23-letter words containing f, i, h, o

horsehair-blight fungus — a fungal parasite, Marasmius equicrinis, that causes a disease of certain tropical plants, especially tea.
hypergeometric function — a function that is a solution to a hypergeometric equation.
in the arms of morpheus — sleeping
in the employ of sb/sth — If you are in the employ of someone or something, you work for them.
in the fullness of time — eventually
in the nature of things — If you say that something is in the nature of things, you mean that you would expect it to happen in the circumstances mentioned.
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.
life on the mississippi — an autobiographical narrative (1883) by Mark Twain.
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.
not long for this world — nearing death
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
phyletic classification — classification of organisms based on their assumed evolutionary histories and relationships.
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.
smash someone's face in — to beat someone severely
speak well/highly of sb — If you speak well of someone or speak highly of someone, you say good things about them. If you speak ill of someone, you criticize them.
spirit of nitrous ether — ethyl nitrite spirit.
straight bill of lading — a bill of lading that is issued to a specified consignee for the delivery of the goods and that cannot be endorsed to another party.
survival of the fittest — (not in technical use) natural selection.
talk/speak of the devil — People say speak of the devil, or in British English talk of the devil, if someone they have just been talking about appears unexpectedly.
the chamber of deputies — the lower legislative assembly in some parliaments
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.
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 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 fight tooth and nail — If you fight tooth and nail to do something, you do everything you can in order to achieve it. If you fight something tooth and nail, you do everything you can in order to prevent it.
to have feelings for sb — to be emotionally or sexually attracted to
to keep a straight face — If you manage to keep a straight face, you manage to look serious, although you want to laugh.
to pass the time of day — If you pass the time of day with someone, you have a short friendly conversation with them.
to play for high stakes — to gamble on something very important
to see the light of day — If something sees the light of day at a particular time, it comes into existence or is made known to the public at that time.
to take a leap of faith — to risk belief
tortoiseshell butterfly — any of several nymphalid butterflies of the genus Nymphalis, and related genera, having orange-brown wings with black markings
united church of canada — the largest Protestant denomination in Canada, formed in the 1920s by incorporating some Presbyterians and most Methodists

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