16-letter words containing f, a, s
- on the safe side — as a precaution
- one's cup of tea — the dried and prepared leaves of a shrub, Camellia sinensis, from which a somewhat bitter, aromatic beverage is prepared by infusion in hot water.
- one/a false move — If you say that one false move will cause a disaster, you mean that you or someone else must not make any mistakes because the situation is so difficult or dangerous.
- ostend manifesto — a declaration (1854) issued from Ostend, Belgium, by the U.S. ministers to England, France, and Spain, stating that the U.S. would be justified in seizing Cuba if Spain did not sell it to the U.S.
- outsmart oneself — to have one's efforts at cunning or cleverness result in one's own disadvantage
- ovals of cassini — the locus of a point x, whose distance from two fixed points, a and b, is such that |x–a| |x–b| is a constant
- pacific sturgeon — a dark gray sturgeon, Acipenser transmontanus, inhabiting marine and fresh waters along the northwestern coast of North America, valued as a food and sport fish.
- pair of scissors — two-bladed cutting tool
- paraprofessional — a person trained to assist a doctor, lawyer, teacher, or other professional, but not licensed to practice in the profession.
- parrot's-feather — a South American water milfoil, Myriophyllum aquaticum, having hairlike pinnate leaves, widely cultivated as an aquarium plant.
- parts of lindsey — an area in E England constituting a former administrative division of Lincolnshire
- pass-band filter — band-pass filter
- passive transfer — Immunology. injection of lymphocytes or antibody from an immune or sensitized donor to a nonimmune host in order to impart immunity or test for allergic reactions.
- paulinus of nola — Saint. ?353–431 ad, Roman consul and Christian poet; bishop of Nola (409–431). Feast day: June 22
- pearls of wisdom — good advice, wise words
- pearly razorfish — See under razorfish.
- performance test — a test requiring little or no use of language, the test materials being designed to elicit manual or behavioral responses rather than verbal ones.
- permafrost table — the variable surface constituting the upper limit of permafrost. Compare frostline (def 2).
- personal effects — belongings
- persulfuric acid — Also called Caro's acid, permonosulfuric acid, peroxymonosulfuric acid, peroxysulfuric acid. a white, crystalline solid, H 2 SO 5 , used as an oxidizing agent for certain organic compounds.
- phase difference — the difference between two sinusoidally varying quantities that have the same frequency, measured either as an angle or a time
- philip of swabia — 1180?–1208, king of Germany and uncrowned emperor of the Holy Roman Empire 1198–1208 (son of Frederick I).
- phosphor fatigue — screen saver
- physical fitness — good physical condition
- place of worship — religious house: church, temple
- plaster of paris — calcined gypsum in white, powdery form, used as a base for gypsum plasters, as an additive of lime plasters, and as a material for making fine and ornamental casts: characterized by its ability to set rapidly when mixed with water.
- play off against — If you play people off against each other, you make them compete or argue, so that you gain some advantage.
- point of sailing — the bearing of a sailing vessel, considered with relation to the direction of the wind.
- post-reformation — the act of reforming; state of being reformed.
- postfix notation — (language) (Or "Reverse Polish Notation", RPN) One of the possible orderings of functions and operands: in postfix notation the functions are preceded by all their operands. For example, what may normally be written as "1+2" becomes "1 2 +". Postfix notation is well suited for stack based architectures but modern compilers reduced this advantage considerably. The best-known language with postfix syntax is FORTH. Some Hewlett-Packard calculators use it, e.g. HP-25, HP-29C, HP-41C, HP-23SII. Compare: infix notation, prefix notation.
- preference share — a share of preferred stock.
- prespecification — the act of specifying.
- pressure flaking — a method of manufacturing a flint tool by pressing flakes from a stone core with a pointed implement, usually of wood tipped with antler or copper.
- pribilof islands — a group of islands in the Bering Sea, off SW Alaska, belonging to the US: the breeding ground of the northern fur seal. Area: about 168 sq km (65 sq miles)
- prima facie case — a case in which the evidence produced is sufficient to enable a decision or verdict to be made unless the evidence is rebutted.
- prince's feather — a tall, showy plant, Amaranthus hybridus erythrostachys, of the amaranth family, having reddish foliage and thick spikes of small, red flowers.
- prince's-feather — a tall, showy plant, Amaranthus hybridus erythrostachys, of the amaranth family, having reddish foliage and thick spikes of small, red flowers.
- professionalisms — professional character, spirit, or methods.
- proof of postage — a document, such as a receipt, etc, that proves that you have posted or mailed something
- quantum sufficit — as much as suffices; enough.
- quarter-finalist — A quarter-finalist is a person or team that is competing in a quarter-final.
- quasi-scientific — of or relating to science or the sciences: scientific studies.
- question of fact — a question concerning the reality of an alleged event or circumstance in a trial by jury, usually determined by the jury.
- quick as a flash — If you say that someone reacts to something quick as a flash, you mean that they react to it extremely quickly.
- radius of action — the maximum distance that a ship, aircraft, or land vehicle can travel from its base and return without refuelling
- raspberry sawfly — a black sawfly, Monophadnoides geniculatus, the larvae of which feed on the leaves of the raspberry and blackberry.
- rattlesnake fern — any of several American grape ferns, especially Botrychium virginianium, having clusters of sporangia resembling the rattles of a rattlesnake.
- rattlesnake flag — any of a number of U.S. flags that bear a picture of a rattlesnake and the motto “Don't Tread on Me,” especially those used during the French and Indian War and the American Revolution.
- reasons of state — political justifications for an immoral act
- reclassification — categorization in a different way