reserve regiment of the British Army based in Northern Ireland
- unconditional discharge — the release of a defendant without having to spend time on parole or probation
- under a gooseberry bush — used humorously in answering children's questions regarding their birth