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20-letter words containing d, u, a, t

  • quadrantal corrector — either of two soft-iron spheres attached to each side of a binnacle, intended to correct the compass deviation (quadrantal deviation) resulting from magnetism from ferrous metal in a ship.
  • qualitative identity — the relation that holds between two relata that have properties in common. This term is used to distinguish many uses of the words identical or same in ordinary language from strict identity or numerical identity
  • quantum bogodynamics — /kwon'tm boh"goh-di:-nam"iks/ A theory that characterises the universe in terms of bogon sources (such as politicians, used-car salesmen, TV evangelists, and suits in general), bogon sinks (such as taxpayers and computers), and bogosity potential fields. Bogon absorption causes human beings to behave mindlessly and machines to fail (and may also cause both to emit secondary bogons); however, the precise mechanics of bogon-computron interaction are not yet understood. Quantum bogodynamics is most often invoked to explain the sharp increase in hardware and software failures in the presence of suits; the latter emit bogons, which the former absorb.
  • quantum field theory — any theory in which fields are treated by the methods of quantum mechanics; each field can then be regarded as consisting of particles of a particular kind, which may be created and annihilated.
  • queen elizabeth land — an area of British Antarctic Territory, situated south of Weddell Sea and between longitudes 20°W and 80°W, stretching from Filchner-Ronne Ice Shelf to the South Pole. Area: 437 000 sq km (169 000 sq miles)
  • queensland arrowroot — a South American and West Indian herb, Canna edulis, having large sheathing leaves, red flowers, and edible rhizomes.
  • queensland cane toad — a toad, Bufo marinus, introduced into Queensland from Hawaii to control insect pests, becoming a pest itself
  • radial triangulation — triangulation based upon lines radiating from the center of each of two overlapping photographs to certain objects appearing on each photograph.
  • reductio ad absurdum — a reduction to an absurdity; the refutation of a proposition by demonstrating the inevitably absurd conclusion to which it would logically lead.
  • redundancy agreement — an agreement over the sum of money given by an employer to an employee who has been made redundant
  • refuse disposal unit — a unit or part of a sink that disposes of waste food, etc, by grinding
  • return from the dead — (jargon)   To regain access to the net after a long absence. Compare person of no account.
  • rheumatoid arthritis — a chronic autoimmune disease characterized by inflammation of the joints, frequently accompanied by marked deformities, and ordinarily associated with manifestations of a general, or systemic, affliction.
  • ring wall foundation — A ring wall foundation is a base made of concrete, used to put large tanks on.
  • scavenger's daughter — an instrument of torture that doubled over and squeezed the body so strongly and violently that blood was brought forth from the ears and nose: invented in 16th-century England.
  • schrodinger equation — the wave equation of nonrelativistic quantum mechanics. Also called Schrödinger wave equation. Compare wave equation (def 2).
  • secure accommodation — an institution where young offenders are kept in custody
  • serra da mantiqueira — a mountain range in SE Brazil, running parallel to the coast. Highest point, 9140 feet (2785 meters).
  • shareholders' equity — Shareholders' equity is the total amount of ownership investment in a company.
  • shoulder-length hair — hair that reaches a person's shoulders
  • social security card — a card that contains details of a person's social security number
  • sodium fluoroacetate — a white, amorphous, water-soluble, poisonous powder, C 2 H 2 FO 2 Na, used as a rodenticide.
  • sodium meta-arsenite — sodium arsenite.
  • sodium metabisulfite — Sodium metabisulfite is a crystalline compound used as an antioxidant.
  • sound-and-light show — a nighttime spectacle or performance, at which a building, historic site, etc., is illuminated and the historic significance is imparted to spectators by means of narration, sound effects, and music.
  • south orkney islands — an uninhabited group of islands in the S Atlantic, southeast of Cape Horn: formerly a dependency of the Falkland Islands; part of the British Antarctic Territory since 1962 (claims are suspended under the Antarctic Treaty). Area: 621 sq km (240 sq miles)
  • specific conductance — conductivity (def 2).
  • specific-conductance — conductivity (def 2).
  • standard book number — International Standard Book Number. Abbreviation: SBN.
  • state enrolled nurse — a nurse with training and examinations enabling him or her to perform many nursing services
  • ste. anne de beaupre — a village in S Quebec, in SE Canada, on the St. Lawrence, NE of Quebec: Roman Catholic shrine.
  • subjective idea-list — a doctrine that the world has no existence independent of sensations or ideas.
  • subpoena duces tecum — a writ directing a person to appear in court and to bring some document described in the writ.
  • suitland-silver hill — a city in central Maryland, near Washington, D.C.
  • summary jurisdiction — the right a court has to adjudicate immediately upon some matter arising during its proceedings
  • sunday-go-to-meeting — most presentable; best: Sunday-go-to-meeting clothes.
  • tax-deferred annuity — an annuity that enables one to purchase an insurance product that will earn interest, with the tax obligation deferred until withdrawals begin, usually at retirement. Abbreviation: TDA.
  • temperature gradient — rate of change of temperature with distance.
  • terrestrial guidance — a method of missile or rocket guidance in which the flight path is controlled by reference to the strength and direction of the earth's gravitational or magnetic field
  • the (great) unwashed — The unwashed or the great unwashed is a way of referring to poor or ordinary people.
  • the day of judgement — a Christian term for the ending of the world
  • the founding fathers — any of the men who were members of the U.S. Constituional Convention of 1787
  • the garment industry — the manufacturing of items of clothing
  • the luck of the draw — If you say that something is the luck of the draw, you mean that it is the result of chance and you cannot do anything about it.
  • the other way around — reversed
  • the thousand guineas — an annual horse race, restricted to fillies, run at Newmarket since 1814
  • theater-in-the-round — arena theater.
  • theatre-in-the-round — a theatre with seats arranged around a central acting area
  • thermal conductivity — the amount of heat per unit time per unit area that can be conducted through a plate of unit thickness of a given material, the faces of the plate differing by one unit of temperature.
  • thioantimonious acid — any of a group of hypothetical acids, H3SbS3, HSbS2, and H4Sb2S5, known only in the forms of their salts in solution
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