20-letter words containing e, b, o

switchboard operator — a person who operates an installation in a telephone exchange, office, hotel, etc, at which the interconnection of telephone lines is manually controlled
tchebycheff equation — a differential equation of the form (1 − x 2) d 2 y/dx 2 − x dy/dx + n 2 y = 0, where n is any nonnegative integer.
telephone subscriber — a person who subscribes to a telephone service
television broadcast — sth shown on tv
tetrahydrocannabinol — a compound, C 21 H 30 O 2 , that is the physiologically active component in cannabis preparations (marijuana, hashish, etc.) derived from the Indian hemp plant or produced synthetically. Abbreviation: THC.
the (whole) ballgame — the main or decisive factor, event, etc.
the beautiful people — rich, fashionable people in international high society
the better to do sth — If you do something the better to do something else, you do the first thing in order to be able to do the second thing more effectively.
the toronto blessing — a variety of emotional reactions such as laughing, weeping, and fainting, experienced by participants in a form of charismatic Christian worship
therapeutic abortion — abortion performed when a woman's pregnancy endangers her health.
to be a one-man show — to be reliant on one person alone
to be a warning shot — to be a warning
to be at loggerheads — to be in conflict
to be brought to bed — to give birth (to)
to be on dinner duty — to be responsible for preparing an evening meal
to be walking on air — If you say that you are walking on air or floating on air, you mean that you feel extremely happy about something.
to bear the brunt of — To bear the brunt or take the brunt of something unpleasant means to suffer the main part or force of it.
to beat one's breast — If you say that someone beats their breast, you are emphasizing that they are very angry or upset about something, or that they are pretending to be very angry or upset about it.
to bring up the rear — If a person or vehicle is bringing up the rear, they are the last person or vehicle in a moving line of them.
to burst into flames — If something bursts into flames or bursts into flame, it suddenly starts burning strongly.
to catch your breath — If something makes you catch your breath, it makes you take a short breath of air, usually because it shocks you.
to cross the rubicon — If you say that someone has crossed the Rubicon, you mean that they have reached a point where they cannot change a decision or course of action.
to disturb the peace — If someone is accused of disturbing the peace, they are accused of behaving in a noisy and offensive way in public.
to get off sb's back — If you tell someone to get off your back, you are telling them angrily to stop criticizing you or putting pressure on you.
to get your bearings — to find out where one is or to find out what one should do next
to get your own back — If you get your own back on someone, you have your revenge on them because of something bad that they have done to you.
to give sb their due — You can say 'to give him his due', or 'giving him his due' when you are admitting that there are some good things about someone, even though there are things that you do not like about them.
to have it in for sb — If someone has it in for you, they do not like you and they want to make life difficult for you.
to hope for the best — If you are in a difficult situation and do something and hope for the best, you hope that everything will happen in the way you want, although you know that it may not.
to keep your balance — If you keep your balance, for example, when standing in a moving vehicle, you remain steady and do not fall over. If you lose your balance, you become unsteady and fall over.
to push the boat out — If you push the boat out, you spend a lot of money on something, especially in order to celebrate.
to sb's disadvantage — If something is to your disadvantage or works to your disadvantage, it creates difficulties for you.
to scrape the barrel — If you say that someone is scraping the barrel, or scraping the bottom of the barrel, you disapprove of the fact that they are using or doing something of extremely poor quality.
to show sb the ropes — to show someone how to do a particular job or task
to take years off sb — if you say that something such as an experience or a way of dressing has taken years off someone, you mean that it has made them look or feel much younger
to tighten your belt — If you have to tighten your belt, you have to spend less money and manage without things because you have less money than you used to have.
to waste your breath — If someone says you are wasting your breath, they mean that the person you are talking to will not take any notice and so there is no point saying anything to them.
tomb of the unknowns — See under Unknown Soldier.
toothbrush moustache — a short narrow moustache, resembling the filaments of a toothbrush
tribromoacetaldehyde — bromal.
tropical disturbance — a very weak, or incipient, tropical cyclone.
twiddle one's thumbs — to turn about or play with lightly or idly, especially with the fingers; twirl.
under/below strength — If an army or team is under strength or below strength, it does not have all the members that it needs or usually has.
unemployment benefit — an allowance of money paid, usually weekly, to an unemployed worker by a state or federal agency or by the worker's labor union or former employer during all or part of the period of unemployment.
upper income bracket — a grouping of the highest earning tax payers
vertical combination — the integration within one company of individual businesses working separately in related phases of the production and sale of a product.
voice over broadband — a transmission technique that enables a user to make and receive telephone calls over a broadband connection
walton and weybridge — a city in Surrey, SE England: a London suburb.
war of the rebellion — American Civil War.
wardrobe malfunction — an embarrassing situation caused by the clothes a person is wearing

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