17-letter words containing n, a, o, w
- maxwell equations — equations developed by James Clerk Maxwell (1831–79) upon which classical electromagnetic theory is based
- mercy otis warren — Earl, 1891–1974, U.S. lawyer and political leader: chief justice of the U.S. 1953–69.
- middle low german — Low German of the period c1100–c1500.
- mileage allowance — the number of miles allowed to be travelled on a rented vehicle such as a car during the period it is rented or leased
- minion of the law — a policeman.
- mount fairweather — a mountain in W North America, on the border between Alaska and British Columbia. Height: 4663 m (15 300 ft)
- narrow-shouldered — having shoulders which do not extend very far from the neck; not broad-shouldered
- nervous breakdown — (not in technical use) any disabling mental disorder requiring treatment.
- network marketing — a marketing strategy in which sales representatives of a company recruit other salespeople and earn commissions on their own sales and on the sales made by their team: Use your personal relationships to be successful in network marketing.
- new lease on life — a contract renting land, buildings, etc., to another; a contract or instrument conveying property to another for a specified period or for a period determinable at the will of either lessor or lessee in consideration of rent or other compensation.
- new orleans style — a style of jazz developed in New Orleans early in the 20th century, influenced by blues, ragtime, marching band music, and minstrelsy and marked by polyphonic group improvisation.
- new scotland yard — See under Scotland Yard (def 1).
- newfoundland time — a form of civil time observed on the island of Newfoundland, one and one-half hours later than Eastern time and a half hour later than Atlantic time.
- nine days' wonder — an event or thing that arouses considerable but short-lived interest or excitement.
- ninety-day wonder — an officer commissioned in a branch of the armed forces after an unusually short training period, especially after a three-months officers' training course during World War II.
- non-manual worker — a person whose job involves the use of their mind, rather than the use of their hands or physical strength
- north-wall hammer — a type of ice axe that has a hammer as part of its head
- northcountrywoman — a female native or inhabitant of the North of England
- northwest passage — a ship route along the Arctic coast of Canada and Alaska, joining the Atlantic and Pacific oceans.
- norwegian current — an ocean current formed from the terminus of the North Atlantic Current, flowing N along the Norwegian coast into the Barents Sea.
- not worth a whoop — worthless
- observation tower — lookout, observation point
- of its own accord — If something happens of its own accord, it seems to happen by itself, without anyone making it happen.
- off one's own bat — If someone does something off their own bat, they do it without anyone else suggesting it.
- old-man-and-woman — houseleek (def 1).
- on the wrong tack — a short, sharp-pointed nail, usually with a flat, broad head.
- one-time password — (security) (OTP) A security system that requires a new password every time a user authenticates themselves, thus protecting against an intruder replaying an intercepted password. OTP generates passwords using either the MD4 or MD5 hashing algorithms. The equivalent term "S/Key", developed by Bellcore, is a trademark of Telcordia Technologies, so the name OTP is used increasingly. See RFC 1760 - "The S/KEY One-Time Password System" and RFC 1938 - "A One-Time Password System".
- open-channel flow — Open-channel flow is a liquid flow in a channel, which has a free liquid surface.
- orange flower oil — neroli oil.
- pacific northwest — the region of North America lying north of the Columbia River and west of the Rockies
- pay someone's way — to pay someone's share of the expenses
- peloponnesian war — a war between Athens and Sparta, 431–404 b.c., that resulted in the transfer of hegemony in Greece from Athens to Sparta.
- play along (with) — to join in or cooperate (with)
- play with oneself — a dramatic composition or piece; drama.
- poison-arrow frog — a small, bright-colored terrestrial frog of the family Dendrobatidae, of Central and South American rain forests, that secretes a virulent poison from its skin, once used on the tips of Indian hunting arrows.
- power of attorney — a written document given by one person or party to another authorizing the latter to act for the former.
- pressure drawdown — Pressure drawdown is the difference between the reservoir pressure and the flowing wellbore pressure, which drives fluids from the reservoir into the wellbore.
- private ownership — the fact of being owned by a private individual or organization, rather than by the state or a public body
- prusso-danish war — a war of 1864 between Prussia and Denmark by which Denmark lost Schleswig-Holstein.
- put in a word for — to make favourable mention of (someone); recommend
- quick on the draw — having fast reflexes
- rainbow coalition — a political grouping together by several minority parties
- reading knowledge — the ability to read a language, but not speak it
- renaissance woman — a woman who has acquired profound knowledge or proficiency in more than one field.
- revolutionary war — American Revolution.
- roll with a punch — to move in the same direction as a punch thrown at one so as to lessen its force
- rub the wrong way — to subject the surface of (a thing or person) to pressure and friction, as in cleaning, smoothing, polishing, coating, massaging, or soothing: to rub a table top with wax polish; to rub the entire back area.
- russian wolfhound — borzoi.
- saint john's wort — any of various plants or shrubs of the genus Hypericum, having yellow flowers and transparently dotted leaves.
- sandwich compound — any of a class of organometallic compounds whose molecules have a metal atom or ion bound between two plane parallel organic rings