20-letter words containing f, a, r, s
- prefecture apostolic — a territory in the early stage of missionary development.
- refracting telescope — an optical instrument for making distant objects appear larger and therefore nearer. One of the two principal forms (refracting telescope) consists essentially of an objective lens set into one end of a tube and an adjustable eyepiece or combination of lenses set into the other end of a tube that slides into the first and through which the enlarged object is viewed directly; the other form (reflecting telescope) has a concave mirror that gathers light from the object and focuses it into an adjustable eyepiece or combination of lenses through which the reflection of the object is enlarged and viewed. Compare radio telescope.
- refuse disposal unit — a unit or part of a sink that disposes of waste food, etc, by grinding
- republic of maldives — a republic occupying an archipelago of 1087 coral islands in the Indian Ocean, southwest of Sri Lanka: came under British protection in 1887; became independent in 1965 and a republic in 1968; member of the Commonwealth (1982–2016). The economy and infrastructure were severely damaged in the Indian Ocean tsunami of December 2004. Official language: Divehi. Official religion: (Sunni) Muslim. Currency: rufiyaa. Capital: Malé. Pop: 393 988 (2013 est). Area: 298 sq km (115 sq miles)
- request for proposal — (programming) (RFP) The publication by a prospective software purchaser of details of the required system in order to attract offers by software developers to supply it. Software development under contract starts with the selection of the software developer by the customer. A request for proposal (also called in Britain an "invitation to tender") is the beginning of the selection process.
- restriction fragment — a length of DNA cut from the strand by a restriction enzyme.
- roof over one's head — If you have a roof over your head, you have somewhere to live.
- royal air force list — an official list of all serving commissioned officers of the RAF and reserve officers liable for recall
- saint anthony's fire — any of certain skin conditions that are of an inflammatory or gangrenous nature, as erysipelas, hospital gangrene, or ergotism.
- sarcastic fringehead — any fish of the genus Neoclinus, characterized by a row of fleshy processes on the head, as N. blanchardi (sarcastic fringehead) of California coastal waters.
- second earl of essex — 2nd Earl of, Devereux, Robert.
- self-differentiating — to form or mark differently from other such things; distinguish.
- senior aircraftwoman — a rank in the Royal Air Force comparable to that of a private in the army, though not the lowest rank in the Royal Air Force
- separation of powers — the principle or system of vesting in separate branches the executive, legislative, and judicial powers of a government.
- sergeant first class — a noncommissioned officer ranking next above a staff sergeant and below a first or master sergeant.
- serious fraud office — a UK government office responsible for investigating and prosecuting serious fraud cases
- shear transformation — a map of a coordinate space in which one coordinate is held fixed and the other coordinate or coordinates are shifted.
- sinfonia concertante — a type of concerto for two or more solo instruments accompanied by an orchestra
- small craft advisory — a U.S. National Weather Service advisory of sustained winds, over coastal and inland waters, with speeds of 20–33 knots (23–38 mph, 10–17 m/sec). Regional NWS offices have discretion over the choice of the lower limit.
- snowflake generation — the generation of people who became adults in the 2010s, viewed as being less resilient and more prone to taking offence than previous generations
- snows of kilimanjaro — a short story (1936) by Ernest Hemingway.
- sodium fluoroacetate — a white, amorphous, water-soluble, poisonous powder, C 2 H 2 FO 2 Na, used as a rodenticide.
- software engineering — the process of writing computer programs
- software methodology — (programming) The study of how to navigate through each phase of the software process model (determining data, control, or uses hierarchies, partitioning functions, and allocating requirements) and how to represent phase products (structure charts, stimulus-response threads, and state transition diagrams).
- solitary confinement — the confinement of a prisoner in a cell or other place in which he or she is completely isolated from others.
- span of apprehension — the maximum number of objects that can be correctly assessed after a brief presentation
- spanish west african — of or relating to the former Spanish overseas territory of Spanish West Africa (now the overseas provinces of Ifni and Spanish Sahara) or its inhabitants
- specific performance — (especially in the sale of land) literal compliance with one's contractual promises pursuant to a judicial mandate.
- spiral of archimedes — a curve that is the locus of a point that moves outward with uniform speed along a vector, beginning at the origin, while the vector rotates about the origin with uniform angular velocity. Equation (in polar coordinates): r = aθ.
- spirits of hartshorn — a colorless, pungent, suffocating, aqueous solution of about 28.5 percent ammonia gas: used chiefly as a detergent, for removing stains and extracting certain vegetable coloring agents, and in the manufacture of ammonium salts.
- spread like wildfire — If something, especially news or a rumour, spreads like wildfire, it spreads extremely quickly.
- square of opposition — a diagrammatic representation of the opposition of categorical propositions.
- staff sergeant major — a noncommissioned officer equivalent in rank to a command sergeant major but having no command responsibility.
- stare sb in the face — If a situation or the answer to a problem is staring you in the face, it is very obvious, although you may not be immediately aware of it.
- states of the church — Papal States
- strong nuclear force — an interaction between elementary particles responsible for the forces between nucleons in the nucleus. It operates at distances less than about 10–15 metres, and is about a hundred times more powerful than the electromagnetic interaction
- surface-active agent — any substance that when dissolved in water or an aqueous solution reduces its surface tension or the interfacial tension between it and another liquid.
- the course of nature — the ordinary course of events
- the founding fathers — any of the men who were members of the U.S. Constituional Convention of 1787
- the legal profession — the profession of law
- the way of the cross — a series of images in a church or along a road to a church etc depicting the last hours of Christ
- there is no call for — If you say that there is no call for someone to behave in a particular way, you are criticizing their behaviour, usually because you think it is rude.
- theresa of avila, st — Saint. Also, Teresa. Also called Theresa of Avila [ah-vee-lah] /ˈɑ viˌlɑ/ (Show IPA), 1515–82, Spanish Carmelite nun, mystic, and writer.
- third-party software — software created by programmers or publishers independent of the manufacturer of the hardware for which it is intended.
- thomas of erceldoune — Thomas of, Thomas of Erceldoune.
- thought transference — transference of thought by extrasensory means from the mind of one individual to another; telepathy.
- to burst into flames — If something bursts into flames or bursts into flame, it suddenly starts burning strongly.
- 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 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 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.