18-letter words containing k, a
- the northern karoo — a high arid plateau in South Africa, north of the Central Karoo
- the-cocktail-party — a play in verse (1950) by T. S. Eliot.
- the-dark-continent — Africa: so called, especially during the 19th century, because little was known about it.
- thorfinn karlsefni — 980–after 1007, Icelandic navigator, explorer, and leader of early colonizing expedition to Vinland, in North America.
- tick all the boxes — to satisfy all of the apparent requirements for success
- ticker-tape parade — a parade honoring a visiting dignitary, hero, or the like in which confetti, shredded newspapers, or the like are showered into the streets from buildings along the parade route.
- timber rattlesnake — a rattlesnake, Crotalus horridus horridus, of the eastern U.S., usually having the body marked with dark crossbands.
- to clear the decks — If you clear the decks, you get ready to start something new by finishing any work that has to be done or getting rid of any problems that are in the way.
- to lay it on thick — If someone is laying it on thick or is laying it on, they are exaggerating a statement, experience, or emotion in order to try to impress people.
- to lick into shape — If you lick, knock, or whip someone or something into shape, you use whatever methods are necessary to change or improve them so that they are in the condition that you want them to be in.
- to pick and choose — If you pick and choose, you carefully choose only things that you really want and reject the others.
- to speak your mind — If you speak your mind, you say firmly and honestly what you think about a situation, even if this may offend or upset people.
- to take a dim view — If you take a dim view or a poor view of someone or something, you disapprove of them or have a low opinion of them.
- to take the mickey — If you take the mickey out of someone or something, you make fun of them, usually in an unkind way.
- to take the plunge — If you take the plunge, you decide to do something that you consider difficult or risky.
- track geometry car — a railroad car equipped with instruments for providing a continuous printed record of the cross level, gauge, alignment, warp, curvature, and bank of a track.
- transmission brake — A transmission brake is a brake that operates on the transmission system of a vehicle rather than directly on the wheels.
- treaty of rijswijk — a treaty signed at Rijswijk in the Netherlands in 1697, ending the War of the Grand Alliance
- trickle irrigation — drip irrigation.
- truck center plate — one of a pair of plates that fit together and support the body of a car on a truck, while allowing the truck to rotate with respect to the body. One plate (body center plate) is attached to the underside of the car body and the other (truck center plate) is part of the car truck.
- turk's-head cactus — a cactus, Melocactus communis, of Jamaica, having needlelike spines and a cylindrical body with a tawny-red, fezlike terminal part bearing red flowers.
- turn one's back on — the rear part of the human body, extending from the neck to the lower end of the spine.
- under lock and key — a device for securing a door, gate, lid, drawer, or the like in position when closed, consisting of a bolt or system of bolts propelled and withdrawn by a mechanism operated by a key, dial, etc.
- under the jackboot — If a country or group of people is under the jackboot, they are suffering because the government is cruel and undemocratic.
- upper klamath lake — See under Klamath Lakes.
- vicar of wakefield — a novel (1766) by Goldsmith.
- virginia snakeroot — any of various plants whose roots have been regarded as a remedy for snakebites, as the herb Aristolochia serpentaria (Virginia snakeroot) having a medicinal rhizome and rootlets, and the white-flowered Polygala senega (Seneca snakeroot) having a medicinal root.
- war risk insurance — life insurance for members of the armed forces.
- water stick insect — a slender sticklike flightless water bug, Ranatra linearis, that is predatory on small creatures such as water fleas
- watson-crick model — a widely accepted model for the three-dimensional structure of DNA, featuring a double-helix configuration for the molecule's two hydrogen-bonded complementary polynucleotide strands.
- weak nuclear force — weak interaction
- wernicke's aphasia — a type of aphasia caused by a lesion in Wernicke's area of the brain and characterized by grammatical but more or less meaningless speech and an apparent inability to comprehend speech.
- western meadowlark — any of several American songbirds of the genus Sturnella, of the family Icteridae, especially S. magna (eastern meadowlark) and S. neglecta (western meadowlark) having a brownish and black back and wings and a yellow breast, noted for their clear, tuneful song.
- westinghouse brake — a railroad air brake operated by compressed air.
- whittaker chambers — Robert, 1802–71, Scottish publisher and editor.
- wingback formation — single wingback formation.
- work one's ass off — work extremely hard
- work-study program — a program enabling high-school or college students to combine academic work with actual job experience.
- wpa pre-shared key — Wi-Fi Protected Access Pre-Shared Key
- yerkes observatory — an astronomical observatory located in Williams Bay, Wisconsin, affiliated with the University of Chicago, and having a 40-inch (102-cm) refracting telescope, the largest refractor in the world.
- zion national park — a park in SW Utah. 148 sq. mi. (383 sq. km).