21-letter words containing f, a, t, i, h

nightmare file system — Pejorative hackerism for Sun's Network File System (NFS). In any nontrivial network of Suns where there is a lot of NFS cross-mounting, when one Sun goes down, the others often freeze up. Some machine tries to access the down one, and (getting no response) repeats indefinitely. This causes it to appear dead to some messages (what is actually happening is that it is locked up in what should have been a brief excursion to a higher spl level). Then another machine tries to reach either the down machine or the pseudo-down machine, and itself becomes pseudo-down. The first machine to discover the down one is now trying both to access the down one and to respond to the pseudo-down one, so it is even harder to reach. This situation snowballs very quickly, and soon the entire network of machines is frozen - worst of all, the user can't even abort the file access that started the problem! Many of NFS's problems are excused by partisans as being an inevitable result of its statelessness, which is held to be a great feature (critics, of course, call it a great misfeature). ITS partisans are apt to cite this as proof of Unix's alleged bogosity; ITS had a working NFS-like shared file system with none of these problems in the early 1970s. See also broadcast storm.
north pacific current — a warm current flowing eastward across the Pacific Ocean.
of time and the river — a novel (1935) by Thomas Wolfe.
one foot in the grave — near to death
one-way hash function — (algorithm) (Or "message digest function") A one-way function which takes a variable-length message and produces a fixed-length hash. Given the hash it is computationally infeasible to find a message with that hash; in fact one can't determine any usable information about a message with that hash, not even a single bit. For some one-way hash functions it's also computationally impossible to determine two messages which produce the same hash. A one-way hash function can be private or public, just like an encryption function. MD5, SHA and Snefru are examples of public one-way hash functions. A public one-way hash function can be used to speed up a public-key digital signature system. Rather than sign a long message, which can take a long time, compute the one-way hash of the message, and sign the hash.
pacific daylight time — the version of Pacific Standard Time that is in use when daylight saving time is being observed
part of the furniture — If you describe someone or something as part of the furniture, you are suggesting that they have been somewhere such as their place of work for such a long time that it is hard to imagine that place without them.
pathfinder prospectus — a prospectus regarding the flotation of a new company that contains only sufficient details to test the market reaction
pellitory-of-the-wall — an urticaceous plant, P. diffusa, of the S and W European genus Parietaria, which grows in crevices and has long narrow leaves and small pink flowers
play with a full deck — Nautical. a floorlike surface wholly or partially occupying one level of a hull, superstructure, or deckhouse, generally cambered, and often serving as a member for strengthening the structure of a vessel. the space between such a surface and the next such surface above: Our stateroom was on B deck.
profit-sharing scheme — a scheme employing profit-sharing; a system in which a portion of the net profit of a business is distributed to its employees, usually in proportion to their wages or their length of service
promoter of the faith — devil's advocate (def 2).
reconnaissance flight — a flight made by an aircraft in order to obtain military information about a particular place
record of achievement — a statement of the personal and educational development of each pupil
reinforcement therapy — a behavior modification technique in which appropriate behavior is strengthened through systematic reinforcement.
rutherford scattering — the scattering of an alpha particle through a large angle with respect to the original direction of motion of the particle, caused by an atom (Rutherford atom) with most of the mass and all of the positive electric charge concentrated at a center or nucleus.
safe in the knowledge — If you do something safe in the knowledge that something else is the case, you do the first thing confidently because you are sure of the second thing.
satisficing behaviour — the form of behaviour demonstrated by firms who seek satisfactory profits and satisfactory growth rather than maximum profits
schema definition set — (SDS) Something in Portable Common Tool Environment.
self-characterization — portrayal; description: the actor's characterization of a politician.
siamese fighting fish — a labyrinth fish, Betta splendens, that has been bred for centuries to develop brilliant coloration, very long fins, and pugnacity.
sieve of eratosthenes — a method of obtaining prime numbers by sifting out the composite numbers from the set of natural numbers so that only prime numbers remain.
south pacific current — an ocean current that flows E in the South Pacific Ocean parallel to the Antarctic Circumpolar Current.
sovereign wealth fund — an investment fund created using the financial assets of a national government
spotted alfalfa aphid — a pale yellowish aphid, Therioaphis maculata, of the southern U.S., especially west of the Mississippi River, that is marked with black spots and has fine spines on its back: a pest mainly of alfalfa and some other legumes, as clover.
staffordshire terrier — former name of American Staffordshire terrier.
stare one in the face — to be glaringly obvious or imminent
stations of the cross — a series of 14 crosses, often accompanied by 14 pictures or carvings, arranged in order around the walls of a church, to commemorate 14 supposed stages in Christ's journey to Calvary
symphonie fantastique — a programmatic symphony (1830–31) in five movements by Hector Berlioz.
teacher certification — official qualifications for educators
the acting profession — actors considered as a group
the barber of seville — Italian Il barbiere di Siviglia. a comic opera (1816) by Gioacchino Rossini based on a comedy (1775) by Beaumarchais.
the battle of britain — from August to October 1940, the prolonged bombing of S England by the German Luftwaffe and the successful resistance by the RAF Fighter Command, which put an end to the German plan of invading Britain
the birth of a nation — an American film (1915), directed by D. W. Griffith.
the flickertail state — a name for the state of North Dakota
the rock of gibraltar — a limestone promontory at the tip of S Spain
the shipping forecast — a radio broadcast made by the BBC of weather reports and forecasts for the seas around the British Isles
the shit hits the fan — the real trouble begins
the stationery office — (in the UK) the company that supplies the civil service with all its office supplies, machinery, printing and binding, etc
the supreme sacrifice — the sacrifice of one's life
theater of operations — the part of the theater of war, including a combat zone and a communications zone, that is engaged in military operations and their support.
to fall into the trap — If someone falls into the trap of doing something, they think or behave in a way which is not wise or sensible.
to fly in the face of — If an action or belief flies in the face of accepted ideas or rules, it seems to completely oppose or contradict them.
to have green fingers — If someone has green fingers, they are very good at gardening and their plants grow well.
to my way of thinking — You add to my way of thinking to a statement in order to indicate that you are giving your opinion.
triethyl orthoformate — a colorless liquid, C 7 H 16 O 3 , used chiefly in organic synthesis.
union of south africa — former name for South Africa, Republic of.
whip-and-tongue graft — a graft prepared by cutting both the scion and the stock in a sloping direction and inserting a tongue in the scion into a slit in the stock.
wildlife photographer — someone that specializes in taking photographs of wild animals, especially in their natural habitats, and plants
without qualification — If something is stated or accepted without qualification, it is stated or accepted as it is, without the need for any changes.

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