23-letter words containing h, o, r, a
- survival of the fittest — (not in technical use) natural selection.
- take sth in your stride — In British English, if you take a problem or difficulty in your stride, you deal with it calmly and easily. The American expression is take something in stride.
- tennessee walking horse — an American breed of horse, marked by its stamina and trained to move at a fast running walk
- thank one's lucky stars — any of the heavenly bodies, except the moon, appearing as fixed luminous points in the sky at night.
- the chamber of deputies — the lower legislative assembly in some parliaments
- the data protection act — a United Kingdom act of parliament designed to ensure the proper handling of information stored about individuals on computers and entitling individuals to find out what information is stored about them
- the department of state — the United States federal department concerned with foreign policy
- the information highway — the internet
- the kingdom of lorraine — an early medieval kingdom on the Meuse, Moselle, and Rhine rivers: later a duchy
- the library of congress — the official library of the United States in Washington, DC. It houses extensive collections in all subject areas and formats, important historical documents, and is also a depository for copyrighted materials.
- the metropolitan police — the police organization that is responsible for Greater London, excluding the City of London
- the royal naval reserve — the volunteer reserve force of the Royal Navy in the United Kingdom
- the scottish parliament — the devolved national legislature of Scotland, located in Edinburgh
- the taming of the shrew — a comedy (1594?) by Shakespeare.
- the teaching profession — the profession of a teacher
- the thrill of the chase — If you talk about the thrill of the chase, you are referring to the excitement that people feel when they are trying hard to get something.
- the whys and wherefores — The whys and wherefores of something are the reasons for it.
- there'll be hell to pay — If you say there'll be hell to pay, you are emphasizing that there will be serious trouble.
- throw down the gauntlet — a medieval glove, as of mail or plate, worn by a knight in armor to protect the hand.
- to change for the worse — If a situation changes for the worse, it becomes more unpleasant or more difficult.
- to draw the short straw — If you draw the short straw, you are chosen from a number of people to perform a job or duty that you will not enjoy.
- to drive a hard bargain — If people drive a hard bargain, they argue with determination in order to achieve a deal which is favourable to themselves.
- to force someone's hand — If you force someone's hand, you force them to act sooner than they want to, or to act in public when they would prefer to keep their actions secret.
- to have a police record — If you say that somebody has a police record, you mean that they have committed a crime or crimes and the police have a record of this.
- to have an axe to grind — If someone has an axe to grind, they are doing something for selfish reasons.
- to have feelings for sb — to be emotionally or sexually attracted to
- to have your hands full — If you have your hands full with something, you are very busy because of it.
- to keep a straight face — If you manage to keep a straight face, you manage to look serious, although you want to laugh.
- to keep a tight rein on — If you keep a tight rein on someone, you control them firmly.
- to pay through the nose — If you say that you paid through the nose for something, you are emphasizing that you had to pay what you consider too high a price for it.
- to play for high stakes — to gamble on something very important
- to pluck up the courage — If you pluck up the courage to do something that you feel nervous about, you make an effort to be brave enough to do it.
- to rise to the occasion — If you say that someone rose to the occasion, you mean that they did what was necessary to successfully overcome a difficult situation.
- to run someone to earth — If you run someone or something to earth, you find them after searching for them for a long time.
- to stick in your throat — If something sticks in your throat, you find it unacceptable.
- to win the popular vote — to get a majority as regards the votes cast by individual voters
- to your heart's content — as much as you please
- trigonal trisoctahedron — a trisoctahedron whose faces are triangles.
- turn a cold shoulder to — to treat with disdain; snub
- twenty-fourth amendment — an amendment to the U.S. Constitution, ratified in 1964, forbidding the use of the poll tax as a requirement for voting in national or U.S. Congressional elections.
- unconditional discharge — the release of a defendant without having to spend time on parole or probation
- under a gooseberry bush — used humorously in answering children's questions regarding their birth
- united church of canada — the largest Protestant denomination in Canada, formed in the 1920s by incorporating some Presbyterians and most Methodists
- urea-formaldehyde resin — any of a group of resins formed by the interaction of urea and formaldehyde under conditions that include heat and pH control: used chiefly in the manufacture of buttons, baking enamels, and for making fabrics wrinkle-resistant.
- vestibulocochlear nerve — either one of the eight pairs of cranial nerves that supply the cochlea and semicircular canals of the internal ear and contribute to the sense of hearing
- viscount horatio nelson — Viscount Horatio, 1758–1805, British admiral.
- what the doctor ordered — something needed or desired
- when the chips are down — a small, slender piece, as of wood, separated by chopping, cutting, or breaking.
- white-coat hypertension — the phenomenon of having elevated blood pressure only during a medical consultation
- wholly-owned subsidiary — A wholly-owned subsidiary is a company whose shares are all owned by another company.