17-letter words containing f, e, w
- fuzzy-wuzzy angel — any native of Papua New Guinea who assisted as a stretcher-bearer in World War II
- george whitefield — George, 1714–70, English Methodist evangelist.
- glory-of-the-snow — any of several plants belonging to the genus Chionodoxa, of the lily family, native to the Old World, having showy, blue, white, or pink flowers that bloom early in the spring.
- go out of the way — to inconvenience oneself; do something that one would not ordinarily do, or that requires extra or deliberate effort or trouble
- great vowel shift — a series of changes in the quality of the long vowels between Middle and Modern English as a result of which all were raised, while the high vowels (ē) and (o̅o̅), already at the upper limit, underwent breaking to become the diphthongs (ī) and (ou).
- guerrilla warfare — the use of hit-and-run tactics by small, mobile groups of irregular forces operating in territory controlled by a hostile, regular force.
- guinea-hen flower — checkered lily.
- gulf war syndrome — a group of symptoms occurring in some Gulf War veterans, most commonly including headache and memory loss, muscle pain, skin disorders, fatigue, sleep disturbances, and gastrointestinal and respiratory ailments, possibly caused by exposure to chemical weapons, vaccines, infectious diseases, or other factors.
- hardware platform — a group of compatible computers that can run the same software.
- have no words for — to be incapable of describing
- how's-your-father — sexual intercourse
- in one fell swoop — to sweep through the air, as a bird or a bat, especially down upon prey.
- in the family way — a basic social unit consisting of parents and their children, considered as a group, whether dwelling together or not: the traditional family. a social unit consisting of one or more adults together with the children they care for: a single-parent family.
- incomplete flower — a flower without one or more of the normal parts, as carpels, sepals, petals, pistils, or stamens.
- isherwood framing — a system for framing steel vessels in which light, closely spaced, longitudinal frames are connected by heavy, widely spaced transverse frames with deep webs.
- lake of the woods — Eldrick [el-drik] /ˈɛl drɪk/ (Show IPA), ("Tiger") born 1975, U.S. professional golfer.
- law of reflection — the principle that when a ray of light, radar pulse, or the like, is reflected from a smooth surface the angle of reflection is equal to the angle of incidence, and the incident ray, the reflected ray, and the normal to the surface at the point of incidence all lie in the same plane.
- law of refraction — the principle that for a ray, radar pulse, or the like, that is incident on the interface of two media, the ratio of the sine of the angle of incidence to the sine of the angle of refraction is equal to the ratio of the velocity of the ray in the first medium to the velocity in the second medium and the incident ray, refracted ray, and normal to the surface at the point of incidence all lie in the same plane.
- law of the jungle — a system or mode of action in which the strongest survive, presumably as animals in nature or as human beings whose activity is not regulated by the laws or ethics of civilization.
- leg before wicket — a manner of dismissal on the grounds that a batsman has been struck on the leg by a bowled ball that otherwise would have hit the wicket
- lie in wait (for) — to wait so as to catch after planning an ambush or trap (for)
- lower forty-eight — the forty-eight conterminous states of the United States
- make the worst of — to be pessimistic about
- mayflower compact — an agreement to establish a government, entered into by the Pilgrims in the cabin of the Mayflower on November 11, 1620.
- microsoft network — The Microsoft Network
- middle of nowhere — a completely isolated, featureless, or insignificant place
- minion of the law — a policeman.
- mount fairweather — a mountain in W North America, on the border between Alaska and British Columbia. Height: 4663 m (15 300 ft)
- neck of the woods — the part of the body of an animal or human being that connects the head and the trunk.
- new lease on life — a contract renting land, buildings, etc., to another; a contract or instrument conveying property to another for a specified period or for a period determinable at the will of either lessor or lessee in consideration of rent or other compensation.
- newfoundland time — a form of civil time observed on the island of Newfoundland, one and one-half hours later than Eastern time and a half hour later than Atlantic time.
- off one's own bat — If someone does something off their own bat, they do it without anyone else suggesting it.
- on the wrong foot — in an inauspicious manner
- open-channel flow — Open-channel flow is a liquid flow in a channel, which has a free liquid surface.
- orange flower oil — neroli oil.
- out of the window — dispensed with; disregarded
- pacific northwest — the region of North America lying north of the Columbia River and west of the Rockies
- pincushion flower — scabious2 (def 1).
- play with oneself — a dramatic composition or piece; drama.
- power of attorney — a written document given by one person or party to another authorizing the latter to act for the former.
- register of wills — (in some states of the U.S.) the official charged with the probate of wills or with the keeping of the records of the probate court.
- roof of the world — Tibet, Plateau of.
- sawed-off shotgun — rifle with a short barrel
- self-acknowledged — widely recognized; generally accepted: an acknowledged authority on Chinese art.
- sidesaddle flower — a pitcher plant, Sarracenia purpurea.
- software engineer — a person who writes computer programs
- software platform — a major piece of software, as an operating system, an operating environment, or a database, under which various smaller application programs can be designed to run.
- south west africa — a former name of Namibia.
- south-west africa — a former name of Namibia.
- store and forward — to store (information) in a computer for later forward transmission through a telecommunication network