18-letter words containing f, o, d, a
- fulminating powder — powder that explodes by percussion.
- functional disease — a disease in which there is an abnormal change in the function of an organ, but no structural alteration in the tissues involved (opposed to organic disease).
- funding operations — the conversion of government floating stock or short-term debt into holdings of long-term bonds
- garden loosestrife — any of various plants belonging to the genus Lysimachia, of the primrose family, having clusters of usually yellow flowers, as L. vulgaris (garden loosestrife) or L. quadrifolia (whorled loosestrife)
- go off half-cocked — (of a firearm) at the position of half cock.
- grains of paradise — Usually, grains of paradise. one of the pungent, peppery seeds of an African plant, Aframomum melegueta, of the ginger family, used to strengthen cordials and in veterinary medicine.
- grand council fire — a formal gathering of camp fire members requiring a minimum attendance of three troops.
- hearts and flowers — maudlin sentimentality: The play is a period piece, full of innocence abused and hearts and flowers.
- house of delegates — the lower house of the General Assembly in Virginia, West Virginia, and Maryland.
- hydroflumethiazide — A diuretic drug.
- hydrofluorocarbons — Plural form of hydrofluorocarbon.
- hyposulfurous acid — an acid, H 2 S 2 O 4 , next in a series below sulfurous acid, known only in solution or in the form of its salts.
- ideas of reference — a schizophrenic symptom in which the patient thinks that things completely disconnected from him are influencing him or conveying messages to him
- identification tag — either of two oblong metal tags, issued to armed forces personnel, on which are impressed the serial number, name, etc., of the person to whom it is issued, and carried on or about the person at all times.
- ifs, ands, or buts — a supposition; uncertain possibility: The future is full of ifs.
- infectious disease — illness spread by person to person
- information island — (jargon) A body of information (i.e. electronic files) that needs to be shared but has no network connection.
- informatory double — a double intended to inform one's partner that one has a strong hand and to urge a bid regardless of the strength of his or her hand.
- infrared astronomy — the study of infrared radiation emitted by celestial objects.
- jack of all trades — a person who is adept at many different kinds of work.
- jack-of-all-trades — a person who is adept at many different kinds of work.
- knight of the road — a tramp
- lay at the door of — to blame (a person) for
- laying on of hands — Theology. a rite in which the cleric's hands are placed on the head of a person being confirmed, ordained, or the like.
- learned profession — any of the three vocations of theology, law, and medicine, commonly held to require highly advanced learning. Compare profession (def 1).
- make no difference — to have no effect; not matter
- man-to-man defense — a method of defense in team sports, especially in basketball and football, in which each member of the defensive team is designated to guard a particular member of the offensive team.
- manufactured goods — products made by machine
- marsilius of padua — c1280–1343? Italian scholar and political theorist.
- medical profession — the body of people who work as doctors of medicine
- medium of exchange — anything generally accepted as representing a standard of value and exchangeable for goods or services.
- middle-of-the-road — favoring, following, or characterized by an intermediate position between two extremes, especially in politics; moderate.
- misplaced modifier — Grammar. a word, phrase, or clause that seems to refer to or modify an unintended word because of its placement in a sentence, as when young in When young, circuses appeal to all of us.
- mozilla foundation — (body, web, open source) The body set up by Netscape in January 1998 to coordinate development of the Mozilla browser and to provide a point of contact.
- new forest disease — an infectious eye disease causing acute eye pain in cattle
- non-fundamentalist — (sometimes initial capital letter) a religious movement characterized by a strict belief in the literal interpretation of religious texts, especially within American Protestantism and Islam.
- non-identification — an act or instance of identifying; the state of being identified.
- notifiable disease — any one of a number of infectious diseases of humans and animals, that must be reported to the public health authorities
- oak-leaf hydrangea — a shrub, Hydrangea quercifolia, of the southeastern U.S., having lobed leaves and pyramidal clusters of white flowers.
- office of readings — the first of the canonical hours; matins
- officer of the day — an officer who has charge of the guard and prisoners on an assigned day at a military installation. Abbreviation: OD, O.D., O.O.D.
- old low franconian — a Low German dialect of the Franks of the lower Rhine valley before c1100.
- old man of the sea — (in The Arabian Nights' Entertainments) an old man who clung to the shoulders of Sindbad the Sailor for many days and nights.
- omega-3 fatty acid — a polyunsaturated fatty acid, essential for normal retinal function, that influences various metabolic pathways, resulting in lowered cholesterol and triglyceride levels, inhibited platelet clotting, and reduced inflammatory and immune reactions.
- one false move and — You use one false move to introduce the very bad or serious consequences which will result if someone makes a mistake, even a very small one.
- order of australia — an order awarded to Australians for outstanding achievement or for service to Australia or to humanity at large; established in 1975
- order of magnitude — You can use order of magnitude when you are giving an approximate idea of the amount or importance of something.
- osteitis deformans — Paget's disease.
- out of one's hands — no longer one's responsibility
- overdraft facility — a facility (of a bank or building-society cheque account) that allows a withdrawal of money in excess of the account's credit balance