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15-letter words containing e, n, c, a, p

  • schlieffen plan — a plan intended to ensure German victory over a Franco-Russian alliance by holding off Russia with minimal strength and swiftly defeating France by a massive flanking movement through the Low Countries, devised by Alfred, Count von Schlieffen (1833–1913) in 1905
  • schopenhauerian — Arthur [ahr-too r] /ˈɑr tʊər/ (Show IPA), 1788–1860, German philosopher.
  • schopenhauerism — the philosophy of Schopenhauer, who taught that only the cessation of desire can solve the problems arising from the universal impulse of the will to live.
  • secondary group — a group of people with whom one's contacts are detached and impersonal.
  • self-acceptance — the act of taking or receiving something offered.
  • self-complacent — pleased with oneself; self-satisfied; smug.
  • shopping arcade — a place where a number of shops are connected together under one roof
  • simple fraction — a ratio of two integers.
  • simplicidentate — belonging or pertaining to the Simplicidentata, formerly regarded as a suborder or division of rodents having only one pair of upper incisor teeth.
  • slap and tickle — sexual play
  • snafu principle — /sna'foo prin'si-pl/ [WWII Army acronym for "Situation Normal: All Fucked Up"] "True communication is possible only between equals, because inferiors are more consistently rewarded for telling their superiors pleasant lies than for telling the truth." - a central tenet of Discordianism, often invoked by hackers to explain why authoritarian hierarchies screw up so reliably and systematically. The effect of the SNAFU principle is a progressive disconnection of decision-makers from reality. This lightly adapted version of a fable dating back to the early 1960s illustrates the phenomenon perfectly: In the beginning was the plan, and then the specification; And the plan was without form, and the specification was void. And darkness was on the faces of the implementors thereof; And they spake unto their leader, saying: "It is a crock of shit, and smells as of a sewer." And the leader took pity on them, and spoke to the project leader: "It is a crock of excrement, and none may abide the odor thereof." And the project leader spake unto his section head, saying: "It is a container of excrement, and it is very strong, such that none may abide it." The section head then hurried to his department manager, and informed him thus: "It is a vessel of fertilizer, and none may abide its strength." The department manager carried these words to his general manager, and spoke unto him saying: "It containeth that which aideth the growth of plants, and it is very strong." And so it was that the general manager rejoiced and delivered the good news unto the Vice President. "It promoteth growth, and it is very powerful." The Vice President rushed to the President's side, and joyously exclaimed: "This powerful new software product will promote the growth of the company!" And the President looked upon the product, and saw that it was very good. After the subsequent disaster, the suits protect themselves by saying "I was misinformed!", and the implementors are demoted or fired.
  • social spending — the money that is spent on welfare payments
  • space scientist — an expert or specialist in any of the various science fields which relate to space flight or any phenomena occurring in space or on other planets. This would include for example such fields as Astronautics, Astrophysics, or Galactic Science
  • spanish america — the Spanish-speaking countries south of the U.S.: Mexico, Central America (with the exception of Belize), South America (with the exceptions of Brazil, French Guiana, Guyana, and Suriname), and most of the West Indies.
  • special edition — newspaper, magazine: extra issue
  • special licence — a licence permitting a marriage to take place by dispensing with the usual legal conditions
  • special partner — a partner whose liability for the firm's debts is limited to the amount that partner has invested in the firm.
  • special session — a session, as of a legislature or council, called to meet in addition to those held regularly.
  • special student — a student who is not seeking a degree but enrols in a course, esp to gain academic credits
  • speckle pattern — the visual appearance of a star as viewed through a large telescope, with irregularities caused by the distorting effect of local turbulence in the earth's atmosphere.
  • speech training — training designed to improve spoken skills, such as voice projection
  • speed indicator — an instrument for counting the number of revolutions of a gasoline engine.
  • spherical angle — an angle formed by arcs of great circles of a sphere.
  • splanchnopleure — the double layer formed by the association of the lower layer of the lateral plate of mesoderm with the underlying entoderm, which develops into the embryonic viscera.
  • sporting chance — an even or fair opportunity for a favorable outcome in an enterprise, as winning in a game of chance or in any kind of contest: They gave the less experienced players a sporting chance by handicapping the experts.
  • spotted cowbane — a North American water hemlock, Cicuta maculata, of the parsley family, having a purple-mottled stem, white flowers, and deadly poisonous, tuberlike roots.
  • spring-cleaning — a complete cleaning of a place, as a home, done traditionally in the spring of the year.
  • sprinkler dance — a celebratory dance in which participants extend one arm and shake it to imitate the action of a rotating water sprinkler
  • stand-up comedy — telling jokes to an audience
  • straining piece — (in a queen-post roof) a horizontal beam uniting the tops of the two queen posts, and resisting the thrust of the roof.
  • stretch a point — a sharp or tapering end, as of a dagger.
  • superexcitation — the act of exciting.
  • superficialness — being at, on, or near the surface: a superficial wound.
  • surface-ripened — (of cheese) ripened on the surface by molds or other microorganisms.
  • sympathetic ink — a fluid for producing writing that is invisible until brought out by heat, chemicals, etc.; invisible ink.
  • take one's pick — If you are told to take your pick, you can choose any one that you like from a group of things.
  • talking picture — Older Use. a motion picture with accompanying synchronized speech, singing, etc.
  • tandem-compound — (of a compound engine or turbine) having high-pressure and low-pressure units in tandem.
  • the colophonian — a native of Colophon.
  • the handicapped — those who are physically disabled or mentally retarded
  • the phanerozoic — the Phanerozoic era
  • the precambrian — the Precambrian era
  • theatre company — an organization that produces theatrical performances
  • tobacco planter — a tool that was formerly used by tobacco farmers to plant tobacco with
  • top dead center — Top dead center is the position of an engine's piston when it is at the very top of its stroke.
  • top dead-centre — the position of the crank of a reciprocating engine or pump when the piston is at the top of its stroke
  • traffic pattern — Aeronautics. a system of courses about an airfield that aircraft are assigned to fly when taking off, landing, or preparing to land.
  • treacle pudding — a sponge cake with syrup on top
  • triple alliance — the alliance (1882–1915) of Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Italy.
  • tubal pregnancy — pregnancy that grows in fallopian tube
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