17-letter words containing f, o
- least fixed point — (mathematics) A function f may have many fixed points (x such that f x = x). For example, any value is a fixed point of the identity function, (\ x . x). If f is recursive, we can represent it as f = fix F where F is some higher-order function and fix F = F (fix F). The standard denotational semantics of f is then given by the least fixed point of F. This is the least upper bound of the infinite sequence (the ascending Kleene chain) obtained by repeatedly applying F to the totally undefined value, bottom. I.e. fix F = LUB {bottom, F bottom, F (F bottom), ...}. The least fixed point is guaranteed to exist for a continuous function over a cpo.
- leg before wicket — a manner of dismissal on the grounds that a batsman has been struck on the leg by a bowled ball that otherwise would have hit the wicket
- letter of comfort — comfort letter.
- letter of request — a letter sent from a court to a foreign court requesting judicial assistance
- letters of marque — a former government document authorizing an individual to make reprisals on the subjects of an enemy nation, specif. to arm a ship and capture enemy merchant ships and cargo
- liberty of speech — freedom of speech.
- lick the boots of — to be servile, obsequious, or flattering towards
- lie in wait (for) — to wait so as to catch after planning an ambush or trap (for)
- life and/or death — If you say that something is a matter of life and death, you are emphasizing that it is extremely important, often because someone may die or suffer great harm if people do not act immediately.
- life imprisonment — long-term prison sentence
- life of the party — most lively, outgoing person
- lifelong learning — the provision or use of both formal and informal learning opportunities throughout people's lives in order to foster the continuous development and improvement of the knowledge and skills needed for employment and personal fulfilment
- line of induction — (formerly) a line of force in a magnetic field.
- line of longitude — an imaginary line on a globe, map, etc, indicating longitude
- line of scrimmage — an imaginary line parallel to the goal lines that passes from one sideline to the other through the point of the football closest to the goal line of each team.
- litigation friend — a person acting on behalf of an infant or other person under legal disability
- little fork river — a river in N Minnesota, flowing N to the Rainy River on the Canadian border. 132 miles (212 km) long.
- live free or die! — 1. The state motto of New Hampshire, which appears on that state's automobile licence plates. 2. A slogan associated with Unix in the romantic days when Unix aficionados saw themselves as a tiny, beleaguered underground tilting against the windmills of industry. The "free" referred specifically to freedom from the fascist design philosophies and crufty misfeatures common on commercial operating systems. Armando Stettner, one of the early Unix developers, used to give out fake licence plates bearing this motto under a large Unix, all in New Hampshire colours of green and white. These are now valued collector's items.
- lloyd's of london — Lloyd's of London is an association of London underwriters which originally specialized in marine insurance but now provides a variety of insurance policies.
- loose-leaf binder — a hard cover with metal rings inside which is used to hold loose pieces of paper
- lord of the flies — a novel (1954) by William Golding.
- low-hanging fruit — the fruit that grows low on a tree and is therefore easy to reach
- lower forty-eight — the forty-eight conterminous states of the United States
- luminous efficacy — the quotient of the luminous flux of a radiation and its corresponding radiant flux
- lyon king of arms — the chief herald of Scotland
- magnetizing force — that part of the magnetic induction that is determined at any point in space by the current density and displacement current at that point independently of the magnetic or other physical properties of the surrounding medium. Symbol: H.
- make hay (out) of — to turn (something) to one's advantage
- make light of sth — If you make light of something, you treat it as though it is not serious or important, when in fact it is.
- make mincemeat of — a mixture composed of minced apples, suet, and sometimes meat, together with raisins, currants, candied citron, etc., for filling a pie.
- make reference to — mention, allude to
- make sense of sth — When you make sense of something, you succeed in understanding it.
- make something of — to find a use for
- make the worst of — to be pessimistic about
- man enough to/for — If you say that a man is man enough to do something, you mean that he has the necessary courage or ability to do it.
- manifest function — any function of an institution or other social phenomenon that is planned and intentional.
- manna from heaven — Bible: food from heaven
- manufactured home — a prefabricated house, assembled in modular sections.
- margaret of anjou — 1430–82, queen of Henry VI of England.
- mark of the beast — the mark put on the forehead of those who worship the beast, the symbol of opposition to God.
- master of science — a master's degree given usually in a specific branch of the natural sciences, mathematics, or technology.
- matter of opinion — a point open to question; a debatable statement
- maurice of nassau — Prince of Orange 1567-1625; Du. statesman & military leader
- mayflower compact — an agreement to establish a government, entered into by the Pilgrims in the cabin of the Mayflower on November 11, 1620.
- memoised function — memo function
- memoized function — memo function
- mend one's fences — a barrier enclosing or bordering a field, yard, etc., usually made of posts and wire or wood, used to prevent entrance, to confine, or to mark a boundary.
- merchant of death — a company, nation, or person that sells military arms on the international market, usually to the highest bidder and without scruple or regard for political ramifications.
- metallofullerenes — Plural form of metallofullerene.
- method of payment — cash, credit card, cheque, etc.
- mexican stand-off — A Mexican stand-off is a situation in which neither of the people or groups in a conflict or dispute can win and neither wants to give in first.