16-letter words containing f, o, t, w
- new frontiersman — an advocate or follower of the New Frontier, especially one in public service.
- of it own accord — If something happens of its own accord, it seems to happen by itself, without anyone making it happen.
- on a war footing — If a country or armed force is on a war footing, it is ready to fight a war.
- one-way function — (cryptography, mathematics) A function which is easy to compute but whose inverse is very difficult to compute. Such functions have important applications in cryptography, specifically in public-key cryptography. See also: trapdoor function.
- out of the woods — the hard, fibrous substance composing most of the stem and branches of a tree or shrub, and lying beneath the bark; the xylem.
- portfolio worker — a person in portfolio employment
- powerfully built — (of a person, esp a man) big and physically strong, with large muscles
- powerpc platform — (architecture, standard) (PPCP, PReP - PowerPC Reference Platform, formerly CHRP - Common Hardware Reference Platform) An open system standard, designed by IBM, intended to ensure compatibility among PowerPC-based systems built by different companies. The PReP standard specifies the PCI bus, but will also support ISA, MicroChannel and PCMCIA. PReP-compliant systems will be able to run the Macintosh OS, OS/2, WorkplaceOS, AIX, Solaris, Taligent and Windows NT. IBM systems will (of course) be PReP-compliant. Apple's first PowerPC Macintoshes will not be compliant, but future ones may be.
- put a foot wrong — to make a mistake
- sawn-off shotgun — A sawn-off shotgun is a shotgun on which the barrel has been cut short. Guns like this are often used by criminals because they can be easily hidden.
- shaft horsepower — the horsepower delivered to the driving shaft of an engine, as measured by a torsion meter. Abbreviation: shp, SHP.
- soft brown sugar — a type of moist sugar made by coating white sugar with dark molasses
- software library — a collection of programs that are used to develop software
- software package — bundle of files to execute computer program
- systems software — Computers. a collection of system programs for use with a particular computer system.
- the welsh office — (formerly) a department of the British government with responsibility for Welsh policies. It was replaced by the Wales office in 1999.
- throw for a loop — a portion of a cord, ribbon, etc., folded or doubled upon itself so as to leave an opening between the parts.
- throw oneself at — to propel or cast in any way, especially to project or propel from the hand by a sudden forward motion or straightening of the arm and wrist: to throw a ball.
- throw oneself on — to rely entirely upon
- tomato fruitworm — corn earworm.
- tower of silence — a circular stone platform, typically 30 feet (9.1 meter) in height, on which the Parsees of India leave their dead to be devoured by vultures.
- twenty-four-hour — lasting for twenty-four hours
- two-family house — a house designed for occupation by two families in contiguous apartments, as on separate floors.
- twofold purchase — a purchase using a double standing block and a double running block so as to give a mechanical advantage of four or five, neglecting friction, depending on whether the hauling is on the standing block or the running block.
- utility software — system software that manages and optimizes the performance of hardware
- way of the cross — stations of the cross.
- way of the world — a comedy of manners (1700) by William Congreve.
- weather forecast — meteorological prediction
- well-functioning — the kind of action or activity proper to a person, thing, or institution; the purpose for which something is designed or exists; role.
- wheel of fortune — wheel (def 9).
- wide of the mark — If something such as a claim or estimate is wide of the mark, it is incorrect or inaccurate.
- windchill factor — an estimated measurement of the cooling effect of air and wind, esp. when applied to the loss of body heat from exposed skin; chill factor
- windfall profits — Windfall profits are excessive profits with a non-business cause such as a natural disaster.
- wipe off the map — to put out of existence
- within an ace of — a playing card or die marked with or having the value indicated by a single spot: He dealt me four aces in the first hand.
- wolfenden report — a study produced in 1957 by the Committee on Homosexual Offences and Prostitution in Britain, which recommended that homosexual relations between consenting adults be legalized
- woman of letters — a woman engaged in literary pursuits, especially a professional writer.
- world federalist — a promoter or supporter of world federalism.
- worth the effort — If you say that something is worth the effort, you mean that it will justify the energy that you have spent or will spend on it.
- writ of election — a writ by an executive authority requiring the holding of an election, especially one issued by a governor to require a special election for filling a vacancy in the representation from a state.
- writ of subpoena — a legal document commanding the attendance in court, as a witness, of the person on whom it is served, under a penalty
- wrongful trading — the act of allowing a company to continue trading when its insolvency is inevitable
- yellowfin (tuna) — a tuna (Thunnus albacares) with yellow fins and a yellow stripe on each side, important as a game and food fish and found worldwide in warm seas