25-letter words containing f, o, t, e

point-and-drool interface — (abuse) (Or "point-and-grunt interface") A parody of "point-and-shoot interface", describing a windows, icons, and mouse-based (WIMP) graphical user interface. The implication, of course, is that such an interface is only suitable for idiots. See for the rest of us, WIMP, drool-proof paper.
point-and-grunt interface — point-and-drool interface
poynting-robertson effect — the slowing down and consequent spiraling inward of small particles orbiting the sun, due to their interaction with solar radiation.
principle of least action — the principle that motion between any two points in a conservative dynamical system is such that the action has a minimum value with respect to all paths between the points that correspond to the same energy
principle of virtual work — the principle that the total work done by all forces on a system in static equilibrium is zero for a set of infinitesimally small displacements.
profit and loss statement — A profit and loss statement is a statement that is compiled at the end of a financial year showing that year's revenue and expense items and indicating gross and net profit or loss.
progressive federal party — a political party, formed in 1977 by a merger between the Progressive Party and members of the United Party, supporting qualified franchise for all South Africans irrespective of race, colour, or creed; merged with other parties in 1989 to form the Democratic Party
pull/get one's finger out — If you tell someone to pull their finger out or to get their finger out, you are telling them rudely that you want them to start doing some work or making an effort.
put sth out of its misery — If you put an animal out of its misery, you kill it because it is sick or injured and cannot be cured or healed.
qualified majority voting — a voting system, used by the EU Council of Ministers, enabling certain resolutions to be passed without unanimity
ruffle someone's feathers — one of the horny structures forming the principal covering of birds, consisting typically of a hard, tubular portion attached to the body and tapering into a thinner, stemlike portion bearing a series of slender, barbed processes that interlock to form a flat structure on each side.
run-time type information — (compiler) (RTTI) Facilities included in C++ compilers to allow the type of an object to be determined at run time. This facility, found in good C++ compilers and some other high level languages, adds type information to memory resident objects (i.e. type name or unique type-id). This allows the run-time system to determine if an object is of a specific type, for example, to ensure that a cast of an object is valid.
saint joseph of arimathea — a wealthy member of the Sanhedrin, who obtained the body of Jesus after the Crucifixion and laid it in his own tomb (Matthew 27:57–60). Feast day: Mar 17 or July 31
shoot oneself in the foot — to damage one's own cause inadvertently
single document interface — (programming) (SDI) A limitation applying to an application program that only shows a single windows giving a view of one document at a time. The opposite is Multiple Document Interface (MDI).
single wingback formation — an offensive formation in which the wingback lines up outside of and about one yard behind an end, the quarterback lines up lateral to the wingback but about midway between the same end and the center, the fullback is three or four yards behind the middle of the line, and the tailback lines up one yard behind the fullback on the other side of the line from the wingback and quarterback.
slip/fall through the net — You use slip through the net or fall through the net to describe a situation where people are not properly cared for by the system that is intended to help them.
software through pictures — (programming, tool) (StP) A set of CASE tools distributed by Aonix.
specific fuel consumption — Specific fuel consumption is the amount of fuel consumed by a vehicle for each unit of power output.
standard ml of new jersey — (SML/NJ) An implementation of SML by Andrew Appel at Princeton <[email protected]> and Dave MacQueen at AT&T. Version 0.93. Versions for Unix, Mac. ftp://cs.yale.edu/pub/ml, ftp://research.att.com/dist/ml. Mailing list: [email protected]
take advantage of someone — If someone takes advantage of you, they treat you unfairly for their own benefit, especially when you are trying to be kind or to help them.
take the sting out of sth — If something takes the sting out of a situation, it makes it less unpleasant.
take up the cudgels (for) — to come to the defense (of)
tess of the d'urbervilles — a novel (1891) by Thomas Hardy.
the calm before the storm — You can use the calm before the storm to refer to a quiet period in which there is little or no activity, before a period in which there is a lot of trouble or intense activity.
the department of defense — the United States federal department concerned with national security
the first epistle of john — an epistle attributed to the apostle John which counters claims that Jesus Christ came only in spirit and not in the flesh
the high priestess of sth — if you call a woman the high priestess of a particular thing, you are saying in a slightly mocking way that she is considered by people to be expert in that thing
the knives are out for sb — If a lot of people want something unpleasant to happen to someone, for example if they want them to lose their job, you can say that the knives are out for that person.
the leaning tower of pisa — the bell tower of Pisa Cathedral
the length and breadth of — If you say that someone does something or something happens throughout or across the length and breadth of a place, you are emphasizing that it happens everywhere in that place.
the meteorological office — a British Government department supplying weather forecasts
the mother of parliaments — the British Parliament: the model and creator of many other Parliaments
the scholastic profession — the profession of teaching
the thin end of the wedge — If you say that something is the thin end of the wedge, you mean that it appears to be unimportant at the moment, but that it is the beginning of a bigger, more harmful development.
the third epistle of john — an epistle attributed to the apostle John and addressed to a man called Gaius, who is praised in the letter
the trash heap of history — a figurative or imaginative place where forgotten things or people go
there are no flies on him — he is no fool
thermoelectromotive force — the electromotive force developed by the thermoelectric effect.
throw dust in the eyes of — to confuse or mislead
time domain reflectometer — (hardware, networking) (TDR) An electronic device for detecting and locating short- or open-circuits in an Ethernet cable. TDRs can also measure how the characteristic impedance of a line varies along its length.
to be living proof that … — to show that
to be on first-name terms — (of two people) knowing each other well enough to call each other by their first names, rather than having to use a more formal title.
to be on the front burner — to be of the highest priority
to catch sight of someone — If you catch sight of someone, you suddenly see them, often briefly.
to give someone free rein — If you give free rein to someone, you give them a lot of freedom to do what they want.
to have irons in the fire — If someone has a lot of irons in the fire, they are involved in several different activities or have several different plans.
to jump out of one's skin — If something makes you jump out of your skin, it surprises or shocks you very much.
to keep a watchful eye on — If you keep a watchful eye on someone or something, you watch carefully to make sure there are no problems.
to someone's satisfaction — If you do something to someone's satisfaction, they are happy with the way that you have done it.

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