17-letter words containing f, l, a, t, r
- letters of marque — a former government document authorizing an individual to make reprisals on the subjects of an enemy nation, specif. to arm a ship and capture enemy merchant ships and cargo
- lie in wait (for) — to wait so as to catch after planning an ambush or trap (for)
- life and/or death — If you say that something is a matter of life and death, you are emphasizing that it is extremely important, often because someone may die or suffer great harm if people do not act immediately.
- life of the party — most lively, outgoing person
- litigation friend — a person acting on behalf of an infant or other person under legal disability
- low-hanging fruit — the fruit that grows low on a tree and is therefore easy to reach
- macfarlane burnet — Sir (Frank) Macfarlane [muh k-fahr-luh n] /məkˈfɑr lən/ (Show IPA), 1899–1985, Australian physician: Nobel Prize in Physiology 1960.
- manufacturability — The condition of being manufacturable.
- mayflower compact — an agreement to establish a government, entered into by the Pilgrims in the cabin of the Mayflower on November 11, 1620.
- metallofullerenes — Plural form of metallofullerene.
- methyltransferase — any of a class of enzymes that catalyze the transfer of methyl groups from one molecule to another.
- monarch butterfly — a large, deep-orange butterfly, Danaus plexippus, having black and white markings, the larvae of which feed on the leaves of milkweed.
- natural frequency — the frequency at which a system vibrates when set in free vibration
- non-proliferation — Non-proliferation is the limiting of the production and spread of something such as nuclear or chemical weapons.
- noninertial frame — a frame of reference that moves with the object, so that the moving object appears to violate Newton's laws of motion since it accelerates despite having no horizontal forces on it.
- not lift a finger — any of the terminal members of the hand, especially one other than the thumb.
- not spare oneself — to exert oneself to the full
- off-year election — (in the US) an election held in a year when a presidential election does not take place
- one-parent family — A one-parent family is a family that consists of one parent and his or her children living together.
- out of all reason — unreasonable
- palette of narmer — a king of Egypt identified by modern scholars as the Menes of tradition and depicted as the unifier of Upper and Lower Egypt on an ancient slate tablet (Narmer Palette or Palette of Narmer) c3200 b.c. with relief carvings on both sides.
- past life therapy — a form of hypnosis or meditation based on the belief that an individual's present problems are rooted in events that occurred before birth in this life
- peacock butterfly — a European nymphalid butterfly, Inachis io, having reddish-brown wings each marked with a purple eyespot
- peer of the realm — any of a class of peers in Great Britain and Ireland entitled by heredity to sit in the House of Lords.
- petrol filler cap — a small cover that goes over the hole in a vehicle into which you put petrol
- photofluorography — photography of images produced by a fluoroscopic examination, used in x-ray examination of the lungs of large groups of people.
- plug and feathers — an apparatus for splitting stone, consisting of two tapered bars (feathers) inserted into a hole drilled into the stone, between which a narrow wedge (plug) is hammered to spread them.
- polarizing filter — a camera lens filter used to control the plane of polarization of light entering the lens.
- political refugee — a person who has fled from a homeland because of political persecution.
- portfolio manager — a person employed by others to make investments for them
- potato leafhopper — any of various leafhoppers that are serious pests, damaging a wide variety of cultivated and wild plants, especially potatoes.
- pre-qualification — a quality, accomplishment, etc., that fits a person for some function, office, or the like.
- prefect apostolic — the administrator, usually below the rank of bishop, in charge of a prefecture apostolic.
- preferential shop — a shop in which union members are preferred, usually by agreement of an employer with a union.
- procurator fiscal — In the Scottish legal system, the procurator fiscal is a public official who puts people on trial.
- proportional font — a font type in which the width of letters and symbols varies depending on the letter or symbol
- quadratic formula — the formula for determining theroots of a quadratic equation from its coefficients: .
- rational function — a function that can be written as the quotient of two polynomials with integral coefficients.
- reduction formula — a formula, such as sin (90° ± A) = cos A, expressing the values of a trigonometric function of any angle greater than 90° in terms of a function of an acute angle
- reflection nebula — a cloud of interstellar gas and dust that reflects the light of neighboring stars.
- return of capital — A return of capital is a situation in which you receive back money that was previously invested.
- rift valley fever — a highly infectious viral disease of humans and animals, transmitted by mosquitoes and other insects, occurring in Africa and characterized in humans by headache, fever, eye discomfort, and muscle aches, progressing in some cases to encephalitis, blindness, or internal bleeding.
- rock of gibraltar — a British crown colony comprising a fortress and seaport located on a narrow promontory near the S tip of Spain. 1.875 sq. mi. (5 sq. km).
- saint elmo's fire — corona discharge.
- salt of the earth — an individual or group considered as representative of the best or noblest elements of society.
- san andreas fault — an active strike-slip fault in W United States, extending from San Francisco to S California and forming the on-land portion of the western margin of the North American Plate.
- sanitary landfill — landfill.
- scarlet firethorn — a Eurasian evergreen, thorny shrub, Pyracantha coccinea, of the rose family, having white, hairy flower clusters and bright red berries.
- self-administered — to manage (affairs, a government, etc.); have executive charge of: to administer the law.
- self-appreciation — gratitude; thankful recognition: They showed their appreciation by giving him a gold watch.