17-letter words containing e, u, r, a
- the black country — the formerly heavily industrialized region of central England, northwest of Birmingham
- the carboniferous — the Carboniferous period or rock system
- the evil day/hour — If someone is putting off the evil day or the evil hour, they have to do something unpleasant and are trying to avoid doing it for as long as possible.
- the final curtain — the closing of the curtain at the end of the action of a play
- the major leagues — the two main leagues of professional baseball clubs in the U.S., the National League and the American League
- the new jerusalem — the de facto capital of Israel (recognition of this has been withheld by the United Nations), situated in the Judaean hills: became capital of the Hebrew kingdom after its capture by David around 1000 bc; destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon in 586 bc; taken by the Romans in 63 bc; devastated in 70 ad and 135 ad during the Jewish rebellions against Rome; fell to the Arabs in 637 and to the Seljuk Turks in 1071; ruled by Crusaders from 1099 to 1187 and by the Egyptians and Turks until conquered by the British (1917); centre of the British mandate of Palestine from 1920 to 1948, when the Arabs took the old city and the Jews held the new city; unified after the Six Day War (1967) under the Israelis; the holy city of Jews, Christians, and Muslims. Pop: 693 200 (2003 est)
- the popular press — cheap newspapers with a mass circulation; the tabloid press
- the rann of kutch — an extensive salt waste in W central India, and S Pakistan: consists of the Great Rann in the north and the Little Rann in the southeast; seasonal alternation between marsh and desert; some saltworks. In 1968 an international tribunal awarded about 10 per cent of the border area to Pakistan. Area: 23 000 sq km (9000 sq miles)
- the unwritten law — the tradition that a person may avenge any insult to family integrity, as used to justify criminal acts of vengeance
- therapeutic index — the ratio between the dosage of a drug that causes a lethal effect and the dosage that causes a therapeutic effect.
- therapeutic touch — the laying on of hands by a healer
- thermal diffusion — the separation of constituents, often isotopes, of a fluid under the influence of a temperature gradient.
- thermal pollution — a rise in the temperature of rivers or lakes that is injurious to water-dwelling life and is caused by the disposal of heated industrial waste water or water from the cooling towers of nuclear power plants.
- thermal underwear — underwear designed to retain body heat in cold temperatures.
- thermocoagulation — the coagulation of tissue by heat-producing high-frequency electric currents, used therapeutically to remove small growths or to create specific lesions in the brain.
- thread escutcheon — a raised metal rim around a keyhole.
- thread-legged bug — any of certain insects of the family Reduviidae, characterized by an elongated, slender body and long frail legs, the front pair of which are raptorial.
- three-course meal — A three-course meal is a meal that consists of three parts served one after the other.
- thuringian forest — a forested mountain region in central Germany: a resort area.
- to argue the toss — If you say that someone argues the toss, you are criticizing them for continuing to argue for longer than is necessary about something that is not very important.
- to drag your feet — If you drag your feet or drag your heels, you delay doing something or do it very slowly because you do not want to do it.
- to feel your oats — to feel exuberant or high-spirited
- to keep your head — If you keep your head, you remain calm in a difficult situation. If you lose your head, you panic or do not remain calm in a difficult situation.
- to show your face — If you show your face somewhere, you go there and see people, although you are not welcome, are rather unwilling to go, or have not been there for some time.
- to take your time — If you take your time doing something, you do it quite slowly and do not hurry.
- tolpuddle martyrs — six farm workers sentenced to transportation for seven years in 1834 for administering an unlawful oath to form a trade union in the village of Tolpuddle, Dorset
- tongue-and-groove — the technique of making a joint between two boards by means of a tongue along the edge of one board that fits into a groove along the edge of the other board
- torricellian tube — a vertical glass tube partly evacuated and partly filled with mercury, the height of which is used as a measure of atmospheric pressure
- touch a raw nerve — If you say that you have touched a nerve or touched a raw nerve, you mean that you have accidentally upset someone by talking about something that they feel strongly about or are very sensitive about.
- trailing geranium — an ivy-leaved variety of geranium, Pelargonium peltatum
- transfer function — The transfer function of a circuit is the ratio of the response to the input.
- trouble came back — (jargon) (TCB) An IBM term for an intermittent or difficult-to-reproduce problem that has failed to respond to neglect or shotgun debugging. Compare heisenbug.
- trucial sheikdoms — an independent federation in E Arabia, formed in 1971, now comprising seven emirates on the S coast (formerly, Pirate Coast or Trucial Coast) of the Persian Gulf, formerly under British protection: Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Sharjah, Ajman, Umm al-Qaiwain, Ras al-Khaimah (joined 1972), and Fujairah. About 32,300 sq. mi. (83,657 sq. km). Capital: Abu Dhabi. Abbreviation: U.A.E.
- tubercle bacillus — the bacterium, Mycobacterium tuberculosis, causing tuberculosis.
- turbosupercharger — (formerly) a turbocharger.
- turn on the charm — If someone turns on the charm, they behave in a way that seems very friendly but which you think is insincere, often in order to obtain something or deceive someone.
- ultimate strength — the quantity of the utmost tensile, compressive, or shearing stress that a given unit area of a certain material is expected to bear without failing.
- ultraconservative — extremely conservative, especially in politics.
- ultrametamorphism — metamorphism during which the temperature of a rock exceeds its melting point.
- ultramicrobalance — a balance for weighing precisely, to a hundredth of a microgram or less, minute quantities of material.
- uncircumscribable — to draw a line around; encircle: to circumscribe a city on a map.
- unclassified road — a road that has not been given a grade because it is of a basic standard
- uncomfortableness — causing discomfort or distress; painful; irritating.
- uncooperativeness — working or acting together willingly for a common purpose or benefit.
- under the weather — the state of the atmosphere with respect to wind, temperature, cloudiness, moisture, pressure, etc.
- undercompensation — to compensate or pay less than is fair, customary, or expected.
- understandability — capable of being understood; comprehensible.
- undulatory theory — wave theory (def 1).
- unemployment rate — percentage of population without jobs
- universal algebra — (logic) The model theory of first-order equational logic.