18-letter words containing f, e, l
- self-transcendence — the quality or state of being transcendent.
- self-understanding — mental process of a person who comprehends; comprehension; personal interpretation: My understanding of the word does not agree with yours.
- sell oneself short — If you sell someone short, you do not point out their good qualities as much as you should or do as much for them as you should.
- shatterproof glass — glass designed to resist shattering
- shrubby cinquefoil — a small shrub, Potentilla fruticosa, of the rose family, native to the Northern temperate region, having pinnate leaves and numerous, showy, bright-yellow flowers.
- significance level — (in the statistical test of a hypothesis) the maximum probability of a Type I error for all distributions consistent with the null hypothesis.
- sildenafil citrate — a white crystalline powder, C 22 H 30 N 6 O 4 S, that temporarily normalizes erectile function of the penis by blocking an enzyme known to inhibit the production of a chemical that causes erections: used in the form of a pill to treat impotence.
- silver certificate — a former paper currency first issued in 1878 by the U.S. federal government for circulation, equal to and redeemable for silver to a stated value.
- silvery cinquefoil — any of several plants belonging to the genus Potentilla, of the rose family, having yellow, red, or white five-petaled flowers, as P. reptans (creeping cinquefoil) of the Old World, or P. argentea (silvery cinquefoil) of North America.
- single-lens reflex — See under reflex camera. Abbreviation: SLR.
- sixth-form college — (in England and Wales) a college offering A-level and other courses to pupils over sixteen from local schools, esp from those that do not have sixth forms
- slip of the tongue — If you describe something you said as a slip of the tongue, you mean that you said it by mistake.
- soda-lime feldspar — plagioclase.
- sodium hyposulfite — sodium thiosulfate.
- sodium polysulfide — a yellow-brown, water-soluble, granular powder, Na 2 S n , used chiefly in the manufacture of sulfur dyes, insecticides, and synthetic rubber.
- sodium thiosulfate — a white, crystalline, water-soluble powder, Na 2 S 2 O 3 ⋅5H 2 O, used as a bleach and in photography as a fixing agent.
- soft touch sealing — Soft touch sealing is a copolymer seal for a tank, with characteristics designed for softness, used instead of a metal seal to help avoid fire when sparks are generated.
- software backplane — (programming, tool) A CASE framework from Atherton.
- soldier of fortune — a person who independently seeks pleasure, wealth, etc., through adventurous exploits.
- solid-fuel heating — heating that uses solid fuel, such as coal or coke
- speak for yourself — If you say 'Speak for yourself' when someone has said something, you mean that what they have said is only their opinion or applies only to them.
- spectrofluorimeter — an instrument in which the spectrum of secondarily emitted fluorescent light is used to identify chemical compounds.
- spectrofluorometer — an instrument in which the spectrum of secondarily emitted fluorescent light is used to identify chemical compounds.
- spotted flycatcher — a European woodland songbird, Muscicapa striata, with a greyish-brown streaked plumage: family Muscicapidae (Old World flycatchers)
- statement of claim — law: first pleading
- stepping-off place — jumping-off place (def 2).
- strait of magellan — a strait between the mainland of S South America and Tierra del Fuego, linking the S Pacific with the S Atlantic. Length: 600 km (370 miles). Width: up to 32 km (20 miles)
- sulfuric anhydride — sulfur trioxide.
- sunflower seed oil — the oil extracted from sunflower seeds, used as a salad oil, in the manufacture of margarine, etc
- sutton-in-ashfield — a market town in N central England, in W Nottinghamshire. Pop: 41 951 (2001)
- tale of two cities — a historical novel (1859) by Dickens.
- talk of the devil! — used when an absent person who has been the subject of conversation appears
- telford and wrekin — a unitary authority in W Central England, in Shropshire. Pop: 160 300 (2003 est). Area: 289 sq km (112 sq miles)
- the beautiful game — football
- the bird has flown — the person in question has fled or escaped
- the family compact — the ruling oligarchy in Upper Canada in the early 19th century
- the final solution — the code name used by the Nazis to refer to the plan of mass murder of the Jews
- the first sea lord — the senior of the two serving naval officers who sits on the admiralty board of the Ministry of Defence
- the fourth of july — a holiday in the United States, traditionally celebrated with fireworks: the day of the adoption of the Declaration of Independence in 1776
- the full treatment — If you say that someone is given the full treatment, you mean either that they are treated extremely well or that they are treated extremely severely.
- theater of cruelty — a form of surrealist theater originated by Antonin Artaud and emphasizing the cruelty of human existence by portraying sadistic acts and intense suffering.
- theatre of cruelty — a type of theatre advocated by Antonin Artaud in Le Théâtre et son double that seeks to communicate to its audience a sense of pain, suffering, and evil, using gesture, movement, sound, and symbolism rather than language
- thermal efficiency — the ratio of the work output of a heat engine to the heat input expressed in the same units of energy.
- think the world of — the earth or globe, considered as a planet.
- thorfinn karlsefni — 980–after 1007, Icelandic navigator, explorer, and leader of early colonizing expedition to Vinland, in North America.
- throw oneself into — to propel or cast in any way, especially to project or propel from the hand by a sudden forward motion or straightening of the arm and wrist: to throw a ball.
- time of one's life — the system of those sequential relations that any event has to any other, as past, present, or future; indefinite and continuous duration regarded as that in which events succeed one another.
- to fall from grace — If someone falls from grace, they suddenly stop being successful or popular.
- to fall into place — If things fall into place, events happen naturally to produce a situation you want.
- to play favourites — to display favouritism