21-letter words containing f, e, l, t
- place of articulation — the location at which two speech organs approach or come together in producing a speech sound, as in the contact of the tongue and the teeth to form a dental sound. Also called point of articulation. Compare articulator (def 2).
- place of safety order — (in Britain) under the Children and Young Persons Act 1969, an order granted by a justice to a person or agency granting authority to detain a child or young person and take him or her to a place of safety for not more than 28 days, because of the child's actual or likely ill-treatment or neglect, etc
- 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.
- prefect of discipline — a senior master in a Jesuit school or college
- pseudo-cleft sentence — cleft sentence (def 2).
- pull oneself together — to draw or haul toward oneself or itself, in a particular direction, or into a particular position: to pull a sled up a hill.
- reconnaissance flight — a flight made by an aircraft in order to obtain military information about a particular place
- referential integrity — (database) A collection of properties which should be possessed by data in a relational database. For example, in a database of family members, if we enter A as a spouse of B, we should also enter B as a spouse of A. Similarly, if we remove one end of the relationship we should also remove the other.
- 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.
- scarlet monkey flower — any of various plants belonging to the genus Mimulus, of the figwort family, as M. cardinalis (scarlet monkey flower) having spotted flowers that resemble a face.
- school of the soldier — an institution where instruction is given, especially to persons under college age: The children are at school.
- self-characterization — portrayal; description: the actor's characterization of a politician.
- semantic differential — a technique for measuring the connotative meaning of concepts by having an individual rate each concept on a series of graduated scales, each scale defined by a pair of polar adjectives, as good–bad or strong–weak.
- set the world on fire — the earth or globe, considered as a planet.
- silicon tetrafluoride — a colorless, fuming gas, SiF 4 , used chiefly in the manufacture of fluosilicic acid.
- single parent benefit — a form of government funded financial assistance paid to single parents
- skeleton at the feast — a person or event that brings gloom or sadness to an occasion of joy or celebration
- sovereign wealth fund — an investment fund created using the financial assets of a national government
- split-finger fastball — a type of fastball that sinks abruptly as it nears home plate, thrown with the grip used for a forkball
- split-screen facility — a facility allowing different scenes to be shown on screen at the same time
- 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.
- statistical inference — the theory, methods, and practice of forming judgments about the parameters of a population, usually on the basis of random sampling
- steer clear of sb/sth — If you steer clear of someone or something, you deliberately avoid them.
- stem-and-leaf diagram — a histogram in which the data points falling within each class interval are listed in order
- stockholder of record — a stockholder or his or her agent whose name is registered on the books of the issuing corporation at the close of a business day set for determining that stockholders shall receive dividends or vote on an issue.
- supplementary benefit — (formerly) an extra amount of money that is paid to someone by the government, in addition to their normal income. Replaced by income support in 1988
- surface of revolution — a surface formed by revolving a plane curve about a given line.
- take one's (own) life — to commit suicide
- territoire de belfort — a department of E France, now in Franche-Comté region: the only part of Alsace remaining to France after 1871. Capital: Belfort. Pop: 139 383 (2003 est). Area: 608 sq km (237 sq miles)
- tetrabromofluorescein — eosin (def 1).
- the apple of your eye — If you say that someone is the apple of your eye, you mean that they are very important to you and you are extremely fond of them.
- 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 fall of the cards — the chance distribution of cards in a given deal
- the flickertail state — a name for the state of North Dakota
- the letter of the law — If you say that someone keeps to the letter of the law , you mean that they act according to what is actually written in the law, rather than according to the general principles of it, especially when you disapprove of this.
- the middle of nowhere — remote place
- the oldest profession — prostitution
- the rock of gibraltar — a limestone promontory at the tip of S Spain
- the san andreas fault — a geological fault in California
- the slough of despond — a state of extreme despondency, depression or degradation
- thermoelectric effect — the production of an electromotive force in a thermocouple.
- 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 feel obliged to do — to feel obligated to do
- 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 fly off the handle — If you fly off the handle, you suddenly and completely lose your temper.
- to lay down your life — If someone lays down their life for another person, they die so that the other person can live.
- to play second fiddle — If you play second fiddle to someone, your position is less important than theirs in something that you are doing together.
- to risk life and limb — If someone risks life and limb, they do something very dangerous that may cause them to die or be seriously injured.
- topgallant forecastle — a partial weather deck on top of a forecastle superstructure; forecastle deck.