20-letter words containing f, l, a
- member of parliament — A Member of Parliament is a person who has been elected by the people in a particular area to represent them in a country's parliament. The abbreviation MP is often used.
- methyl chloroformate — a colorless liquid, C 2 H 3 ClO 2 , used chiefly in organic synthesis.
- mitral insufficiency — abnormal closure of the mitral valve resulting in regurgitation of blood into the atrium and leading to reduced heart function or heart failure.
- morning glory family — the plant family Convulvulaceae, characterized by twining herbaceous vines, shrubs, and trees having alternate, simple, or compound leaves, funnel-shaped, often showy flowers, and fruit in the form of a berry or capsule, and including bindweed, dodder, moonflower, morning glory, and sweet potato.
- most general unifier — (logic) If U is the most general unifier of a set of expressions then any other unifier, V, can be expressed as V = UW, where W is another substitution. See also unification.
- mother of the chapel — (in British trade unions in the publishing and printing industries) a woman shop steward
- mother-of-pearl moth — a pyralid moth, Pleuroptya ruralis, having a pale sheen, that is often seen around nettles, on which its green larvae feed
- naturalistic fallacy — the supposed fallacy of inferring evaluative conclusions from purely factual premises
- new zealand fur seal — an Australasian seal, Arctocephalus forsteri
- no lack of something — If you say there is no lack of something, you are emphasizing that there is a great deal of it.
- normal magnification — the magnification produced by a telescope or microscope such that the diameter of the exit pupil of the instrument is equal to the diameter of the pupil of the eye.
- normal zeeman effect — the dividing of a spectral line or lines as a result of placing a radiation source in a magnetic field. The division consists of three equally spaced lines (normal Zeeman effect) in systems for which the spin quantum number is zero, or of three or more unequally spaced lines (anomalous Zeeman effect) in systems for which the spin quantum number is not zero.
- north atlantic drift — an ocean current flowing NE toward the British Isles, formed by the convergence of the Gulf Stream and the Labrador Current SE of Newfoundland.
- northern leaf blight — a disease of corn caused by the fungus Exsherohilum turcicum, characterized by elongate tan-gray elliptical spots with subsequent blighting and necrosis of leaves.
- of no/little account — If you say that something is of no account or of little account, you mean that it is very unimportant and is not worth considering.
- of value/of no value — If something is of value, it is useful or important. If it is of no value, it has no usefulness or importance.
- official secrets act — law: legislation protecting state secret
- old man of the woods — an edible, mild-tasting mushroom, Strobilomyces floccopus, occurring in coniferous woodlands of eastern North America.
- olfactory anesthesia — absence or loss of the sense of smell.
- on the factory floor — in a factory; as a factory worker
- order bill of lading — a bill of lading that is issued to the order of a shipper or consignee for delivery of the goods and that can be transferred by endorsement to third parties.
- ousterhout's fallacy — Ousterhout's dichotomy
- paper qualifications — qualifications gained through official examinations, etc, rather than through experience
- pappus of alexandria — 3rd century bc, Greek mathematician, whose eight-volume Synagoge is a valuable source of information about Greek mathematics
- parallel of altitude — almucantar.
- parallel of latitude — parallel (def 9).
- parametric amplifier — a device, as an electron tube or transistor, that amplifies a high-frequency input signal by sinusoidally varying the reactance of the circuit.
- partial differential — an expression obtained from a given function of several variables by taking the partial derivative with respect to one of the variables and multiplying by the increment in that variable.
- particulars of claim — (in England) the first reading made by the claimant in a county court action, showing the facts upon which he or she relies in support of a claim and the relief asked for
- patent foramen ovale — a congenital heart defect resulting from failure of the foramen ovale to close shortly after birth.
- paternal grandfather — the father of someone's father
- peaceful coexistence — competition without war, or a policy of peace between nations of widely differing political systems and ideologies, especially between Communist and non-Communist nations: peaceful coexistence between the U.S. and the Soviet Union.
- permonosulfuric acid — persulfuric acid (def 1).
- pleased with oneself — If someone seems very satisfied with something they have done, you can say that they are pleased with themselves, especially if you think they are more satisfied than they should be.
- pledge of allegiance — a solemn oath of allegiance or fidelity to the U.S., beginning, “I pledge allegiance to the flag,” and forming part of many flag-saluting ceremonies in the U.S.
- potential difference — voltage
- prefecture apostolic — a territory in the early stage of missionary development.
- probability function — the function the values of which are probabilities of the distinct outcomes of a discrete random variable
- quantum field theory — any theory in which fields are treated by the methods of quantum mechanics; each field can then be regarded as consisting of particles of a particular kind, which may be created and annihilated.
- refracting telescope — an optical instrument for making distant objects appear larger and therefore nearer. One of the two principal forms (refracting telescope) consists essentially of an objective lens set into one end of a tube and an adjustable eyepiece or combination of lenses set into the other end of a tube that slides into the first and through which the enlarged object is viewed directly; the other form (reflecting telescope) has a concave mirror that gathers light from the object and focuses it into an adjustable eyepiece or combination of lenses through which the reflection of the object is enlarged and viewed. Compare radio telescope.
- refuse disposal unit — a unit or part of a sink that disposes of waste food, etc, by grinding
- republic of maldives — a republic occupying an archipelago of 1087 coral islands in the Indian Ocean, southwest of Sri Lanka: came under British protection in 1887; became independent in 1965 and a republic in 1968; member of the Commonwealth (1982–2016). The economy and infrastructure were severely damaged in the Indian Ocean tsunami of December 2004. Official language: Divehi. Official religion: (Sunni) Muslim. Currency: rufiyaa. Capital: Malé. Pop: 393 988 (2013 est). Area: 298 sq km (115 sq miles)
- request for proposal — (programming) (RFP) The publication by a prospective software purchaser of details of the required system in order to attract offers by software developers to supply it. Software development under contract starts with the selection of the software developer by the customer. A request for proposal (also called in Britain an "invitation to tender") is the beginning of the selection process.
- ring wall foundation — A ring wall foundation is a base made of concrete, used to put large tanks on.
- royal air force list — an official list of all serving commissioned officers of the RAF and reserve officers liable for recall
- scientific socialism — Marxist socialism
- second earl of essex — 2nd Earl of, Devereux, Robert.
- second law of motion — any of three laws of classical mechanics, either the law that a body remains at rest or in motion with a constant velocity unless an external force acts on the body (first law of motion) the law that the sum of the forces acting on a body is equal to the product of the mass of the body and the acceleration produced by the forces, with motion in the direction of the resultant of the forces (second law of motion) or the law that for every force acting on a body, the body exerts a force having equal magnitude and the opposite direction along the same line of action as the original force (third law of motion or law of action and reaction)
- see the light of day — come into being
- see with half an eye — the organ of sight, in vertebrates typically one of a pair of spherical bodies contained in an orbit of the skull and in humans appearing externally as a dense, white, curved membrane, or sclera, surrounding a circular, colored portion, or iris, that is covered by a clear, curved membrane, or cornea, and in the center of which is an opening, or pupil, through which light passes to the retina.