16-letter words containing f, i, s, t
- not the foggiest — no idea whatsoever
- nothing short of — no thing; not anything; naught: to say nothing.
- on the defensive — If someone is on the defensive, they are trying to protect themselves or their interests because they feel unsure or threatened.
- on the safe side — as a precaution
- on-the-spot fine — a fine that is charged immediately upon being caught and found guilty of a crime
- ostend manifesto — a declaration (1854) issued from Ostend, Belgium, by the U.S. ministers to England, France, and Spain, stating that the U.S. would be justified in seizing Cuba if Spain did not sell it to the U.S.
- ovshinsky effect — an effect that turns special types of glassy, thin films into semiconductors upon application of low voltage.
- pacific sturgeon — a dark gray sturgeon, Acipenser transmontanus, inhabiting marine and fresh waters along the northwestern coast of North America, valued as a food and sport fish.
- parts of lindsey — an area in E England constituting a former administrative division of Lincolnshire
- pass-band filter — band-pass filter
- passive transfer — Immunology. injection of lymphocytes or antibody from an immune or sensitized donor to a nonimmune host in order to impart immunity or test for allergic reactions.
- pension benefits — the benefits that are paid to a person in accordance with his pension scheme
- perfecting press — a rotary press for printing both sides of a sheet or web in one operation.
- petrified forest — a national park in E Arizona, containing petrified coniferous trees about 170 000 000 years old
- phosphor fatigue — screen saver
- physical fitness — good physical condition
- plaster of paris — calcined gypsum in white, powdery form, used as a base for gypsum plasters, as an additive of lime plasters, and as a material for making fine and ornamental casts: characterized by its ability to set rapidly when mixed with water.
- play off against — If you play people off against each other, you make them compete or argue, so that you gain some advantage.
- point of sailing — the bearing of a sailing vessel, considered with relation to the direction of the wind.
- post-reformation — the act of reforming; state of being reformed.
- postfix notation — (language) (Or "Reverse Polish Notation", RPN) One of the possible orderings of functions and operands: in postfix notation the functions are preceded by all their operands. For example, what may normally be written as "1+2" becomes "1 2 +". Postfix notation is well suited for stack based architectures but modern compilers reduced this advantage considerably. The best-known language with postfix syntax is FORTH. Some Hewlett-Packard calculators use it, e.g. HP-25, HP-29C, HP-41C, HP-23SII. Compare: infix notation, prefix notation.
- prespecification — the act of specifying.
- prince's feather — a tall, showy plant, Amaranthus hybridus erythrostachys, of the amaranth family, having reddish foliage and thick spikes of small, red flowers.
- prince's-feather — a tall, showy plant, Amaranthus hybridus erythrostachys, of the amaranth family, having reddish foliage and thick spikes of small, red flowers.
- proficiency test — an exam which test how proficient or skilled someone is in a particular activity, field of study, language, etc
- pseudoscientific — any of various methods, theories, or systems, as astrology, psychokinesis, or clairvoyance, considered as having no scientific basis.
- put sb/sth first — If you put someone or something first, you treat or consider them as more important than anything else.
- quantum sufficit — as much as suffices; enough.
- quarter-finalist — A quarter-finalist is a person or team that is competing in a quarter-final.
- quasi-scientific — of or relating to science or the sciences: scientific studies.
- question of fact — a question concerning the reality of an alleged event or circumstance in a trial by jury, usually determined by the jury.
- radius of action — the maximum distance that a ship, aircraft, or land vehicle can travel from its base and return without refuelling
- reclassification — categorization in a different way
- rectified spirit — a constant-boiling mixture of ethanol and water, containing 95.6 per cent ethanol
- registration fee — a fee paid to register, enrol or sign up for (a course, etc)
- releasing factor — a substance usually of hypothalamic origin that triggers the release of a particular hormone from an endocrine gland.
- rotation of axes — a process of replacing the axes in a Cartesian coordinate system with a new set of axes making a specified angle with and having the same origin as the original axes.
- sabattier effect — the alteration of the image tones of a photographic print by briefly reexposing the negative after it has been partially developed.
- saccharification — to convert (starch) into sugar.
- safe deposit box — A safe deposit box is a small box, usually kept in a special room in a bank, in which you can store valuable objects.
- safe-deposit box — a lockable metal box or drawer, especially in a bank vault, used for safely storing valuable papers, jewelry, etc.
- safety mechanism — a psychological or physiological response in an individual that protects the individual from harm
- safety-conscious — conscious of being safe and preventing danger
- santa fe springs — a city in SW California, near Los Angeles: oil wells.
- scheme of things — Someone's scheme of things is the way in which they think that things in their life should be organized.
- schiff's reagent — a solution of rosaniline and sulfurous acid in water, used to test for the presence of aldehydes.
- score points off — to gain an advantage at someone else's expense
- seat of learning — People sometimes refer to a university or a similar institution as a seat of learning.
- security officer — civilian, policeman or soldier who is responsible for security in a town or country
- self-advertising — the act or practice of calling public attention to one's product, service, need, etc., especially by paid announcements in newspapers and magazines, over radio or television, on billboards, etc.: to get more customers by advertising.