23-letter words containing m, a, n, s
- installable file system — (operating system) (IFS or "File System Driver", "FSD") An API that allows you to extend OS/2 to access files stored on disk in formats other than FAT and HPFS, and access files that are stored on a network file server. For example an IFS could provide programs running under OS/2 (including DOS and Windows programs) with access to files stored under Unix using the Berkeley fast file system. The other variety of IFS (a "remote file system" or "redirector") allows file sharing over a LAN, e.g. using Unix's Network File System protocol. In this case, the IFS passes a program's file access requests to a remote file server, possibly also translating between different file attributes used by OS/2 and the remote system. Documentation on the IFS API has been available only by special request from IBM. An IFS is structured as an ordinary 16-bit DLL with entry points for opening, closing, reading, and writing files, the swapper, file locking, and Universal Naming Convention. The main part of an IFS that runs in ring 0 is called by the OS/2 kernel in the context of the caller's process and thread. The other part that runs in ring 3 is a utility library with entry points for FORMAT, RECOVER, SYS, and CHKDSK.
- interfascicular cambium — cambium that develops between the vascular bundles.
- islamic fundamentalists — Muslims who believe in, advocate or support a conservative adherence to literal or traditional interpretations of the Qu'ran and the Sunnah
- katmai new instructions — Streaming SIMD Extensions
- keep (a person) company — to stay with (a person) so as to provide companionship
- keep sb at arm's length — If you keep someone at arm's length, you avoid becoming too friendly or involved with them.
- knight in shining armor — chivalrous man
- l'apres-midi d'un faune — L'Après-midi d'un Faune.
- last will and testament — law: instructions for after death
- lawrence livermore labs — Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
- lossy audio compression — (audio, compression) Any audio compression algorithm which does not retain every bit of data but only reproduces a signal that sounds more or less like the original. Examples are MP1, MP2, MP3, AAC.
- magnetic field strength — that part of the magnetic induction that is determined at any point in space by the current density and displacement current at that point independently of the magnetic or other physical properties of the surrounding medium. Symbol: H.
- magnetic resonance scan — MR scan.
- magnetic susceptibility — the coefficient or set of coefficients of the magnetic intensity in any expression giving the components of magnetization as linear combinations of the components of magnetic intensity.
- main distribution frame — (networking) (MDF) The network closet containing the main hub.
- make allowances for sth — If you make allowances for something, you take it into account in your decisions, plans, or actions.
- make an honest woman of — to marry (a woman, esp one who is pregnant) to prevent scandal
- martha washington chair — a chair of the 18th century having a high upholstered back, a low upholstered seat, and short arms resting on incurvate supports.
- martha washington table — a sewing table of the 18th century having an oval top that can be lifted and a central compartment of drawers with semicircular bins at each end.
- mass sociogenic illness — a condition in which a large group of people report similar physical symptoms that are traceable to social factors, as social interaction within an environment.
- master gunnery sergeant — a noncommissioned officer ranking above a master sergeant. Abbreviation: Mgy Sgt.
- masters of the universe — extremely powerful and wealthy members of the financial professions
- maturity-onset diabetes — diabetes (def 4).
- maximal free expression — (MFE) A free expression is sub-expression of a lambda abstraction not containing the bound variable. A maximal free expression is a free expression not contained within any other free expression. See full laziness.
- meaningful relationship — a romantic relationship based upon mutual respect and supportiveness and marked by a sense of commitment and fulfillment.
- message digest function — one-way hash function
- message handling system — (messaging, standard) (MHS) The standard defined by ITU-T as X.400 and by ISO as Message-Oriented Text Interchange Standard (MOTIS). MHS is the X.400 family of services and protocols that provides the functions for global electronic mail transfer among local mail systems and MTAs. It is used by CompuServe, among others.
- message transport agent — Message Transfer Agent
- micro assembly language — (language) (MAL) A microprogramming language with high-level syntax, used in the reference below. See also Mic-1, Mac-1.
- midsummer night's dream — a comedy (1595?) by Shakespeare.
- modern sequence dancing — a form of dancing in which ballroom dance steps are used as the basis of a wide variety of different dances typically performed in a sequence
- more than meets the eye — hidden motives, meaning, or facts
- mortise and tenon joint — a joint (in wood or stone) using a mortise and tenon
- multiple-risk insurance — insurance that covers several risks
- newton's laws of motion — three laws of mechanics describing the motion of a body. The first law states that a body remains at rest or in uniform motion in a straight line unless acted upon by a force. The second law states that a body's rate of change of momentum is proportional to the force causing it. The third law states that when a force acts on a body due to another body, then an equal and opposite force acts simultaneously on that body
- nondisclosure agreement — a legal contract in which one or more parties agree to keep information, as a trade secret, confidential and protected for a specific amount of time. Abbreviation: NDA.
- nonessential amino acid — an amino acid that can be synthesized in the body
- not put it past someone — to consider someone capable of (the action specified)
- of many (or few) words — talkative (or not talkative)
- of many years' standing — You can use the expression of many years' standing to say that something has had a particular function or someone has had a particular role for many years. For example, if a place is your home of ten years' standing, it has been your home for ten years.
- on someone's coat-tails — thanks to the popularity or success of someone else
- on someone's wavelength — having similar views, feelings, or thoughts (as someone else)
- on the same wave length — Physics. the distance, measured in the direction of propagation of a wave, between two successive points in the wave that are characterized by the same phase of oscillation.
- osteogenesis imperfecta — a rare hereditary disease in which abnormal connective tissue development leads to fragile bones subject to fracture.
- parliamentary secretary — government minister's assistant
- pat someone on the back — to congratulate or encourage someone
- peroxymonosulfuric acid — persulfuric acid (def 1).
- pest control department — the local government department responsible for controlling such pests as rats and mice
- pharmaceuticals company — a company specialising in developing and marketing pharmaceuticals
- pin someone's ears back — the organ of hearing and equilibrium in vertebrates, in humans consisting of an external ear that gathers sound vibrations, a middle ear in which the vibrations resonate against the tympanic membrane, and a fluid-filled internal ear that maintains balance and that conducts the tympanic vibrations to the auditory nerve, which transmits them as impulses to the brain.