25-letter words containing h, e, a, l

polymerase chain reaction — a technique in which a known DNA sequence is synthesized at high temperatures by means of a polymerase, producing millions of copies for statistical analysis: used in DNA fingerprinting, in detecting minute quantities of cancer cells, etc.
polynomial-time algorithm — (complexity) A known algorithm (or Turing Machine) that is guaranteed to terminate within a number of steps which is a polynomial function of the size of the problem. See also computational complexity, exponential time, nondeterministic polynomial-time (NP), NP-complete.
portable network graphics — (file format) /ping/ (PNG) An extensible file format for the lossless, portable, well-compressed storage of raster images. PNG provides a patent-free replacement for GIF and can also replace many common uses of TIFF. Indexed-colour, greyscale and truecolour images are supported, plus an optional alpha channel. Sample depths range from 1 to 16 bits. PNG is designed for on-line viewing applications, such as the World Wide Web, so it is fully streamable with a progressive display option. PNG is robust, providing both full file integrity checking and simple detection of common transmission errors. Also, PNG can store gamma correction and chromaticity data for improved colour matching on heterogeneous platforms.
psychiatric social worker — (in Britain) a qualified person who works with mentally-ill people and their families, based in a psychiatric hospital, child guidance clinic, or social services department area team, and who may also be an approved social worker
raise (or lower) the bar — raise (or lower) the standard of judgment
ram's-head lady's-slipper — a rare, slender-stemmed orchid, Cypripedium arietinum, of northeastern North America, that has crimson-streaked, whitish-lipped flowers with purple sepals and grows in moist soil.
rate monotonic scheduling — (algorithm) A means of scheduling the time allocated to periodic hard-deadline real-time users of a resource. The users are assigned priorities such that a shorter fixed period between deadlines is associated with a higher priority. Rate monotonic scheduling provides a low-overhead, reasonably resource-efficient means of guaranteeing that all users will meet their deadlines provided that certain analytical equations are satisfied during the system design. It avoids the design complexity of time-line scheduling and the overhead of dynamic approaches such as earliest-deadline scheduling.
rehabilitation department — a government department set up after World War II to assist ex-servicemen
ruffle someone's feathers — one of the horny structures forming the principal covering of birds, consisting typically of a hard, tubular portion attached to the body and tapering into a thinner, stemlike portion bearing a series of slender, barbed processes that interlock to form a flat structure on each side.
saddle block (anesthesia) — a method of spinal anesthesia, often used during obstetric delivery, that produces anesthesia in that area of the body that would be in contact with a saddle during horseback riding
selective synchronization — a sound-recording process that facilitates overdubs by feeding the recorded track to the performer straight from the recording head
sequential parlog machine — (SPM) The virtual machine (and its machine code) for the Parlog logic programming language.
slip/fall through the net — You use slip through the net or fall through the net to describe a situation where people are not properly cared for by the system that is intended to help them.
stand in a person's light — to stand so as to obscure a person's vision
sulphate-resisting cement — a type of Portland cement that resists normal concentrations of sulphates: used in concrete for flues and underwater work
take the queen's shilling — to enlist in the army
take up the cudgels (for) — to come to the defense (of)
tetragonal trisoctahedron — Geometry. a trisoctahedron the faces of which are quadrilaterals; trapezohedron.
thank one's (lucky) stars — to be thankful for what appears to be good luck
the ball is in sb's court — If you say that the ball is in someone's court, you mean that it is his or her responsibility to take the next action or decision in a situation.
the ball is in your court — you are obliged to make the next move
the calm before the storm — You can use the calm before the storm to refer to a quiet period in which there is little or no activity, before a period in which there is a lot of trouble or intense activity.
the empire state building — a very high skyscraper in New York City
the industrial revolution — the transformation in the 18th and 19th centuries of first Britain and then other W European countries and the US into industrial nations
the leaning tower of pisa — the bell tower of Pisa Cathedral
the length and breadth of — If you say that someone does something or something happens throughout or across the length and breadth of a place, you are emphasizing that it happens everywhere in that place.
the meteorological office — a British Government department supplying weather forecasts
the mother of parliaments — the British Parliament: the model and creator of many other Parliaments
the politically incorrect — politically incorrect people considered collectively
the scholastic profession — the profession of teaching
there are no flies on him — he is no fool
thermal imaging equipment — heat-sensitive devices that can detect or provide images of people or things
thermodynamic equilibrium — the condition of an isolated system in which the quantities that specify its properties, such as pressure, temperature, etc, all remain unchanged
thermoluminescence dating — a method of dating archaeological specimens, chiefly pottery, by measuring the radiation given off by ceramic materials as they are heated.
thin-layer chromatography — chromatography in which glass plates coated with thin layers of alumina, silica gel, or cellulose are used as an adsorbent.
through the looking-glass — a story for children (1871) by Lewis Carroll: the sequel to Alice's Adventures in Wonderland.
to be living proof that … — to show that
to call something to mind — If something brings another thing to mind or calls another thing to mind, it makes you think of that other thing, usually because it is similar in some way.
to drink someone's health — When you drink to someone's health or drink their health, you have a drink as a sign of wishing them health and happiness.
to hold someone to ransom — If a kidnapper is holding someone to ransom or holding them ransom in British English, or is holding a person for ransom in American English, they keep that person prisoner until they are given what they want.
to keep a watchful eye on — If you keep a watchful eye on someone or something, you watch carefully to make sure there are no problems.
to lay claim to something — If you lay claim to something you do not have, you say that it belongs to you.
to lay siege to something — If police, soldiers, or journalists lay siege to a place, they surround it in order to force the people there to come out or give up control of the place.
to pull out all the stops — If you pull out all the stops, you do everything you can to make something happen or succeed.
to read between the lines — If you read between the lines, you understand what someone really means, or what is really happening in a situation, even though it is not said openly.
to sail close to the wind — If you sail close to the wind, you take a risk by doing or saying something that may get you into trouble.
to sound the death knelll — If you say that something sounds the death knell for a particular person or thing, you mean it will cause that person or thing to fail, end, or cease to exist.
to teach someone a lesson — If you say that you are going to teach someone a lesson, you mean that you are going to punish them for something that they have done so that they do not do it again.
touch/cover all the bases — If someone touches all the bases or covers the bases, they deal with everyone or everything involved in a situation.
track and field athletics — a collection of sporting events that involve running, sprinting, throwing, jumping and walking

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