20-letter words containing g, a, t, u, n
- scavenger's daughter — an instrument of torture that doubled over and squeezed the body so strongly and violently that blood was brought forth from the ears and nose: invented in 16th-century England.
- schrodinger equation — the wave equation of nonrelativistic quantum mechanics. Also called Schrödinger wave equation. Compare wave equation (def 2).
- shifting cultivation — a land-use system, esp in tropical Africa, in which a tract of land is cultivated until its fertility diminishes, when it is abandoned until this is restored naturally
- shoulder-length hair — hair that reaches a person's shoulders
- soft gelatin capsule — A soft gelatin capsule is a type of capsule that is usually used to contain medicine in the form of liquid or powder, and which dissolves more quickly than a hard gelatin capsule.
- sound-and-light show — a nighttime spectacle or performance, at which a building, historic site, etc., is illuminated and the historic significance is imparted to spectators by means of narration, sound effects, and music.
- squatter sovereignty — (used contemptuously by its opponents) popular sovereignty (def 2).
- strong nuclear force — an interaction between elementary particles responsible for the forces between nucleons in the nucleus. It operates at distances less than about 10–15 metres, and is about a hundred times more powerful than the electromagnetic interaction
- sunday-go-to-meeting — most presentable; best: Sunday-go-to-meeting clothes.
- supplemental plumage — the third plumage assumed by certain birds having three different plumages in their annual cycle of molts.
- supplementary angles — either of two angles that added together produce an angle of 180°.
- surface-active agent — any substance that when dissolved in water or an aqueous solution reduces its surface tension or the interfacial tension between it and another liquid.
- sweat one's guts out — to work very hard
- take up the gauntlet — to accept a challenge
- temperature gradient — rate of change of temperature with distance.
- terrestrial guidance — a method of missile or rocket guidance in which the flight path is controlled by reference to the strength and direction of the earth's gravitational or magnetic field
- the (great) unwashed — The unwashed or the great unwashed is a way of referring to poor or ordinary people.
- the day of judgement — a Christian term for the ending of the world
- the founding fathers — any of the men who were members of the U.S. Constituional Convention of 1787
- the garment industry — the manufacturing of items of clothing
- the naughty nineties — (in Britain) the 1890s, considered to be a period of fun-loving and laxity, esp in sexual morals
- the thousand guineas — an annual horse race, restricted to fillies, run at Newmarket since 1814
- thought transference — transference of thought by extrasensory means from the mind of one individual to another; telepathy.
- thread language zero — (language) (TL0) The instruction set of the TAM (Threaded Abstract Machine), used to implement Id.
- to bring up the rear — If a person or vehicle is bringing up the rear, they are the last person or vehicle in a moving line of them.
- to get your bearings — to find out where one is or to find out what one should do next
- to get your own back — If you get your own back on someone, you have your revenge on them because of something bad that they have done to you.
- to spread your wings — If you spread your wings, you do something new and rather difficult or move to a new place, because you feel more confident in your abilities than you used to and you want to gain wider experience.
- to stand your ground — If you stand your ground or hold your ground, you continue to support a particular argument or to have a particular opinion when other people are opposing you or trying to make you change your mind.
- transposed conjugate — adjoint (def 2).
- travelling-wave tube — an electronic tube in which an electron beam interacts with a distributed high-frequency magnetic field so that energy is transferred from the beam to the field
- trigeminal neuralgia — tic douloureux.
- trustee savings bank — a British financial institution which offered savings facilities for small investors and was managed by unpaid trustees. Depositors had no voting rights and no say in financial or managerial matters. The bank is now a public limited company with the same rights and services as other banks and only retains the title in the abbreviated form TSB.
- tubing head pressure — The tubing head pressure is the pressure on the tubing, which is measured at the wellhead.
- twelve-string guitar — an acoustic guitar having twelve strings instead of six, with each pair tuned an octave apart, and more difficult to play than the standard guitar.
- weights and measures — units or standards of measurement
- working-capital fund — a fund established to finance operating activities in an industrial enterprise.