19-letter words containing l, a, r, y
- overplay one's hand — If you say that someone is overplaying something such as a problem, you mean that they are making it seem more important than it really is.
- oxyacetylene burner — a blowpipe for cutting or welding metals at high temperatures
- palisade parenchyma — the upper layer of ground tissue in a leaf, consisting of elongated cells beneath and perpendicular to the upper epidermis and constituting the primary area of photosynthesis.
- palomar observatory — an astronomical observatory situated on Palomar Mountain in S California, having a 200-inch (508-cm) reflecting telescope and a 48-inch (122-cm) Schmidt telescope.
- parliamentary agent — (in Britain) a person who is employed to manage the parliamentary business of a private group
- parthenogenetically — development of an egg without fertilization.
- particle technology — Particle technology is knowledge and study which relates to particles, and is used in industry.
- party-column ballot — Indiana ballot.
- peninsular malaysia — part of Malaysia, on the Malay Peninsula: consists of the former Federated Malay States, the former Unfederated Malay States, and the former Straits Settlements. Capital: Kuala Lumpur. Pop: 17 144 322 (2000). Area: 131 587 sq km (50 806 sq miles)
- peritoneal dialysis — a form of dialysis in which the peritoneum is used as an autogenous semipermeable membrane
- peroxysulfuric acid — persulfuric acid (def 1).
- perpetual inventory — a form of stock control in which running records are kept of all acquisitions and disposals
- personal stationery — headed notepaper
- phenylpropanolamine — a substance, C 9 H 1 3 NO, related to ephedrine and amphetamine, available in various popular nonprescription diet aids as an appetite suppressant.
- phenylthiocarbamide — a crystalline, slightly water-soluble solid, C 6 H 5 NHCSNH 2 , that is either tasteless or bitter, depending upon the heredity of the taster, and is used in medical genetics and as a diagnostic.
- philadelphia lawyer — a lawyer of outstanding ability at exploiting legal fine points and technicalities.
- photopolymerization — polymerization induced by light.
- physical addressing — (networking) The low level addressing scheme used on Ethernet. The 48-bit destination Ethernet address in a packet is compared with the receiving node's Ethernet address. Compare IP address.
- physical impairment — A physical impairment is a condition in which a part of a person's body is damaged or is not working properly.
- physically impaired — with reduced or weakened physical capacity
- play to the gallery — a raised area, often having a stepped or sloping floor, in a theater, church, or other public building to accommodate spectators, exhibits, etc.
- political geography — the branch of human geography that deals with the relationship between political processes and spatial structures (regions, territories, etc)
- politically correct — marked by or adhering to a typically progressive orthodoxy on issues involving especially ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, or ecology: The actor’s comment about unattractive women was not politically correct. The CEO feels that people who care about being politically correct are overly sensitive. Abbreviations: PC, P.C.
- polycarboxylic acid — a type of carboxylic acid containing two or more carboxyl groups
- polyphosphoric acid — any one of a series of oxyacids of phosphorus with the general formula Hn+2PnO3n+1. The first member is pyrophosphoric acid (n = 2) and the series includes the highly polymeric metaphosphoric acid. The higher acids exist in an equilibrium mixture
- popular sovereignty — the doctrine that sovereign power is vested in the people and that those chosen to govern, as trustees of such power, must exercise it in conformity with the general will.
- preliminary hearing — initial court session
- profitability study — a study of how much profit a company, organization, etc, makes or how profitable it is
- property speculator — a person who takes part in property speculation
- provably unsolvable — The set or property of problems for which no algorithm at all exists. E.g. the Halting Problem. See also provably difficult.
- puerperal psychosis — a mental disorder sometimes occurring in women after childbirth, characterized by deep depression, delusions of the child's death, and homicidal feelings towards the child
- pyorrhea alveolaris — a chronic periodontitis of the gums and tooth sockets, characterized by the formation of pus and, usually, by loosening of the teeth
- pyorrhea-alveolaris — Pathology. a discharge of pus.
- pyrenees-orientales — a department in S France. 1600 sq. mi. (4145 sq. km). Capital: Perpignan.
- rayleigh scattering — the scattering of light by particles that are very small in relation to the wavelength of the light, and in which the intensity of the scattered light varies inversely with the fourth power of the wavelength.
- reciprocity failure — a failure of the two exposure variables, light intensity and exposure time, to behave in a reciprocal fashion at very high or very low values
- refreshable display — braille display
- regression analysis — Statistics. a procedure for determining a relationship between a dependent variable, as predicted success in college, and an independent variable, as a score on a scholastic aptitude test, for a given population. The relationship is expressed as an equation for a line (regres·sion·line) or curve (regres·sion·curve) in which any coefficient (regression coefficient) of the independent variable in the equation has been determined from a sample population.
- research laboratory — place for scientific experimentation
- respiratory failure — a condition in which the respiratory system is unable to provide an adequate supply of oxygen or to remove carbon dioxide efficiently
- reticulated tracery — tracery consisting in large part of a netlike arrangement of repeated geometrical figures.
- roosevelt corollary — a corollary (1904) to the Monroe Doctrine, asserting that the U.S. might intervene in the affairs of an American republic threatened with seizure or intervention by a European country.
- royal correspondent — a journalist who reports on matters relating to royalty
- rural free delivery — former name for rural delivery service. Abbreviation: R.F.D.
- salvage archaeology — the collection of archaeological data and materials from a site in danger of imminent destruction, as from new construction or flooding.
- san fernando valley — valley in SW Calif., partly in NW Los Angeles: c. 260 sq mi (673 sq km)
- sea of tranquillity — Astronomy. Mare Tranquillitatis.
- secondary qualities — one of the qualities attributed by the mind to an object perceived, such as color, temperature, or taste.
- see one's way clear — to be willing (to do something)
- self-congratulatory — the expression or feeling of uncritical satisfaction with oneself or one's own accomplishment, good fortune, etc.; complacency.