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20-letter words containing f, o, r, e, n, s

  • pest control officer — a person who gets rid of pests such as rats and mice
  • recursive definition — a definition consisting of a set of rules such that by repeated application of the rules the meaning of the definiendum is uniquely determined in terms of ideas that are already familiar.
  • reflecting 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.
  • 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
  • request for comments — (standard)   (RFC) One of a series, begun in 1969, of numbered Internet informational documents and standards widely followed by commercial software and freeware in the Internet and Unix communities. Few RFCs are standards but all Internet standards are recorded in RFCs. Perhaps the single most influential RFC has been RFC 822, the Internet electronic mail format standard. The RFCs are unusual in that they are floated by technical experts acting on their own initiative and reviewed by the Internet at large, rather than formally promulgated through an institution such as ANSI. For this reason, they remain known as RFCs even once adopted as standards. The RFC tradition of pragmatic, experience-driven, after-the-fact standard writing done by individuals or small working groups has important advantages over the more formal, committee-driven process typical of ANSI or ISO. Emblematic of some of these advantages is the existence of a flourishing tradition of "joke" RFCs; usually at least one a year is published, usually on April 1st. Well-known joke RFCs have included 527 ("ARPAWOCKY", R. Merryman, UCSD; 22 June 1973), 748 ("Telnet Randomly-Lose Option", Mark R. Crispin; 1 April 1978), and 1149 ("A Standard for the Transmission of IP Datagrams on Avian Carriers", D. Waitzman, BBN STC; 1 April 1990). The first was a Lewis Carroll pastiche; the second a parody of the TCP/IP documentation style, and the third a deadpan skewering of standards-document legalese, describing protocols for transmitting Internet data packets by carrier pigeon. The RFCs are most remarkable for how well they work - they manage to have neither the ambiguities that are usually rife in informal specifications, nor the committee-perpetrated misfeatures that often haunt formal standards, and they define a network that has grown to truly worldwide proportions. See also For Your Information, STD.
  • respecter of persons — one whose behavior toward people is influenced by their social status, prestige, etc.
  • restriction fragment — a length of DNA cut from the strand by a restriction enzyme.
  • roof over one's head — If you have a roof over your head, you have somewhere to live.
  • saint anthony's fire — any of certain skin conditions that are of an inflammatory or gangrenous nature, as erysipelas, hospital gangrene, or ergotism.
  • second earl of essex — 2nd Earl of, Devereux, Robert.
  • senior aircraftwoman — a rank in the Royal Air Force comparable to that of a private in the army, though not the lowest rank in the Royal Air Force
  • separation of powers — the principle or system of vesting in separate branches the executive, legislative, and judicial powers of a government.
  • shear transformation — a map of a coordinate space in which one coordinate is held fixed and the other coordinate or coordinates are shifted.
  • sinfonia concertante — a type of concerto for two or more solo instruments accompanied by an orchestra
  • sing for your supper — If someone has to sing for their supper, they have to do a job before they are allowed to do something they want to do.
  • snowflake generation — the generation of people who became adults in the 2010s, viewed as being less resilient and more prone to taking offence than previous generations
  • software engineering — the process of writing computer programs
  • solitary confinement — the confinement of a prisoner in a cell or other place in which he or she is completely isolated from others.
  • span of apprehension — the maximum number of objects that can be correctly assessed after a brief presentation
  • specific performance — (especially in the sale of land) literal compliance with one's contractual promises pursuant to a judicial mandate.
  • spirit of enterprise — the motivation to set up and succeed in business or commerce
  • square of opposition — a diagrammatic representation of the opposition of categorical propositions.
  • squirrel's-foot fern — ball fern.
  • staff sergeant major — a noncommissioned officer equivalent in rank to a command sergeant major but having no command responsibility.
  • strong nuclear force — an interaction between elementary particles responsible for the forces between nucleons in the nucleus. It operates at distances less than about 10–15 metres, and is about a hundred times more powerful than the electromagnetic interaction
  • the course of nature — the ordinary course of events
  • the founding fathers — any of the men who were members of the U.S. Constituional Convention of 1787
  • the gnomes of zurich — Swiss bankers and financiers
  • the legal profession — the profession of law
  • the price of someone — what someone deserves, esp a fitting punishment
  • there is no call for — If you say that there is no call for someone to behave in a particular way, you are criticizing their behaviour, usually because you think it is rude.
  • thomas of erceldoune — Thomas of, Thomas of Erceldoune.
  • thorn in one's flesh — a sharp excrescence on a plant, especially a sharp-pointed aborted branch; spine; prickle.
  • thought transference — transference of thought by extrasensory means from the mind of one individual to another; telepathy.
  • to burst into flames — If something bursts into flames or bursts into flame, it suddenly starts burning strongly.
  • to fall on deaf ears — If a request falls on deaf ears or if the person to whom the request is made turns a deaf ear to it, they take no notice of it.
  • to have it in for sb — If someone has it in for you, they do not like you and they want to make life difficult for you.
  • transfer of training — transfer (def 19).
  • transformation range — the temperature range within which austenite forms when a ferrous metal is heated, or within which it disappears when the metal is cooled.
  • unemployment figures — statistics relating to the number of people who are out of work
  • university of durham — (body, education)   A busy research and teaching community in the historic cathedral city of Durham, UK (population 61000). Its work covers key branches of science and technology and traditional areas of scholarship. Durham graduates are in great demand among employers and the University helps to attract investment into the region. It provides training, short courses, and expertise for industry. Through its cultural events, conferences, tourist business and as a major employer, the University contributes in a wide social and economic sense to the community. Founded in 1832, the University developed in Durham and Newcastle until 1963 when the independent University of Newcastle upon Tyne came into being. Durham is a collegiate body, with 14 Colleges or Societies which are a social and domestic focus for students. In 1992, the Universities of Durham and Teesside launched University College, Stockton-on-Tees, which has 190 students in the first year.
  • university of hawaii — (body, education)   A University spread over 10 campuses on 4 islands throughout the state. See also Aloha, Aloha Net.
  • university of twente — (body, education)   A university in the east of The Netherlands for technical and social sciences. It was founded in 1961, making it one of the youngest universities in The Netherlands. It has 7000 students studying Applied Educational Science; Applied Mathematics; Applied Physics; Chemical Technology; Computer Science; Electrical Engineering; Mechanical Engineering; Philosophy of science, Technology and Society; Educational Technology.
  • university professor — a professor entitled to teach courses in more than one field or discipline at a university.
  • van der waals forces — weak electrostatic forces between atoms and molecules caused by transient distortions in the distribution of electrons in the interacting atoms or molecules
  • viscount northcliffe — Viscount, Alfred Charles William Harmsworth.
  • watering of the eyes — the formation of tears in the eyes
  • whole-life insurance — a type of insurance with a savings element that is guaranteed to pay out on death provided premiums have been paid as required by the policy
  • winter of discontent — the winter of 1978–1979, during which numerous strikes, esp by local authority workers, took place against a background of a government pay freeze
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