20-letter words containing e, d, r, y
- the (great) pyramids — the three large pyramids at Gîza, Egypt: the largest is the Pyramid of Khufu
- the garment industry — the manufacturing of items of clothing
- the leisure industry — businesses such as cinemas, restaurants, sports facilities etc
- the order of the day — If a particular way of behaving or doing something is the order of the day, it is very common.
- the other way around — reversed
- the whole nine yards — everything that is required; the whole thing
- the-comedy-of-errors — an early comedy (1594) by Shakespeare.
- 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.
- thermodynamic system — a system whose states of equilibrium can be specified by a few macroscopic properties.
- third-party software — software created by programmers or publishers independent of the manufacturer of the hardware for which it is intended.
- three-dimensionality — having, or seeming to have, the dimension of depth as well as width and height.
- to be on dinner duty — to be responsible for preparing an evening meal
- to do your damnedest — If you say that you will do your damnedest to achieve something, you mean that you will try as hard as you can to do it, even though you think that it will take a lot of effort.
- to keep your hand in — If you do something to keep your hand in, you practise a skill or hobby occasionally in order to remain fairly good at it.
- to land on your feet — If you say that someone always lands on their feet, you mean that they are always successful or lucky, although they do not seem to achieve this by their own efforts.
- to make up your mind — If you make up your mind or make your mind up, you decide which of a number of possible things you will have or do.
- to spread your wings — If you spread your wings, you do something new and rather difficult or move to a new place, because you feel more confident in your abilities than you used to and you want to gain wider experience.
- tom, dick, and jerry — a hot mixed drink containing rum, brandy, egg, nutmeg, and sometimes milk
- toxic shock syndrome — a rapidly developing, sometimes fatal infection characterized by sudden onset of fever, gastrointestinal upsets, a sunburnlike rash, and a drop in blood pressure: caused by a Staphylococcus aureus toxin and occurring especially in menstruating women using high-absorbency tampons. Abbreviation: TSS.
- transmission density — a measure of the extent to which a substance transmits light or other electromagnetic radiation, equal to the logarithm to base ten of the reciprocal of the transmittance
- tribromoacetaldehyde — bromal.
- triphenylmethane dye — any of a great number of dyes, as gentian violet, fuchsin, and rosaniline, produced from triphenylmethane by replacement of the ring hydrogen atoms with hydroxy, amino, sulfo, or other atoms or groups.
- turnip-rooted celery — celeriac.
- unified field theory — electroweak theory.
- university education — a course of study undertaken and completed at a university
- university of durham — (body, education) A busy research and teaching community in the historic cathedral city of Durham, UK (population 61000). Its work covers key branches of science and technology and traditional areas of scholarship. Durham graduates are in great demand among employers and the University helps to attract investment into the region. It provides training, short courses, and expertise for industry. Through its cultural events, conferences, tourist business and as a major employer, the University contributes in a wide social and economic sense to the community. Founded in 1832, the University developed in Durham and Newcastle until 1963 when the independent University of Newcastle upon Tyne came into being. Durham is a collegiate body, with 14 Colleges or Societies which are a social and domestic focus for students. In 1992, the Universities of Durham and Teesside launched University College, Stockton-on-Tees, which has 190 students in the first year.
- video graphics array — (hardware) (VGA) A display standard for IBM PCs, with 640 x 480 pixels in 16 colours and a 4:3 aspect ratio. There is also a text mode with 720 x 400 pixels. IBM technical references define the *product name* of their original VGA display board as "Video Graphics Array", in contrast to the preceding boards, the "Color Graphics Adapter" (CGA) and "Enhanced Graphics Adapter" (EGA). See also Super Video Graphics Adapter.
- voluntary redundancy — a financial package to encourage employees to voluntarily leave an organization that needs to restructure
- walking-around money — money that is carried on the person for routine expenses and minor emergencies; pocket money.
- walton and weybridge — a city in Surrey, SE England: a London suburb.
- webster's dictionary — Informal. a dictionary of the English language, especially American English, such as Dictionary.com.
- white-lipped peccary — a piglike artiodactyl mammal, Tayassu albirostris, of forests of southern North America, Central and South America: family Tayassuidae
- woolly spider monkey — a rare related monkey, Brachyteles arachnoides, of SE Brazil
- write-once read-many — (storage) (WORM) Any type of storage medium to which data can be written to only a single time, but can be read from any number of times. Typically this is an optical disk whose surface is permanently etched using a laser in order to record information. WORM media have a significantly longer shelf life than magnetic media and thus are used when data must be preserved for a long time.
- yellow-breasted chat — an American warbler, Icteria virens, having a yellow throat and breast and greenish-brown upper parts and noted for imitating the songs of other species.
- your marching orders — If you give someone their marching orders, you tell them that you no longer want or need them, for example as your employee or as your lover.