15-letter words containing k, a, s, p
- phenakistoscope — an early form of a zoetrope in which figures are depicted in different poses around the edge of a disc. When the disc is spun, and the figures observed through the apertures around the edge of the disc, they appear to be moving
- pick and choose — to choose or select from among a group: to pick a contestant from the audience.
- pick-and-shovel — marked by drudgery; laborious: the pick-and-shovel work necessary to get a political campaign underway.
- pickwick papers — (The Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club) a novel (1837) by Charles Dickens.
- pitch blackness — extreme darkness; lack of light
- planck constant — the fundamental constant of quantum mechanics, expressing the ratio of the energy of one quantum of radiation to the frequency of the radiation and approximately equal to 6.624 × 10− 27 erg-seconds. Symbol: h.
- planet-stricken — believed to be adversely affected mentally or physically by the planets
- play kissy-face — to engage in kissing, caressing, etc., esp. overtly or publicly
- pleasure-seeker — someone who always wants to have pleasure
- plumber's snake — snake (def 3a).
- police marksman — a police officer skilled in precision shooting, esp with a sniper rifle
- postman's knock — a children's party game in which a kiss is exchanged for a pretend letter
- power breakfast — If business people have a power breakfast, they go to a restaurant early in the morning so that they can have a meeting while they eat breakfast.
- proximity talks — a diplomatic process whereby an impartial representative acts as go-between for two opposing parties who are willing to attend the same conference but unwilling to meet face to face
- public speaking — the act of delivering speeches in public.
- rake's progress — a series of paintings and engravings by William Hogarth.
- red-back spider — a venomous spider, Latrodectus hasselti, of Australia and New Zealand, related to the black widow spider and having a bright red stripe on the back.
- sanitary napkin — a pad of absorbent material, as cotton, worn by women during menstruation to absorb the uterine flow.
- shark repellent — any tactic used by a corporation to prevent a takeover by a corporate raider.
- sharp as a tack — intelligent, quick witted
- shock probation — the release on probation of a criminal after brief imprisonment
- shopping basket — a metal or plastic container with one or two handles, used to carry shopping in a shop
- shrimp cocktail — prawns and lettuce in Mary Rose sauce
- shrink-wrapping — a flexible plastic wrapping designed to shrink about its contours to protect and seal something
- slap and tickle — sexual play
- spanish paprika — a cultivated pepper, Capsicum annuum, grown originally in Spain.
- spark generator — an alternating-current power source with a condenser discharging across a spark gap.
- sparkling water — soda water (def 1).
- speaking as sth — You can say 'speaking as a parent' or 'speaking as a teacher', for example, to indicate that the opinion you are giving is based on your experience as a parent or as a teacher.
- speaking of sth — You can say speaking of something that has just been mentioned as a way of introducing a new topic which has some connection with that thing.
- speckle pattern — the visual appearance of a star as viewed through a large telescope, with irregularities caused by the distorting effect of local turbulence in the earth's atmosphere.
- spell a paddock — to give a field a rest period by letting it lie fallow
- spiral notebook — a notebook held together by a coil of wire passed through small holes punched at the back edge of the covers and individual pages
- sport one's oak — to shut this door as a sign one does not want visitors
- sprinkler dance — a celebratory dance in which participants extend one arm and shake it to imitate the action of a rotating water sprinkler
- steak au poivre — pepper steak (def 2).
- stephen hawking — Stephen William, born 1942, English mathematician and theoretical physicist.
- strike pay dirt — to achieve one's objective
- swamp white oak — an oak, Quercus bicolor, of eastern North America, yielding a hard, heavy wood used in shipbuilding, for making furniture, etc.
- sympathetic ink — a fluid for producing writing that is invisible until brought out by heat, chemicals, etc.; invisible ink.
- sympathy strike — a strike by a body of workers, not because of grievances against their own employer, but by way of endorsing and aiding another group of workers who are on strike or have been locked out.
- take one's pick — If you are told to take your pick, you can choose any one that you like from a group of things.
- the black stump — an imaginary marker of the extent of civilization (esp in the phrase beyond the black stump)
- the upper ranks — the higher divisions of the armed forces
- thomas à kempis — Thomas à, 1379?–1471, German ecclesiastic and author.
- to take up arms — If one group or country takes up arms against another, they prepare to attack and fight them.
- turk's-cap lily — either of two lilies, Lilum martagon or L. superbum, having nodding flowers with the perianth segments rolled backward.
- university park — a city in N Texas.
- unsportsmanlike — a man who engages in sports, especially in some open-air sport, as hunting, fishing, racing, etc.
- yorke peninsula — a peninsula in S Australia between Spencer Gulf and the Gulf of St. Vincent. 160 miles (257 km) long and 20–35 miles (32–56 km) wide.