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15-letter words containing h, a, s, t

  • towers of hanoi — (games)   A classic computer science problem, invented by Edouard Lucas in 1883, often used as an example of recursion. "In the great temple at Benares, says he, beneath the dome which marks the centre of the world, rests a brass plate in which are fixed three diamond needles, each a cubit high and as thick as the body of a bee. On one of these needles, at the creation, God placed sixty-four discs of pure gold, the largest disc resting on the brass plate, and the others getting smaller and smaller up to the top one. This is the Tower of Bramah. Day and night unceasingly the priests transfer the discs from one diamond needle to another according to the fixed and immutable laws of Bramah, which require that the priest on duty must not move more than one disc at a time and that he must place this disc on a needle so that there is no smaller disc below it. When the sixty-four discs shall have been thus transferred from the needle on which at the creation God placed them to one of the other needles, tower, temple, and Brahmins alike will crumble into dust, and with a thunderclap the world will vanish." The recursive solution is: Solve for n-1 discs recursively, then move the remaining largest disc to the free needle. Note that there is also a non-recursive solution: On odd-numbered moves, move the smallest sized disk clockwise. On even-numbered moves, make the single other move which is possible.
  • track athletics — sporting activities, such as relay running or sprinting, which take place on a running track
  • training scheme — a scheme for teaching people skills in a particular field or profession
  • training school — a school that provides training in some art, profession, or vocation.
  • training wheels — a pair of small wheels attached one on each side of the rear wheel of a bicycle for stability while one is learning to ride.
  • trainspotterish — obsessed with trivial details, esp of a subject generally considered uninteresting
  • trans-euphrates — a river in SW Asia, flowing from E Turkey through Syria and Iraq, joining the Tigris to form the Shatt-al-Arab near the Persian Gulf. 1700 miles (2735 km) long.
  • trans-himalayan — the, a mountain range extending about 1500 miles (2400 km) along the border between India and Tibet. Highest peak, Mt. Everest, 29,028 feet (8848 meters).
  • transhistorical — occurring throughout all human history
  • transverse arch — a supporting arch or rib that runs across a vault from side to side, dividing the bays.
  • tristram shandy — a novel (1759–67) by Laurence Sterne.
  • trout fisherman — a fisherman who catches trout
  • tsushima strait — a channel between the Tsushima islands and Kyushu island, connecting the Sea of Japan and the East China Sea: sometimes considered part of the Korea Strait. About 60 miles (97 km) long; 40 miles (64 km) wide.
  • turkish tobacco — a strongly aromatic tobacco, grown chiefly in Turkey and Greece, used in cigarettes.
  • turn the scales — to determine or decide something uncertain
  • turn the tables — an article of furniture consisting of a flat, slablike top supported on one or more legs or other supports: a kitchen table; an operating table; a pool table.
  • ultrasonography — a diagnostic imaging technique utilizing reflected high-frequency sound waves to delineate, measure, or examine internal body structures or organs.
  • unaesthetically — offensive to the aesthetic sense; lacking in beauty or sensory appeal; unpleasant, as an object, design, arrangement, etc.: an unaesthetic combination of colors.
  • unanaesthetized — not anaesthetized
  • unchristianlike — not like a Christian; not in accordance with Christian teaching and values
  • under one's hat — a shaped covering for the head, usually with a crown and brim, especially for wear outdoors.
  • unseaworthiness — constructed, outfitted, manned, and in all respects fitted for a voyage at sea.
  • unsophisticated — not sophisticated; simple; artless.
  • unteachableness — the quality or condition of being unteachable
  • urquhart castle — a castle near Drumnadrochit in Highland, Scotland: situated on Loch Ness
  • vanishing point — a point of disappearance, cessation, or extinction: His patience had reached the vanishing point.
  • vegetable sheep — any of various species of the genus Raoulia, esp R. mammillaris or R. eximia, of New Zealand rocky mountains: a small low bush having white flowers and hairy leaves which, from a distance, make it look like a sheep
  • venetian school — any of various groups of artists identified with Venice throughout the history of Italian art but most notably the painters of the 18th century, as Giovanni Battista Tiepolo, Francesco Guardi, and Antonio Canaletto.
  • venus hairstone — a variety of rutilated quartz, used as a gemstone.
  • vermouth cassis — a mixed drink made with dry vermouth, crème de cassis, soda or mineral water, and cracked ice.
  • vicar of christ — the pope, with reference to his claim to stand in the place of Jesus Christ and possess His authority in the church.
  • walking catfish — an Asian catfish, Clarias batrachus, that can survive out of water and move overland from one body of water to another: introduced into Florida.
  • walnut husk fly — any of several fruit flies, as Rhagoletis completa, the larvae of which feed on and discolor walnut husks.
  • walpurgis night — (especially in medieval German folklore) the evening preceding the feast day of St. Walpurgis, when witches congregated, especially on the Brocken.
  • walrus mustache — a thick, shaggy mustache hanging down loosely at both ends.
  • warmheartedness — The quality of being warmhearted.
  • washington lily — a lily, Lilium washingtonianum, of the western coast of the U.S., having whorled leaves and fragrant, purple-spotted white flowers.
  • washington palm — a palm tree, Washingtonia filifera, of California and Florida, having large fan-shaped leaves and small black fruits
  • weather station — an installation equipped and used for meteorological observation.
  • wentworth scale — a scale for specifying the sizes (diameters) of sedimentary particles, ranging from clay particles (less than 1⁄256 mm) to boulders (over 256 mm)
  • west hartlepool — a former borough, now part of Hartlepool, in Cleveland County, in NE England, at the mouth of the Tees.
  • west palm beach — a city in SE Florida: winter resort.
  • westphalian ham — a hard German ham with a distinctive flavor derived from being smoked over beechwood and juniper.
  • whaling station — a place where the carcases of whales were processed
  • what's cooking? — what's happening?
  • what's-her-name — a girl or woman whose name is unknown, temporarily forgotten, or deliberately overlooked
  • what's-his-name — man: forgotten name
  • whatshumacallit — Alternative form of whatchamacallit.
  • whip into shape — to bring by vigorous action into the proper or desired condition
  • white cast iron — cast iron having most or all of its carbon in the form of cementite and exhibiting a silvery fracture.
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