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14-letter words containing m, e, s, t, o

  • scratch monkey — (humour)   As in "Before testing or reconfiguring, always mount a scratch monkey", a proverb used to advise caution when dealing with irreplaceable data or devices. Used to refer to any scratch volume hooked to a computer during any risky operation as a replacement for some precious resource or data that might otherwise get trashed. This term preserves the memory of Mabel, the Swimming Wonder Monkey, star of a biological research program at the University of Toronto. Mabel was not (so the legend goes) your ordinary monkey; the university had spent years teaching her how to swim, breathing through a regulator, in order to study the effects of different gas mixtures on her physiology. Mabel suffered an untimely demise one day when a DEC engineer troubleshooting a crash on the program's VAX inadvertently interfered with some custom hardware that was wired to Mabel. It is reported that, after calming down an understandably irate customer sufficiently to ascertain the facts of the matter, a DEC troubleshooter called up the field circus manager responsible and asked him sweetly, "Can you swim?" Not all the consequences to humans were so amusing; the sysop of the machine in question was nearly thrown in jail at the behest of certain clueless droids at the local "humane" society. The moral is clear: When in doubt, always mount a scratch monkey. A corespondent adds: The details you give are somewhat consistent with the version I recall from the Digital "War Stories" notesfile, but the name "Mabel" and the swimming bit were not mentioned, IIRC. Also, there's a very detailed account that claims that three monkies died in the incident, not just one. I believe Eric Postpischil wrote the original story at DEC, so his coming back with a different version leads me to wonder whether there ever was a real Scratch Monkey incident.
  • sedimentologic — of or relating to sedimentology
  • self-adornment — something that adds attractiveness; ornament; accessory: the adornments and furnishings of a room.
  • self-enjoyment — the act of enjoying.
  • self-formation — the act or process of forming or the state of being formed: the formation of ice.
  • self-important — having or showing an exaggerated opinion of one's own importance; pompously conceited or haughty.
  • self-motivated — initiative to undertake or continue a task or activity without another's prodding or supervision.
  • self-promotion — advancement in rank or position.
  • semi-automated — partially automated.
  • semi-automatic — partly automatic.
  • semi-nocturnal — active at night (opposed to diurnal): nocturnal animals.
  • semi-objective — something that one's efforts or actions are intended to attain or accomplish; purpose; goal; target: the objective of a military attack; the objective of a fund-raising drive.
  • semi-somnolent — sleepy; drowsy.
  • semiautonomous — partially self-governing, especially with reference to internal affairs.
  • semiconducting — of, relating to, or having the characteristics of a semiconductor.
  • semistarvation — the state of being nearly starved.
  • semito-hamitic — a former name for the Afro-Asiatic family of languages
  • sensationalism — subject matter, language, or style producing or designed to produce startling or thrilling impressions or to excite and please vulgar taste.
  • sequestrectomy — the removal of dead spicules or portions, especially of bone.
  • sergeant major — U.S. Army, Air Force, and Marine Corps. a noncommissioned officer serving as chief administrative assistant in a unit headquarters.
  • short-tempered — having a quick, hasty temper; irascible.
  • shortened form — an abbreviated form of a multisyllable word; clipped form.
  • sidereal month — Also called calendar month. any of the twelve parts, as January or February, into which the calendar year is divided.
  • simone martini — Simone [see-maw-ne] /siˈmɔ nɛ/ (Show IPA), 1283–1344, Italian painter.
  • simple protein — a protein that yields only amino acids and no other major products when hydrolyzed (contrasted with conjugated protein).
  • simplex method — a numerical method for solving problems in linear programming.
  • simpson desert — an uninhabited arid region in central Australia, mainly in the Northern Territory. Area: about 145 000 sq km (56 000 sq miles)
  • simultaneously — existing, occurring, or operating at the same time; concurrent: simultaneous movements; simultaneous translation.
  • sit-down money — social security benefits
  • slalom descent — a winding descent
  • sleep movement — the folding together of leaflets, petals, etc, that occurs at night in certain plants, such as the prayer plant (Maranta leuconura)
  • slide mountain — a mountain in SE New York: highest peak of the Catskill Mountains. 4204 feet (1280 meters).
  • slide trombone — a musical wind instrument consisting of a cylindrical metal tube expanding into a bell and bent twice in a U shape, usually equipped with a slide (slide trombone)
  • small potatoes — a person or thing of little significance, importance, or value: His salary was small potatoes for an executive of his ability.
  • smoke detector — an electronic fire alarm that is activated by the presence of smoke.
  • smoking jacket — a loose-fitting jacket for men, often of a heavy fabric and trimmed with braid, worn indoors, especially as a lounging jacket.
  • smooth-tongued — fluent or convincing in speech; glib.
  • smothered mate — checkmate delivered by a knight when the king's mobility is restricted by his own pieces.
  • socioeconomist — the study of the interrelation between economics and social behavior.
  • sodium citrate — a white, crystalline or granular, water-soluble, odorless solid, Na 3 C 6 H 5 O 7 ⋅2H 2 O, having a cool, saline taste: used in photography, in soft drinks, and in medicine chiefly to prevent the coagulation of blood.
  • sodium lactate — a water-soluble, hygroscopic salt, C 3 H 5 NaO 3 , used in solution in medicine to treat metabolic acidosis, usually by injection.
  • sodium nitrate — a crystalline, water-soluble compound, NaNO 3 , that occurs naturally as soda niter: used in fertilizers, explosives, and glass, and as a color fixative in processed meats.
  • sodium nitrite — Chemistry. a yellowish or white crystalline compound, NaNO 2 , soluble in water, slightly soluble in alcohol and ether: used in the manufacture of dyes and as a color fixative.
  • sodium sulfate — a white, crystalline, water-soluble solid, Na 2 SO 4 , used chiefly in the manufacture of dyes, soaps, detergents, glass, and ceramic glazes.
  • sodium sulfite — a white, crystalline, water-soluble solid, Na 2 SO 3 , used chiefly as a food preservative, as a bleaching agent, and as a developer in photography.
  • soft ice-cream — a softer and lighter-textured ice cream that contains more air than standard ice-cream. It was developed in Britain in the 20th century.
  • soft margarine — a soft, spreadable margarine that is made with more liquid oils and less hydrogenated oils than hard, block margarine
  • solid geometry — the geometry of solid figures; geometry of three dimensions.
  • somali current — a current of the Indian Ocean, flowing northward along the coast of Somalia in summer and southwestward the rest of the year.
  • somar software — (company)   The distributors of Somar DumpAcl and other utilities for Windows NT. Address: Washington, DC, USA.
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