27-letter words containing f, a, l, o
- one's (own) flesh and blood — one's close relatives
- pelvic inflammatory disease — an inflammation of the female pelvic organs, most commonly the fallopian tubes, usually as a result of bacterial infection. Abbreviation: PID.
- post-viral fatigue syndrome — Post-viral fatigue syndrome is a long-lasting illness that is thought to be caused by a virus. Its symptoms include feeling tired all the time and muscle pain.
- proclaim from the housetops — to announce (something) publicly
- rockwell protocol interface — (RPI) A cost-cutting feature of some modems allowing data compression and error correction (e.g. ITU-T V.42bis, V.42) to be provided in software instead of hardware. Usually an RPI modem comes with RPI-aware software (e.g. the low-end RPI models of Supra come with the COMit which supports RPI, providing MNP 2,4,5,7, V.42 and V.42bis). RPI is not supported by many commercial packages nor by current releases of popular shareware communication programs (Telix v3.22 and Telemate v4.12). ProComm Plus for Windows 2.0 will support RPI. Currently Rockwell produce two classes of RPI chip set. The original is capable of 2400 bit/s data, 9600 bit/s class 1-only fax. The newer one is capable of 14400 bit/s data/fax. Currently there are no RPI chipset from Rockwell supporting speeds higher than 14400 bit/s.
- scalable coherent interface — (hardware, protocol) (SCI) The ANSI/IEEE 1596-1992 standard that defines a point-to-point interface and a set of packet protocols. The SCI protocols use packets with a 16-byte header and 16, 64, or 256 data bytes. Each packet is protected by a 16-bit CRC code. The standard defines 1 Gbit/second serial fiber-optic links and 1 Gbyte/second parallel copper links. SCI has two unidirectional links that operate concurrently. The SCI protocols support shared memory by encapsulating bus requests and responses into SCI request and response packets. Packet-based handshake protocols guarantee reliable data delivery. A set of cache coherence protocols are defined to maintain cache coherence in a shared memory system. SCI uses 64-bit addressing and the most significant 16 bits are used for addressing up to 64K nodes.
- scientific content analysis — the close analysis of the content of statements made to the police by suspects in an attempt to identify innocence or guilt
- seasonal affective disorder — recurrent winter depression characterized by oversleeping, overeating, and irritability, and relieved by the arrival of spring or by light therapy. Abbreviation: SAD.
- soviet of the nationalities — (in the former Soviet Union) part of the bicameral legislature of the Supreme Soviet, together with the Soviet of the Union
- systems analysis definition — (programming) (SAD) The analysis of the role of a proposed system and the identification of the requirements that it should meet. SAD is the starting point for system design. The term is most commonly used in the context of commercial programming, where software developers are often classed as either systems analysts or programmers. The systems analysts are responsible for identifying requirements (i.e. systems analysis) and producing a design. The programmers are then responsible for implementing it.
- take someone out of himself — to make someone forget his anxieties, problems, etc
- take something upon oneself — to assume the right to do or responsibility for (something)
- the forest of fontainebleau — a forest in N France, where the town of Fontainebleau is located
- the long and (the) short of — the whole story of in a few words; gist or point of
- third law of thermodynamics — any of three principles variously stated in equivalent forms, being the principle that the change of energy of a thermodynamic system is equal to the heat transferred minus the work done (first law of thermodynamics) the principle that no cyclic process is possible in which heat is absorbed from a reservoir at a single temperature and converted completely into mechanical work (second law of thermodynamics) and the principle that it is impossible to reduce the temperature of a system to absolute zero in a finite number of operations (third law of thermodynamics)
- to be suspended on full pay — if someone is suspended on full pay they are temporarily barred from work (due to misconduct, etc) while receiving full salary
- to breathe a sigh of relief — If people breathe or heave a sigh of relief, they feel happy that something unpleasant has not happened or is no longer happening.
- to build up a head of steam — to develop power
- to cast pearls before swine — If you say that someone is casting pearls before swine, you mean that they are wasting their time by offering something that is helpful or valuable to someone who does not appreciate or understand it.
- to fall over yourself to do — If you say that people are falling over themselves to do something, you mean that they are very enthusiastic about doing it, and often that you disapprove of this.
- to take you out of yourself — If something takes you out of yourself, it makes you feel better and so you forget all your worries and unhappiness.
- to the best of your ability — as well as you can
- two shakes of a lamb's tail — to move or sway with short, quick, irregular vibratory movements.
- working families tax credit — (in Britain) a means-tested allowance paid to single parents or families who have at least one dependent child, who work at least 16 hours per week, and whose earnings are low. It replaced family credit
- yeoman of the (royal) guard — a member of a ceremonial guard for the British royal family, made up traditionally of 100 men