16-letter words containing e, s, p, a, l
- sleep-wake cycle — Physiology. the species-specific biological pattern of alternating sleep and wakefulness, in humans roughly 8 hours of nocturnal sleep and 16 hours of daytime activity.
- sleeping draught — any drink containing a drug or agent that induces sleep
- sleeping partner — silent partner.
- smack one's lips — If you smack your lips, you open and close your mouth noisily, especially before or after eating, to show that you are eager to eat or enjoyed eating.
- small/fine print — The small print or the fine print of something such as an advertisement or a contract consists of the technical details and legal conditions, which are often printed in much smaller letters than the rest of the text.
- soapberry family — the plant family Sapindaceae, characterized by chiefly tropical trees, shrubs, or herbaceous vines having compound leaves, clustered flowers, and berrylike, fleshy, or capsular fruit, and including the balloon vine, golden rain tree, litchi, and soapberry.
- sodium pentothal — the sodium salt of thiopental sodium.
- solar prominence — prominence (def 3).
- solid propellant — a rocket propellant in solid form, usually containing a mixture or combination of fuel and oxidizer.
- south plainfield — a city in N New Jersey.
- southern uplands — a hilly region extending across S Scotland: includes the Lowther, Moorfoot, and Lammermuir hills
- spanish bluebell — a bulbous plant, Endymion hispanicus, of the lily family, native to Spain and Portugal, having blue, white, or pink, bell-shaped flowers.
- spanish mackerel — an American game fish, Scomberomorus maculatus, inhabiting the Atlantic Ocean.
- spanish omelette — an omelette made by adding green peppers, onions, tomato, etc, to the eggs
- sparking voltage — the minimum voltage required to produce a spark across a given spark gap.
- speak for itself — be self-evident
- special clearing — (in Britain) the clearing of a cheque through a bank in less than the usual three days, for an additional charge
- special delivery — (in the U.S. Postal Service) delivery of mail outside the regularly scheduled hours, by a special messenger, upon the payment of an extra fee.
- special handling — (in the U.S. Postal Service) the handling of third- and fourth-class mail as first-class upon the payment of a fee.
- special interest — special-interest group (def 1).
- special pleading — Law. pleading that alleges special or new matter in avoidance of the allegations made by the opposite side.
- spectacled cobra — Indian cobra.
- spectroheliogram — a photograph of the sun made with a spectroheliograph.
- speech pathology — the scientific study and treatment of defects, disorders, and malfunctions of speech and voice, as stuttering, lisping, or lalling, and of language disturbances, as aphasia or delayed language acquisition.
- spelling mistake — error in writing a word
- spherical excess — the difference between the sum of the angles of a spherical triangle and two right angles.
- spin the platter — a game in which one member of a group spins a platter on its edge and a designated member must catch it before it falls or pay a forfeit.
- spinone italiano — one of an Italian breed of large all-purpose hunting dogs having a short wiry coat, solid white or white with light brown or yellow patches in color.
- spiral staircase — stairs that wind round
- spiritual healer — a faith healer
- spiritual incest — marriage or a sexual relationship between persons related by spiritual affinity or with a person under a solemn vow of chastity
- splanchnic nerve — Anatomy. any of several nerves to the viscera and blood vessels of the chest and pelvic areas.
- splanchnopleural — 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.
- spotted mackerel — a small mackerel, Scomberomorus queenslandicus, of northern Australian waters
- spring ephemeral — any of various woodland wildflowers that appear above ground in early spring, flower and fruit, and die in a short two-month period.
- spring snowflake — a European amaryllidaceous plant, Leucojum vernum, with white nodding bell-shaped flowers
- springer spaniel — a dog of either of two breeds of medium-sized spaniels, used for flushing and retrieving game.
- sql access group — (body) The origanisaton which defined Call-Level Interface, on which ODBC is based. It is now part of X/Open.
- stalked puffball — a puffball-like mushroom of the genus Tulestoma, maturing in early winter.
- stamp collecting — Stamp collecting is the hobby of building up a collection of stamps.
- stamp collection — the act of collecting postage stamps as a hobby
- stannic sulphide — an insoluble solid compound of tin usually existing as golden crystals or as a yellowish-brown powder: used as a pigment. Formula: SnS2
- state capitalism — a form of capitalism in which the central government controls most of the capital, industry, natural resources, etc.
- sticking plaster — an adhesive cloth or other material for covering and closing superficial wounds, holding bandages in place, etc.
- stinging capsule — a nematocyst.
- stonecrop family — the plant family Crassulaceae, characterized by succulent herbaceous plants and shrubs with simple, fleshy leaves, clusters of small flowers, and dry, dehiscent fruit, and including hen-and-chickens, houseleek, kalanchoe, live-forever, orpine, sedum, and stonecrop.
- stop-loss clause — a limitation on the amount of loss sustained by the insured without compensation in a given period.
- strange particle — any elementary particle with a strangeness quantum number other than zero.
- sulfarsphenamine — a yellow, water-soluble, arsenic-containing powder, C 1 4 H 1 4 As 2 N 2 Na 2 O 8 S 2 , formerly used in the treatment of syphilis.
- sulu archipelago — an island group in the SW Philippines, separating the Sulawesi Sea from the Sulu Sea. 1086 sq. mi. (2813 sq. km). Capital: Jolo.