20-letter words containing f, r, o

florence nightingale — Florence ("the Lady with the Lamp") 1820–1910, English nurse: reformer of hospital conditions and procedures; reorganizer of nurse's training programs.
fold-and-thrust belt — a linear or arcuate region of the earth's surface that has been subjected to severe folding and thrust faulting
fondue bourguignonne — a dish consisting of pieces of steak impaled on forks, cooked in oil at the table and dipped in sauces
for all one is worth — good or important enough to justify (what is specified): advice worth taking; a place worth visiting.
for better for worse — whatever the subsequent events or changes may be
for future reference — If you keep information for future reference, you keep it because it might be useful in the future.
for sb's consumption — If you do or say something for a particular person's or group's consumption, you do or say it especially for them, although your private thoughts or plans may be very different.
for sb's delectation — If you do something for someone's delectation, you do it to give them enjoyment or pleasure.
for the rest of them — for The Rest Of Us
for the sake of sthg — If you do something for the sake of something, you do it for that purpose or in order to achieve that result. You can also say that you do it for something's sake.
for your information — (FYI) A subseries of RFCs that are not technical standards or descriptions of protocols. FYIs convey general information about topics related to TCP/IP or the Internet. See also STD.
forbidden transition — an electronic transition in an atom, molecule, etc, that is not permitted by electric dipole selection rules
force someone's hand — to force someone to act
force-field analysis — a decision-making technique, often presented graphically, that identifies all the positive and negative forces impinging on a problem
fore-and-aft topsail — gaff topsail (def 1).
fore-topgallant mast — the spar or section of a spar forming the topgallant portion of a foremast on a ship.
formative assessment — ongoing assessment of a pupil's educational development within a particular subject area
fort george g. meade — a military reservation in central Maryland, SW of Baltimore.
forty-ninth parallel — an informal name for the Canadian border with the USA, which is in part delineated by the parallel line of latitude at 49°N
four-colour glossies — 1. Literature created by marketroids that allegedly contains technical specs but which is in fact as superficial as possible without being totally content-free. "Forget the four-colour glossies, give me the tech ref manuals." Often applied as an indication of superficiality even when the material is printed on ordinary paper in black and white. Four-colour-glossy manuals are *never* useful for finding a problem. 2. [rare] Applied by extension to manual pages that don't contain enough information to diagnose why the program doesn't produce the expected or desired output.
fourteenth amendment — an amendment to the U.S. Constitution, ratified in 1868, defining national citizenship and forbidding the states to restrict the basic rights of citizens or other persons.
fourth international — a loose federation of small groups of radical socialists formed in 1936 under the leadership of Leon Trotsky and hostile to the Soviet Union. Compare international (def 6).
fractionating column — a long vertical cylinder used in fractional distillation, in which internal reflux enables separation of high and low boiling fractions to take place
frankfurt horizontal — Craniometry. the plane established when right and left poria and left orbitale are in the same horizontal plane.
frederick barbarossa — ("Frederick Barbarossa") 1123?–90, king of Germany 1152–90; king of Italy 1152–90: emperor of the Holy Roman Empire 1152–90.
freedom of the press — the right to publish newspapers, magazines, and other printed matter without governmental restriction and subject only to the laws of libel, obscenity, sedition, etc.
freight pass-through — a special allowance or discounted price given a bookseller or bookstore by a publishing house for paying the freight charge on a shipment of books ordered: so called because the shipping charge is passed on to the consumer by an increase in the suggested retail price for each book. Abbreviation: FPT.
frequency modulation — FM.
friar minor capuchin — capuchin (def 4).
fridtjof nansen land — Franz Josef Land.
friends of the earth — an organization of environmentalists and conservationists whose aim is to promote the sustainable use of the earth's resources
front-end volatility — Front-end volatility is the ability of the fractions with lower boiling points, such as butane, to evaporate at normal temperatures.
front-to-back engine — an engine in which the crankshaft is arranged front to back along the axis of the vehicle
frontenac et palluau — Comte de (Louis de Buade) 1620?–98, French governor of New France 1672–82, 1689–98.
frosting on the cake — a sweet mixture, cooked or uncooked, for coating or filling cakes, cookies, and the like; icing.
fulminate of mercury — a gray, crystalline solid, Hg(CNO) 2 , used chiefly in the manufacture of commercial and military detonators.
gentleman of fortune — an adventurer.
geoffrey of monmouth — 1100?–1154, English chronicler.
get away from it all — If you get away from it all, you have a holiday in a place that is very different from where you normally live and work.
get one's finger out — to begin or speed up activity, esp after initial delay or slackness
go from bad to worse — worsen
godefroy de bouillon — c1060–1100, French crusader.
grand unified theory — a possible future quantum field theory that would encompass both the electroweak theory and quantum chromodynamics. Abbreviation: GUT.
gregory of nazianzus — Saint. ?329–89 ad, Cappadocian theologian: bishop of Caesarea (370–79). Feast days: Jan 2, 25, and 30
group life insurance — a form of life insurance available to members of a group, typically employees of a company, under a master policy.
group of twenty-four — a group of twenty-four rich and industrialized countries of the world, whose heads of government meet regularly to coordinate the position of developing countries on monetary and development issues
heat of vaporization — the heat absorbed per unit mass of a given material at its boiling point that completely converts the material to a gas at the same temperature: equal to the heat of condensation.
hexafluoroantimonate — (inorganic chemistry) The anion SbF6- or any salt containing this anion; it is used as an acidic catalyst in epoxide opening reactions.
houses of parliament — In Britain, the Houses of Parliament are the British parliament, which consists of two parts, the House of Commons and the House of Lords. The buildings where the British parliament does its work are also called the Houses of Parliament.
hurricane-force wind — a wind, not necessarily a hurricane, having a speed of more than 72 miles per hour (32 m/sec): the strongest of the winds.

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