24-letter words containing h, e, r, b
- rock back on one's heels — to astonish or be astonished
- scalable vector graphics — (graphics, web) A W3C standard for vector graphics, based on XML.
- second earl of shelburne — William Petty Fitzmaurice, 2nd Earl of, 1st Marquess of Lansdowne, William Petty Fizmaurice Lansdowne.
- skeleton in the cupboard — a scandalous fact or event in the past that is kept secret
- southern british english — the dialect of spoken English regarded as standard in England and considered as having high social status in comparison with other British English dialects. Historically, it is derived from the S East Midland dialect of Middle English
- southern cornstalk borer — the larva of a grass moth, Diatraea crambidoides, occurring in the southeastern U.S. from Maryland to Georgia, that is sometimes a serious pest, especially of corn.
- standard housing benefit — a rebate of a proportion of a person's eligible housing costs paid by a local authority and calculated on the basis of level of income and family size
- sth bodes ill/augurs ill — If something bodes ill or augurs ill, it gives you a reason to fear that something harmful might happen soon.
- the birds and (the) bees — Some people refer to the birds and the bees when they are talking about sex, especially to children.
- the realm of possibility — If you say that something is not beyond the realms of possibility, you mean that it is possible.
- the red badge of courage — a novel (1895) by Stephen Crane.
- the star-spangled banner — Stars and Stripes.
- three-spined stickleback — a small teleost fish, Gasterosteus aculeatus, of the family Gasterosteidae, of rivers and coastal regions, having three spines along the back and occurring in cold and temperate northern regions
- throw one's weight about — to act in an authoritarian or aggressive manner
- to break someone's heart — If someone breaks your heart, they make you very sad and unhappy, usually because they end a love affair or close relationship with you.
- to break the back of sth — If you break the back of a task or problem, you do the most difficult part of what is necessary to complete the task or solve the problem.
- to burn the midnight oil — If someone is burning the midnight oil, they are staying up very late in order to study or do some other work.
- to change for the better — If something changes for the better, it improves.
- to go for the brass ring — to try to succeed in an area where there is a lot of competition
- to have seen better days — If you say that something has seen better days, you mean that it is old and in poor condition.
- to make boundary changes — to change the boundaries of parliamentary constituencies, because of population shifts
- to strike a blow for sth — If you strike a blow for a particular cause or principle, you do something that supports it or makes it more likely to succeed.
- under the sway of sb/sth — If you are under the sway of someone or something, they have great influence over you.
- variable pitch propeller — a propeller in which the angle of the blades with regard to air flow can be adjusted while it is in operation
- webster-ashburton treaty — U.S. History. an agreement between the U.S. and England (1842) defining the boundary between British and American territory from Maine to present-day Minnesota.