15-letter words containing f, a, l, p, r, e
- patellar reflex — knee jerk.
- perfluorocarbon — a fluorocarbon consisting only of fluorine and carbon atoms
- personal friend — a person who is a friend, rather than a colleague or acquaintance
- pied flycatcher — a small black and white migratory bird of Europe and western Asia, Ficedula hypoleuca
- pilgrim fathers — the Pilgrims (of Plymouth Colony)
- plant-hire firm — a company that hires out mobile mechanical equipment for construction, road-making, etc
- platform rocker — a rocking chair supported on a stationary base
- platform scales — a weighing machine which has a platform that you put something on to be weighed
- platform tennis — a variation of tennis played on a wooden platform enclosed with chicken wire in which the players hit a rubber ball with wooden paddles following the same basic rules as tennis except that only one serve is permitted and balls can be played off the back and side fences.
- platform ticket — a pass allowing a visitor to enter upon a railroad platform from which those not traveling are ordinarily excluded.
- play favourites — to display favouritism
- please yourself — You say 'please yourself' to indicate in a rather rude way that you do not mind or care whether the person you are talking to does a particular thing or not.
- potash feldspar — any of the feldspar minerals having the composition KAlSi 3 O 8 , as orthoclase.
- power amplifier — an amplifier for increasing the power of a signal.
- preferentialism — the economic system of preference, esp amongst British commonwealth countries
- preferentialist — someone who believes in preferentialism
- preprofessional — of or relating to the time preceding one's concentrated study or practice of a profession: preprofessional training.
- price inflation — inflation fuelled by rising prices
- primrose family — the plant family Primulaceae, characterized by herbaceous plants having simple, opposite, whorled, or basal leaves, flowers with a five-lobed corolla, and capsular fruit, and including cyclamen, loosestrife of the genus Lysimachia, pimpernel, primrose, and shooting star.
- prince of wales — Prince of Wales and Duke of Cornwall ("The Black Prince") 1330–76, English military leader (son of Edward III).
- professionalism — professional character, spirit, or methods.
- professionalist — to give a professional character or status to; make into or establish as a profession.
- professionalize — to give a professional character or status to; make into or establish as a profession.
- profoundly deaf — unable to hear any sound below 95 decibels in one's better ear
- propeller shaft — a shaft that transmits power from an engine to a propeller.
- puerperal fever — a systemic bacterial infection of the endometrium characterized by fever, rapid heartbeat, uterine tenderness, and malodorous discharge, chiefly occurring in women after childbirth, usually as the result of unsterile obstetric procedures.
- purslane family — the plant family Portulacaceae, characterized by chiefly herbaceous plants having simple, often fleshy leaves, sometimes showy flowers, and capsular fruit, and including bitterroot, purslane, red maids, rose moss, and spring beauty.
- rape of lucrece — a narrative poem (1594) by Shakespeare.
- refugee capital — money from abroad invested, esp for a short term, in the country offering the highest interest rate
- refuse disposal — the act of disposing of rubbish and waste
- relapsing fever — one of a group of fevers characterized by relapses, occurring in many tropical countries, and caused by several species of spirochetes transmitted by several species of lice and ticks.
- rheinland-pfalz — German name of Rhineland-Palatinate.
- ridgefield park — a town in NE New Jersey.
- sale of produce — the selling of something that is produced, esp agricultural products
- seafood platter — a plate of assorted seafood, served in a restaurant
- self-absorption — preoccupation with oneself or one's own affairs.
- self-persuasion — the act of persuading or seeking to persuade.
- self-proclaimed — to announce or declare in an official or formal manner: to proclaim war.
- simple fraction — a ratio of two integers.
- simple fracture — a fracture in which the bone does not pierce the skin.
- snafu principle — /sna'foo prin'si-pl/ [WWII Army acronym for "Situation Normal: All Fucked Up"] "True communication is possible only between equals, because inferiors are more consistently rewarded for telling their superiors pleasant lies than for telling the truth." - a central tenet of Discordianism, often invoked by hackers to explain why authoritarian hierarchies screw up so reliably and systematically. The effect of the SNAFU principle is a progressive disconnection of decision-makers from reality. This lightly adapted version of a fable dating back to the early 1960s illustrates the phenomenon perfectly: In the beginning was the plan, and then the specification; And the plan was without form, and the specification was void. And darkness was on the faces of the implementors thereof; And they spake unto their leader, saying: "It is a crock of shit, and smells as of a sewer." And the leader took pity on them, and spoke to the project leader: "It is a crock of excrement, and none may abide the odor thereof." And the project leader spake unto his section head, saying: "It is a container of excrement, and it is very strong, such that none may abide it." The section head then hurried to his department manager, and informed him thus: "It is a vessel of fertilizer, and none may abide its strength." The department manager carried these words to his general manager, and spoke unto him saying: "It containeth that which aideth the growth of plants, and it is very strong." And so it was that the general manager rejoiced and delivered the good news unto the Vice President. "It promoteth growth, and it is very powerful." The Vice President rushed to the President's side, and joyously exclaimed: "This powerful new software product will promote the growth of the company!" And the President looked upon the product, and saw that it was very good. After the subsequent disaster, the suits protect themselves by saying "I was misinformed!", and the implementors are demoted or fired.
- spanish trefoil — alfalfa.
- special feature — an article differing from the normal format and focusing on a particular topic
- subprofessional — being below professional standards: subprofessional health care.
- superficialness — being at, on, or near the surface: a superficial wound.
- trifluoperazine — a compound, C 21 H 24 F 3 N 3 S, used as an antipsychotic.
- venus's-flytrap — a carnivorous plant, Dionaea muscipula, native to bogs of North and South Carolina, having roundish leaves with two lobes that close like a trap when certain delicate hairs on them are irritated, as by a fly: the range is now reduced, though the plants are still locally abundant.