20-letter words containing e, t, r

thirty-nine articles — a set of formulas defining the doctrinal position of the Church of England, drawn up in the 16th century, to which the clergy are required to give general consent
this time, for sure! — (exclamation) Ritual affirmation frequently uttered during protracted debugging sessions involving numerous small obstacles (e.g. attempts to bring up a UUCP connection). For the proper effect, this must be uttered in a fruity imitation of Bullwinkle J. Moose. Also heard: "Hey, Rocky! Watch me pull a rabbit out of my hat!" The canonical response is, of course, "But that trick *never* works!" See hacker humour.
thomas of erceldoune — Thomas of, Thomas of Erceldoune.
thorn in one's flesh — a sharp excrescence on a plant, especially a sharp-pointed aborted branch; spine; prickle.
thought transference — transference of thought by extrasensory means from the mind of one individual to another; telepathy.
thread language zero — (language) (TL0) The instruction set of the TAM (Threaded Abstract Machine), used to implement Id.
three-dimensionality — having, or seeming to have, the dimension of depth as well as width and height.
three-quarter nelson — a hold in which a wrestler, from a kneeling position behind a prone opponent, applies a half nelson with one arm, passes the other arm under the opponent's body on the near side, and locks the arms at the fingers or wrist on the back of the opponent's neck.
three-thorned acacia — honey locust.
throw up one's hands — the terminal, prehensile part of the upper limb in humans and other primates, consisting of the wrist, metacarpal area, fingers, and thumb.
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 clean up your act — If someone who has been behaving badly cleans up their act, they start to behave in a more acceptable or responsible way.
to clear your throat — If you clear your throat, you cough once in order to make it easier to speak or to attract people's attention.
to come to full term — to be carried or last until the ninth month of gestation or pregnancy
to cost someone dear — If something that someone does costs them dear, they suffer a lot as a result of it.
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 cry your eyes out — If you cry your eyes out, you cry very hard.
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 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 fall on deaf ears — If a request falls on deaf ears or if the person to whom the request is made turns a deaf ear to it, they take no notice of it.
to fall on your feet — If you say that someone always falls or 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 flex your muscles — If a group, organization, or country flexes its muscles, it does something to impress or frighten people, in order to show them that it has power and is considering using it.
to flog a dead horse — If you say that someone is flogging a dead horse, you mean that they are trying to achieve something impossible.
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 go the extra mile — If you say that someone is willing to go the extra mile, you mean that they are willing to make a special effort to do or achieve something.
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 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 leave your/a mark — If someone or something leaves their mark or leaves a mark, they have a lasting effect on another person or thing.
to line your pockets — If you say that someone is lining their own or someone else's pockets, you disapprove of them because they are making money dishonestly or unfairly.
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 overstep the mark — If someone oversteps the mark, they behave in a way that is considered unacceptable.
to pull your punches — If you say that someone does not pull their punches when they are criticizing a person or thing, you mean that they say exactly what they think, even though this might upset or offend people.
to reach new heights — to become higher than ever before
to reserve the right — If you say that you reserve the right to do something, you mean that you will do it if you feel that it is necessary.
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

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