25-letter words containing e, n, t, r

message passing interface — (communications, protocol) A de facto standard for communication among the nodes running a parallel program on a distributed memory system. MPI is a library of routines that can be called from Fortran and C programs. MPI's advantage over older message passing libraries is that it is both portable (because MPI has been implemented for almost every distributed memory architecture) and fast (because each implementation is optimised for the hardware it runs on).
metal oxide semiconductor — a three-layer sandwich of a metal, an insulator (usually an oxide of the substrate), and a semiconductor substrate, used in integrated circuits. Abbreviation: MOS.
metal-free phthalocyanine — phthalocyanine (def 1).
methylrosaniline chloride — gentian violet.
metropolitan area network — (MAN) A data network intended to serve an area the size of a large city. Such networks are being implemented by innovative techniques, such as running optical fibre through subway tunnels. A popular example of a MAN is SMDS. See also Local Area Network, Wide Area Network.
mount kenya national park — a national park in Kenya, located in the regions of Mount Kenya that are above 3200 m (10 500 ft); now a UNESCO World Heritage Site, the park covers 1420 sq km (548 sq miles)
multi-scene control board — preset board.
murders in the rue morgue — a short story (1841) by Edgar Allan Poe.
my favourite toy language — (jargon, language) (MFTL) Describes a talk on a programming language design that is heavy on syntax (with lots of BNF), sometimes even talks about semantics (e.g. type systems), but rarely, if ever, has any content (see content-free). More broadly applied to talks - even when the topic is not a programming language --- in which the subject matter is gone into in unnecessary and meticulous detail at the sacrifice of any conceptual content. "Well, it was a typical MFTL talk". 2. A language about which the developers are passionate (often to the point of prosyletic zeal) but no one else cares about. Applied to the language by those outside the originating group. "He cornered me about type resolution in his MFTL." The first great goal in the mind of the designer of an MFTL is usually to write a compiler for it, then bootstrap the design away from contamination by lesser languages by writing a compiler for it in itself. Thus, the standard put-down question at an MFTL talk is "Has it been used for anything besides its own compiler?". On the other hand, a language that *cannot* be used to write its own compiler is beneath contempt. See break-even point, toolsmith.
narrow-leaved bottle tree — any of several trees of the genus Brachychiton, native to Australia, characterized by a bottle-shaped swelling of the trunk, as B. rupestris (narrow-leaved bottle tree) or B. australis (broad-leaved bottle tree)
national enterprise board — a public corporation established in 1975 to help the economy of the UK. In 1981 it merged with the National Research and Development Council to form the British Technology Group
national insurance number — a number allocated to UK citizens so that they can pay national insurance
national liberation front — the name taken by nationalist insurgent groups in various countries.
national portrait gallery — an art gallery in London, established in 1856, displaying portraits and photographs of eminent figures in British history
national security council — the council, composed of the president, vice president, secretary of state, secretary of defense, director of the Central Intelligence Agency and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, that determines means by which domestic, foreign, and military policy can best be integrated for safeguarding the national security. Abbreviation: NSC.
national unity government — a government formed by a coalition of parties, esp in time of national emergency
network computing devices — (company) (NCD) Producer of X terminals, PC-Xware and Z-Mail.
network operations center — (NOC) A location from which the operation of a network or internet is monitored. Additionally, this center usually serves as a clearinghouse for connectivity problems and efforts to resolve those problems. See also Network Information Center.
neurocirculatory asthenia — cardiac neurosis.
never do things by halves — If you say that someone never does things by halves, you mean that they always do things very thoroughly.
nine/seven/ten-day wonder — If you say that someone or something is a nine -day wonder or a one -day wonder, you disapprove of the fact that they are attracting so much interest and attention, because you think that their popularity will only last for a very short time.
no disrespect (to sb/sth) — You can say 'no disrespect to someone or something' when you are just about to criticize them, in order to indicate that you are not hostile towards them or admire them for other things.
non-algorithmic procedure — heuristic
normal equivalent deviate — a value x such that the integral of a normal curve over all those values of the independent variable less than x is equal to the given probability.
northern corn-leaf blight — northern leaf blight.
not darken someone's door — not come to someone's home
not for the faint-hearted — If you say that something is not for the faint-hearted, you mean that it is an extreme or very unusual example of its kind, and is not suitable for people who like only safe and familiar things.
not take no for an answer — to continue in a course of action despite refusals
nuffield teaching project — (in Britain) a complete school programme in mathematics, science, languages, etc, with suggested complementary theory and practical work
object relational mapping — (programming, database) (ORM) The software development activity that defines a correspondence between objects in a program and rows in a database table. Atomic object properties correspond to columns in the table, non-atomic data types and relations between objects are represented as foreign keys referring to other tables. An object persistence mechanism is responsible for maintaining the correspondence between objects and the database contents at run-time.
observational equivalence — Two terms M and N are observationally equivalent iff for all contexts C[] where C[M] is a valid term, C[N] is also a valid term with the same value.
off-balance sheet reserve — a sum of money or an asset that should appear on a company's balance but does not; hidden reserve
office of war information — OWI.
on the horns of a dilemma — one of the bony, permanent, hollow paired growths, often curved and pointed, that project from the upper part of the head of certain ungulate mammals, as cattle, sheep, goats, or antelopes.
on the spur of the moment — a U -shaped device that slips over and straps to the heel of a boot and has a blunt, pointed, or roweled projection at the back for use by a mounted rider to urge a horse forward.
on the tip of your tongue — If a comment or question is on the tip of your tongue, you really want to say it or ask it, but you decide not to say it.
on the understanding that — with the condition that; providing
open educational resource — Usually, open educational resources. a piece of content or a tool for teaching or learning, often developed online, that is made available free of charge for anyone to use, revise, adapt, or redistribute. Abbreviation: OER.
open systems interconnect — Open Systems Interconnection
operator control language — (language) (OCL) The batch language for the IBM System/36, used specifically with the RPG II compiler. See also CL.
orpheus in the underworld — a classical operetta; the French name is Orphée aux enfers
outside broadcasting unit — a mobile studio from which broadcasts are made
over-the-counter medicine — An over-the-counter medicine is a medicine that may be sold without a doctor's prescription.
oxidative phosphorylation — the aerobic synthesis, coupled to electron transport, of ATP from phosphate and ADP.
page description language — a high-level programming language for determining the output of a page printer designed to work with it, independent of the printer's internal codes. Abbreviation: PDL.
palo alto research center — XEROX PARC
palo alto research centre — XEROX PARC
peripheral nervous system — the portion of the nervous system lying outside the brain and spinal cord.
permanent virtual circuit — (networking) (PVC, or in ATM terminology, "Permanent Virtual Connection") A virtual circuit that is permanently established, saving the time associated with circuit establishment and tear-down.
personal flotation device — a life preserver, life jacket, or other device for keeping a person afloat in the water. Abbreviation: PFD.

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