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23-letter words containing f, e, r, h, o

  • in the neighbourhood of — In the neighbourhood of a number means approximately that number.
  • in your heart of hearts — If you believe or know something in your heart of hearts, that is what you really believe or think, even though it may sometimes seem that you do not.
  • infinite monkey theorem — (humour)   "If you put an infinite number of monkeys at typewriters, eventually one will bash out the script for Hamlet." (One may also hypothesise a small number of monkeys and a very long period of time.) This theorem asserts nothing about the intelligence of the one random monkey that eventually comes up with the script (and note that the mob will also type out all the possible *incorrect* versions of Hamlet). It may be referred to semi-seriously when justifying a brute force method; the implication is that, with enough resources thrown at it, any technical challenge becomes a one-banana problem. This theorem was first popularised by the astronomer Sir Arthur Eddington. It became part of the idiom through the classic short story "Inflexible Logic" by Russell Maloney, and many younger hackers know it through a reference in Douglas Adams's "Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy". See also: RFC 2795.
  • interchange file format — (file format)   (IFF, full name "EA IFF 1985") A generic file format published by Electronic Arts as an open standard. IFF is chunk-based and hierarchical so files can include other files. It is easily extensible and an all round Good Idea. An IFF file starts with one of the following "group IDs": 'FORM', 'LIST' or 'CAT '. This is followed by an unsigned 32-bit number of bytes in the remainder of the file. Then comes an ID that indicates which type of IFF file this is. The main image type is ILBM, audio is either AIFF or 8SVX, animations are ANIM etc. An IFF file will probably have a filename extension related to this file type stored in the file. The rest of the file is divided into chunks each of which also has a four-byte header and byte count.
  • kinetic theory of gases — a theory that the particles in a gas move freely and rapidly along straight lines but often collide, resulting in variations in their velocity and direction. Pressure is interpreted as arising from the impacts of these particles with the walls of a container.
  • laughlin air force base — U.S. Air Force installation in SW Texas, SE of Del Rio.
  • make allowances for sth — If you make allowances for something, you take it into account in your decisions, plans, or actions.
  • masters of the universe — extremely powerful and wealthy members of the financial professions
  • meaningful relationship — a romantic relationship based upon mutual respect and supportiveness and marked by a sense of commitment and fulfillment.
  • mop (up) the floor with — to defeat decisively
  • nigger of the narcissus — a novel (1897) by Joseph Conrad.
  • not a hair out of place — If you say that someone has not a hair out of place, you are emphasizing that they are extremely smart and neatly dressed.
  • off the back of a lorry — If someone says that something has fallen off the back of a lorry, or that they got something off the back of a lorry, they mean that they bought something that they knew was stolen.
  • one thing after another — If you talk about one thing after another, you are referring to a series of repeated or continuous events.
  • order of the visitation — a religious order of nuns founded in 1610 by St Francis of Sales and dedicated to contemplation and the cultivation of humility, gentleness, and sisterly love
  • polytetrafluoroethylene — any polymer, plastic, or resin having the formula (C 2 F 4) n , prepared from tetrafluoroethylene, noted for its slippery, nonsticking properties, and used in the manufacture of gaskets, electrical insulation, tubing, candy molds, container linings, frying-pan coatings, etc.
  • price out of the market — to charge so highly for as to prevent the sale, hire, etc, of
  • put one's finger on sth — If you put your finger on something, for example a reason or problem, you see and identify exactly what it is.
  • shout from the rooftops — to proclaim (something) publicly
  • spirit of nitrous ether — ethyl nitrite spirit.
  • survival of the fittest — (not in technical use) natural selection.
  • the best of both worlds — advantages of two different things
  • the chamber of deputies — the lower legislative assembly in some parliaments
  • the department of state — the United States federal department concerned with foreign policy
  • the fright of your life — You can use expressions such as the fright of your life or the race of your life to emphasize, for example, that you have never been so frightened or that you never have run faster.
  • the information highway — the internet
  • the kingdom of lorraine — an early medieval kingdom on the Meuse, Moselle, and Rhine rivers: later a duchy
  • the lesser of two evils — If you have two choices, but think that they are both bad, you can describe the one which is less bad as the lesser of two evils, or the lesser evil.
