21-letter words containing i, f, h
- purple-fringed orchis — either of two North American orchids (Habenaria psycodes and H. fimbriata) with purple-fringed flowers
- reconnaissance flight — a flight made by an aircraft in order to obtain military information about a particular place
- record of achievement — a statement of the personal and educational development of each pupil
- reinforcement therapy — a behavior modification technique in which appropriate behavior is strengthened through systematic reinforcement.
- roll-on-roll-off ship — a cargo ship or ferry designed so that vehicles can be driven straight on and straight off
- rutherford scattering — the scattering of an alpha particle through a large angle with respect to the original direction of motion of the particle, caused by an atom (Rutherford atom) with most of the mass and all of the positive electric charge concentrated at a center or nucleus.
- safe in the knowledge — If you do something safe in the knowledge that something else is the case, you do the first thing confidently because you are sure of the second thing.
- satisficing behaviour — the form of behaviour demonstrated by firms who seek satisfactory profits and satisfactory growth rather than maximum profits
- schema definition set — (SDS) Something in Portable Common Tool Environment.
- school of the soldier — an institution where instruction is given, especially to persons under college age: The children are at school.
- self-characterization — portrayal; description: the actor's characterization of a politician.
- set the world on fire — the earth or globe, considered as a planet.
- siamese fighting fish — a labyrinth fish, Betta splendens, that has been bred for centuries to develop brilliant coloration, very long fins, and pugnacity.
- sieve of eratosthenes — a method of obtaining prime numbers by sifting out the composite numbers from the set of natural numbers so that only prime numbers remain.
- something for nothing — If you say that someone is getting something for nothing, you disapprove of the fact that they are getting what they want without doing or giving anything in return.
- south pacific current — an ocean current that flows E in the South Pacific Ocean parallel to the Antarctic Circumpolar Current.
- sovereign wealth fund — an investment fund created using the financial assets of a national government
- spotted alfalfa aphid — a pale yellowish aphid, Therioaphis maculata, of the southern U.S., especially west of the Mississippi River, that is marked with black spots and has fine spines on its back: a pest mainly of alfalfa and some other legumes, as clover.
- staffordshire terrier — former name of American Staffordshire terrier.
- stare one in the face — to be glaringly obvious or imminent
- stations of the cross — a series of 14 crosses, often accompanied by 14 pictures or carvings, arranged in order around the walls of a church, to commemorate 14 supposed stages in Christ's journey to Calvary
- symphonie fantastique — a programmatic symphony (1830–31) in five movements by Hector Berlioz.
- synchronized shifting — gear shifting in which the gears to be meshed are made to rotate at the same speed.
- teacher certification — official qualifications for educators
- the acting profession — actors considered as a group
- the barber of seville — Italian Il barbiere di Siviglia. a comic opera (1816) by Gioacchino Rossini based on a comedy (1775) by Beaumarchais.
- the battle of britain — from August to October 1940, the prolonged bombing of S England by the German Luftwaffe and the successful resistance by the RAF Fighter Command, which put an end to the German plan of invading Britain
- the birth of a nation — an American film (1915), directed by D. W. Griffith.
- the flickertail state — a name for the state of North Dakota
- the microsoft network — (networking) (MSN) Microsoft's ISP and online content service, launched in October 1996. Not to be confused with Microsoft Networking. MSN was originally based on custom software and protocols, however Microsoft saw the error of their ways and adopted Internet standards. MSN now provides standard WWW and email facilities, albeit with Microsoft's Internet Explorer web-browser and the Outlook Express email software. The service also provides "Community Services" including newsgroups, forums, and chat.
- the middle of nowhere — remote place
- the oldest profession — prostitution
- the origin of species — (On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, or the Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life) a treatise (1859) by Charles Darwin setting forth his theory of evolution.
- the rock of gibraltar — a limestone promontory at the tip of S Spain
- the shipping forecast — a radio broadcast made by the BBC of weather reports and forecasts for the seas around the British Isles
- the shit hits the fan — the real trouble begins
- the stationery office — (in the UK) the company that supplies the civil service with all its office supplies, machinery, printing and binding, etc
- the supreme sacrifice — the sacrifice of one's life
- theater of operations — the part of the theater of war, including a combat zone and a communications zone, that is engaged in military operations and their support.
- thermoelectric effect — the production of an electromotive force in a thermocouple.
- thin end of the wedge — anything unimportant in itself that implies the start of something much larger
- to fall into the trap — If someone falls into the trap of doing something, they think or behave in a way which is not wise or sensible.
- to fly in the face of — If an action or belief flies in the face of accepted ideas or rules, it seems to completely oppose or contradict them.
- to have green fingers — If someone has green fingers, they are very good at gardening and their plants grow well.
- to my way of thinking — You add to my way of thinking to a statement in order to indicate that you are giving your opinion.
- to shoot from the hip — If you say that someone shoots from the hip or fires from the hip, you mean that they react to situations or give their opinion very quickly, without stopping to think.
- to think better of it — If you intend to do something and then think better of it, you decide not to do it because you realize it would not be sensible.
- triethyl orthoformate — a colorless liquid, C 7 H 16 O 3 , used chiefly in organic synthesis.
- union of south africa — former name for South Africa, Republic of.
- until the end of time — If you say that something will happen or be true until the end of time or to the end of time, you are emphasizing that it will always happen or always be true.