19-letter words containing n, a, s, b
- behavioral genetics — an interdisciplinary field studying the effects of genetics and hereditary factors on animal and human behavior.
- behavioural science — the application of scientific methods to the study of the behaviour of organisms
- belgian east africa — a former Belgian trust territory in Africa, also (1924–62) Ruanda-Urundi, now the independent countries of Rwanda and Burundi.
- bend over backwards — to make a special effort, esp in order to please
- bicarbonate of soda — Bicarbonate of soda is a white powder which is used in baking to make cakes rise, and also as a medicine for your stomach.
- binocular disparity — the small differences in the positions of the parts of the images falling on each eye that results when each eye views the scene from a slightly different position; these differences make stereoscopic vision possible
- booker t washington — Booker T(aliaferro) [boo k-er tol-uh-ver] /ˈbʊk ər ˈtɒl ə vər/ (Show IPA), 1856–1915, U.S. reformer, educator, author, and lecturer.
- boundary commission — (in Britain) a body established by statute to undertake periodic reviews of the boundaries of parliamentary constituencies and to recommend changes to take account of population shifts
- bracket abstraction — (compiler) An algorithm which turns a term into a function of some variable. The result of using bracket abstraction on T with respect to variable v, written as [v]T, is a term containing no occurrences of v and denoting a function f such that f v = T. This defines the function f = (\ v . T). Using bracket abstraction and currying we can define a language without bound variables in which the only operation is monadic function application. See combinator.
- brazen law of wages — the doctrine or theory that wages tend toward a level sufficient only to maintain a subsistence standard of living.
- breathing apparatus — an apparatus, usually consisting of tanks of air or oxygen and a mouthpiece, that enables the wearer to breath in difficult conditions such as a smoke-filled building
- briggsian logarithm — common logarithm.
- bug tracking system — (programming) (BTS) A system for receiving and filing bugs reported against a software project, and tracking those bugs until they are fixed. Most major software projects have their own BTS, the source code of which is often available for use by other projects. Well known BTSs include GNATS, Bugzilla, and Debbugs.
- buildings insurance — insurance which covers buildings
- business accounting — the keeping of detailed accounts relating to a business or businesses
- buster brown collar — a medium-sized, starched collar with rounded edges, lying flat on the shoulders, worn by women and girls.
- by leaps and bounds — with unexpectedly rapid progess
- by one's bootstraps — by one's own efforts; unaided
- california job case — a job case having sufficient spaces to contain both uppercase and lowercase letters and 37 additional characters of foundry type. Compare case2 (def 8).
- canterbury pilgrims — the pilgrims whose stories are told in Chaucer's Canterbury Tales
- captain abstraction — The champion of the principles of abstraction and modularity, who protects unwary students on MIT's course 6.001 from the nefarious designs of Sergeant Spaghetticode and his vile concrete programming practices. See also spaghetti code.
- carbon dioxide snow — solid carbon dioxide, used as a refrigerant
- carbon steel piping — Carbon steel piping is pipes made of steel with carbon as the main alloying component, used for transporting fluids.
- cardbox for windows — (database) A database handling program, especially useful for scholars and librarians.
- caroline of ansbach — 1683–1737, wife of George II of Great Britain
- catch sb in the act — If you catch someone in the act, you discover them doing something wrong or committing a crime.
- cerebellar syndrome — a disease of the cerebellum characterized by unsteady movements and mispronunciation of words
- cerebrospinal fluid — the clear colourless fluid in the spaces inside and around the spinal cord and brain
- chargeable transfer — a transfer of value made as a gift during a person's lifetime that is not covered by a specific exemption and therefore gives rise to liability under inheritance tax
- checks and balances — competition and mutual restraint among the various branches of government
- chlorofluorocarbons — Plural form of chlorofluorocarbon.
- cock and bull story — an absurd, improbable story presented as the truth: Don't ask him about his ancestry unless you want to hear a cock-and-bull story.
- cock-and-bull story — If you describe something that someone tells you as a cock-and-bull story, you mean that you do not believe it is true.
- contagious abortion — brucellosis of domestic cattle, an infectious disease characterized by spontaneous abortion and caused by the bacterium Brucella abortus; Bang's disease.
- coronary thrombosis — A coronary thrombosis is the same as a coronary.
- cowboys and indians — a children's game in which players imitate the supposed behavior of cowboys and Indians in conflict, as in shooting, chasing, and capturing.
- creeping bent grass — a grass, Agrostis stolonifera, grown as a pasture grass in Europe and North America: roots readily from the stem
- cudgel one's brains — to think hard about a problem
- current liabilities — business liabilities maturing within a year
- database management — the maintenance of information stored in a computer system
- deathbed confession — a confession that somebody makes just before he or she dies, usually relating to some long concealed crime or secret
- dependable software — software reliability
- detective constable — a police officer who investigates crime and who is of the lowest rank
- devils-on-horseback — a savoury of prunes wrapped in bacon slices and served on toast
- disablement benefit — (in Britain) a noncontributory benefit payable to a person disabled through injury or disease caused by their work
- disambiguation page — a page on a website that lists various websites or web pages that have or could have the same title. The user is able to select from the list that page, site etc that he or she actually wants
- distinguishableness — The state or quality of being distinguishable.
- dobsonian telescope — a relatively inexpensive Newtonian telescope, suitable for visual but not photographic use, in which the tube assembly slips freely in the lower base.
- dutchman's-breeches — a plant, Dicentra cucullaria, of the fumitory family, having long clusters of pale-yellow, two-spurred flowers.
- east dunbartonshire — a council area of central Scotland to the N of Glasgow: part of Strathclyde region from 1975 until 1996: mainly agricultural and residential. Administrative centre: Kirkintilloch. Pop: 106 970 (2003 est). Area: 172 sq km (66 sq miles)