24-letter words containing i, s, o, p, h
- open system architecture — (operating system) (OSA) A competitor to IBM's SNA.
- phosphorus sesquisulfide — (not in scientific use) a yellow, crystalline, flammable substance, P 4 S 3 , insoluble in cold water and decomposed by hot water: used chiefly in organic synthesis and in the manufacture of matches.
- photomechanical transfer — a method of producing photographic prints or offset printing plates from paper negatives by a chemical transfer process rather than by exposure to light
- physiological atmosphere — ecosphere.
- physiological psychology — the branch of psychology concerned with the relationship between the physical functioning of an organism and its behavior.
- pin something on someone — to lay the blame for something on someone
- plantation walking horse — one of a breed of saddle horses developed largely from Standardbred and Morgan stock.
- pluck sth out of the air — If you say that someone plucks a figure, name, or date out of the air, you mean that they say it without thinking much about it before they speak.
- polish people's republic — former name of Poland.
- preparatory to doing sth — If one action is done preparatory to another, it is done before the other action, usually as preparation for it.
- psychopathic personality — an antisocial personality characterized by the failure to develop any sense of moral responsibility and the capability of performing violent or antisocial acts
- punch above one's weight — to do something that is considered to be beyond one's ability
- put one's house in order — a building in which people live; residence for human beings.
- put their heads together — to consult together
- republic of south africa — Republic of, a country in S Africa; member of the Commonwealth of Nations until 1961. 472,000 sq. mi. (1,222,480 sq. km). Capitals: Pretoria and Cape Town.
- scalable vector graphics — (graphics, web) A W3C standard for vector graphics, based on XML.
- scholastic aptitude test — a standard assessment test for entry into college in the United States
- self-fulfilling prophecy — a prophecy that comes true because of the expectation that it will
- she is no spring chicken — she is no longer young
- shenandoah national park — a national park in N Virginia, including part of the Blue Ridge mountain range. 302 sq. mi. (782 sq. km).
- six nations championship — the annual competition involving national sides representing England, France, Ireland, Italy, Scotland, and Wales. Until the admission of Italy in 2000, it was known as the Five Nations Championship
- skeleton in the cupboard — a scandalous fact or event in the past that is kept secret
- sodium hexametaphosphate — See under Calgon.
- special checking account — a checking account that requires no minimum balance but in which a small charge is made for each check issued or drawn and for monthly maintenance.
- stereographic projection — a one-to-one correspondence between the points on a sphere and the extended complex plane where the north pole on the sphere corresponds to the point at infinity of the plane.
- superheterodyne receiver — a radio receiver that combines two radio-frequency signals by heterodyne action, to produce a signal above the audible frequency limit. This signal is amplified and demodulated to give the desired audio-frequency signal
- supportive psychotherapy — a type of psychotherapy that seeks to reduce psychological conflict and strengthen a patient's defenses through the use of various techniques, as reassurance, suggestion, counseling, and reeducation.
- synchronous graphics ram — Synchronous Graphics Random Access Memory
- telephony user interface — (communications) (TUI) Either a software interface to telephony (e.g. a phone-capable PC) or a DTMF-based interface to software (e.g. voicemail).
- the occupied territories — the areas of the West Bank, the Gaza Strip, and the Golan Heights occupied by Israel after the 1967 Six-Day War
- the realm of possibility — If you say that something is not beyond the realms of possibility, you mean that it is possible.
- thompson sub-machine-gun — a .45 calibre sub-machine-gun
- to go on a shopping trip — to go somewhere for the purpose of shopping
- to keep something at bay — If you keep something or someone at bay, or hold them at bay, you prevent them from reaching, attacking, or affecting you.
- to play your cards right — If you say that someone will achieve success if they play their cards right, you mean that they will achieve success if they act skilfully and use the advantages that they have.
- tri-nations championship — (from 1996–2011) the annual tournament in which the national sides representing Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa compete; in 2012 Argentina entered and the competition became the Rugby Championship
- trisodium orthophosphate — a sodium salt of orthophosphoric acid having the formula Na3PO4
- ultra low sulphur diesel — a type of diesel fuel that has a low sulphur content
- when one's ship comes in — a vessel, especially a large oceangoing one propelled by sails or engines.
- wolf in sheep's clothing — any of several large carnivorous mammals of the genus Canis, of the dog family Canidae, especially C. lupus, usually hunting in packs, formerly common throughout the Northern Hemisphere but now chiefly restricted to the more unpopulated parts of its range.