18-letter words containing f, o, t, e
- shift one's ground — to change one's argument or defense
- shoot from the hip — the act of shooting with a bow, firearm, etc.
- sign of the zodiac — one of the twelve constellations along the path of the ecliptic.
- sit at the feet of — to be an admiring disciple of
- six-finger country — an isolated area considered as being inhabited by people who practise inbreeding
- sixth-form college — (in England and Wales) a college offering A-level and other courses to pupils over sixteen from local schools, esp from those that do not have sixth forms
- slip of the tongue — If you describe something you said as a slip of the tongue, you mean that you said it by mistake.
- smooth fox terrier — a breed of short-haired fox terrier with a mostly white, smooth coat.
- society of friends — a Christian denomination, founded in England c. 1650 by George Fox, that has no formal creed, liturgy, or priesthood and rejects violence in human relations, esp. warfare
- sodium hyposulfite — sodium thiosulfate.
- sodium thiosulfate — a white, crystalline, water-soluble powder, Na 2 S 2 O 3 ⋅5H 2 O, used as a bleach and in photography as a fixing agent.
- soft touch sealing — Soft touch sealing is a copolymer seal for a tank, with characteristics designed for softness, used instead of a metal seal to help avoid fire when sparks are generated.
- software backplane — (programming, tool) A CASE framework from Atherton.
- soldier of fortune — a person who independently seeks pleasure, wealth, etc., through adventurous exploits.
- solid-fuel heating — heating that uses solid fuel, such as coal or coke
- sonic depth finder — a sonar instrument that uses echolocation to measure depths under water.
- sound and the fury — a novel (1929) by William Faulkner.
- specific viscosity — a measure of the resistance to flow of a fluid, expressed as the ratio of the absolute viscosity of the fluid to that of a reference fluid (usually water in the case of liquids)
- spectrofluorimeter — an instrument in which the spectrum of secondarily emitted fluorescent light is used to identify chemical compounds.
- spectrofluorometer — an instrument in which the spectrum of secondarily emitted fluorescent light is used to identify chemical compounds.
- spotted flycatcher — a European woodland songbird, Muscicapa striata, with a greyish-brown streaked plumage: family Muscicapidae (Old World flycatchers)
- spur-of-the-moment — occurring or done without advance preparation or deliberation; extemporaneous; unplanned: a spur-of-the-moment decision.
- squinting modifier — a word or phrase that can modify either the words that precede it or those that follow, as frequently in the sentence Studying frequently is tedious.
- stand confessed as — to be revealed or admitted as
- state of emergency — If a government or other authority declares a state of emergency in an area, it introduces special measures such as increased powers for the police or army, usually because of civil disorder or because of a natural disaster such as an earthquake.
- state of the union — A State of the Union speech or address is a speech, given once a year, in which the president of the United States talks about the current political issues that affect the country as a whole and about his plans for the year ahead.
- statement of claim — law: first pleading
- statements of case — the formal written statements presented alternately by the plaintiff and defendant in a lawsuit setting out the respective matters relied upon
- stepping-off place — jumping-off place (def 2).
- stinking goosefoot — a European goosefoot with foul-smelling leaves
- strait of magellan — a strait between the mainland of S South America and Tierra del Fuego, linking the S Pacific with the S Atlantic. Length: 600 km (370 miles). Width: up to 32 km (20 miles)
- surface-to-surface — (of a missile, message, etc.) capable of traveling from a base on the surface of the earth to a target also on the surface.
- sutton-in-ashfield — a market town in N central England, in W Nottinghamshire. Pop: 41 951 (2001)
- symmetric function — a polynomial in several indeterminates that stays the same under any permutation of the indeterminates.
- take a bite out of — If something takes a bite out of a sum of money, part of the money is spent or taken away in order to pay for it.
- take a dim view of — not bright; obscure from lack of light or emitted light: a dim room; a dim flashlight.
- take cognizance of — note, acknowledge
- take the wraps off — to reveal
- tale of two cities — a historical novel (1859) by Dickens.
- talk of the devil! — used when an absent person who has been the subject of conversation appears
- telford and wrekin — a unitary authority in W Central England, in Shropshire. Pop: 160 300 (2003 est). Area: 289 sq km (112 sq miles)
- terms of reference — Terms of reference are the instructions given to someone when they are asked to consider or investigate a particular subject, telling them what they must deal with and what they can ignore.
- territory of papua — a former territory of Australia, consisting of SE New Guinea and adjacent islands: now part of Papua New Guinea
- the back of beyond — a very remote place
- the better part of — a large part of
- the bird has flown — the person in question has fled or escaped
- the family compact — the ruling oligarchy in Upper Canada in the early 19th century
- the final solution — the code name used by the Nazis to refer to the plan of mass murder of the Jews
- the first sea lord — the senior of the two serving naval officers who sits on the admiralty board of the Ministry of Defence
- the fourth of july — a holiday in the United States, traditionally celebrated with fireworks: the day of the adoption of the Declaration of Independence in 1776