  • the library of congress — the official library of the United States in Washington, DC. It houses extensive collections in all subject areas and formats, important historical documents, and is also a depository for copyrighted materials.
  • the taming of the shrew — a comedy (1594?) by Shakespeare.
  • the teaching profession — the profession of a teacher
  • the thrill of the chase — If you talk about the thrill of the chase, you are referring to the excitement that people feel when they are trying hard to get something.
  • the whys and wherefores — The whys and wherefores of something are the reasons for it.
  • there is nothing for it — If you say that there is nothing for it but to take a particular action, you mean that it is the only possible course of action that you can take, even though it might be unpleasant.
  • to change for the worse — If a situation changes for the worse, it becomes more unpleasant or more difficult.
  • to fight fire with fire — If you fight fire with fire, you deal with people attacking or threatening you by using similar methods to the ones that they are using.
  • to force someone's hand — If you force someone's hand, you force them to act sooner than they want to, or to act in public when they would prefer to keep their actions secret.
  • to get the better of sb — If a feeling such as jealousy, curiosity, or anger gets the better of you, it becomes too strong for you to hide or control.
  • to have feelings for sb — to be emotionally or sexually attracted to
  • to have your hands full — If you have your hands full with something, you are very busy because of it.
  • to keep a straight face — If you manage to keep a straight face, you manage to look serious, although you want to laugh.
  • to keep sth to yourself — If you keep something to yourself, you do not tell anyone else about it.
  • to play for high stakes — to gamble on something very important
  • tortoiseshell butterfly — any of several nymphalid butterflies of the genus Nymphalis, and related genera, having orange-brown wings with black markings
  • twenty-fourth amendment — an amendment to the U.S. Constitution, ratified in 1964, forbidding the use of the poll tax as a requirement for voting in national or U.S. Congressional elections.
  • united church of canada — the largest Protestant denomination in Canada, formed in the 1920s by incorporating some Presbyterians and most Methodists
  • united church of christ — an American Protestant denomination formed in 1957 by a union of the Evangelical and Reformed churches and the Congregational Christian churches.
  • university of edinburgh — (body, education)   A university in the centre of Scotland's capital. The University of Edinburgh has been promoting and setting standards in education for over 400 years. Granted its Royal Charter in 1582 by James VI, the son of Mary Queen of Scots, the University was founded the following year by the Town Council of Edinburgh, making it the first post-Reformation university in Scotland, and the first civic university to be established in the British Isles. Known in its early years as King James College, or the Tounis (Town's) College, the University soon established itself internationally, and by the 18th century Edinburgh was a leading centre of the European Enlightenment and one of the continent's principal universities. The University's close relationship with the city in which it is based, coupled with a forward-looking, international perspective, has kept Edinburgh at the forefront of new research and teaching developments whilst enabling it to retain a uniquely Scottish character. Edinburgh's academics are at the forefront of developments in the study and application of languages, medicine, micro-electronics, biotechnology, computer-based disciplines and many other subjects. Edinburgh's standing as a world centre for research is further enhanced by the presence on and around University precincts of many independently-funded, but closely linked, national research institutes Address: Old College, South Bridge, Edinburgh, Scotland EH8 9YL, UK. Telephone: +44 (131) 650 1000. See also ABSET, ABSYS, Alice, ASL+, Baroque, C++Linda, Cogent Prolog, COWSEL, Echidna, Edinburgh Prolog, Edinburgh SML, EdML, ELLIS, ELSIE, ESLPDPRO, Extended ML, Hope, IMP, LCF, Lisp-Linda, Marseille Prolog, metalanguage, MIKE, ML, ML Kit, ML-Linda, Multipop-68, Nuprl, Oblog, paraML, Pascal-Linda, POP-1, POP-2, POPLER, Prolog, Prolog-2, Prolog-Linda, Scheme-Linda, Skel-ML, Standard ML, Sticks&Stones, supercombinators, SWI-Prolog, tail recursion modulo cons, WPOP.
  • until hell freezes over — If you say that you will do something until hell freezes over, you are emphasizing that you will do it for a very long time or for ever.
  • urea-formaldehyde resin — any of a group of resins formed by the interaction of urea and formaldehyde under conditions that include heat and pH control: used chiefly in the manufacture of buttons, baking enamels, and for making fabrics wrinkle-resistant.
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