15-letter words containing n, a, s, c
- semimanufacture — a product which forms an intermediate stage in the manufacture of another, often more complex product
- seminal vesicle — either of two small saclike glands, located on each side of the bladder in males, that add nutrient fluid to semen during ejaculation.
- semitranslucent — imperfectly or almost translucent.
- sentence adverb — an adverb modifying or commenting upon the content of a sentence as a whole or upon the conditions under which it is uttered, as frankly in Frankly, he can't be trusted.
- service station — Also called gas station. a place equipped for servicing automobiles, as by selling gasoline and oil, making repairs, etc.
- servo-mechanism — A servo-mechanism is a system or device that provides increased power to operate a control.
- sesquicarbonate — a salt intermediate in composition between a carbonate and a bicarbonate or consisting of the two combined.
- sesquicentenary — a hundred and fiftieth anniversary
- seven-card stud — a variety of poker in which each player is dealt one card face down in each of the first two rounds, one card face up in each of the next four rounds, and one card face down in the last round, each of the last five rounds being followed by a betting interval. Compare stud poker (def 1).
- seven-year itch — scabies.
- sharing economy — a system in which people rent, borrow, or share commodities, services, and resources owned by individuals, usually with the aid of online technology, in an effort to save money, cut costs, and reduce waste.
- shock probation — the release on probation of a criminal after brief imprisonment
- shock resistant — not affected by impact
- shock treatment — electroconvulsive therapy
- shock-resistant — strong or resilient enough to sustain minor impacts without damage to the internal mechanism: a shock-resistant watch.
- shopping arcade — a place where a number of shops are connected together under one roof
- shoshone cavern — a large cave in NW Wyoming: a national monument.
- show one's face — the front part of the head, from the forehead to the chin.
- shut one's face — to be silent
- significatively — serving to signify.
- silicon carbide — a very hard, insoluble, crystalline compound, SiC, used as an abrasive and as an electrical resistor in objects exposed to high temperatures.
- simple fraction — a ratio of two integers.
- simplicidentate — belonging or pertaining to the Simplicidentata, formerly regarded as a suborder or division of rodents having only one pair of upper incisor teeth.
- sinclair, clive — Clive Sinclair
- singing teacher — a teacher who gives instruction in how to sing
- slap and tickle — sexual play
- small cranberry — See under cranberry (def 1).
- snafu principle — /sna'foo prin'si-pl/ [WWII Army acronym for "Situation Normal: All Fucked Up"] "True communication is possible only between equals, because inferiors are more consistently rewarded for telling their superiors pleasant lies than for telling the truth." - a central tenet of Discordianism, often invoked by hackers to explain why authoritarian hierarchies screw up so reliably and systematically. The effect of the SNAFU principle is a progressive disconnection of decision-makers from reality. This lightly adapted version of a fable dating back to the early 1960s illustrates the phenomenon perfectly: In the beginning was the plan, and then the specification; And the plan was without form, and the specification was void. And darkness was on the faces of the implementors thereof; And they spake unto their leader, saying: "It is a crock of shit, and smells as of a sewer." And the leader took pity on them, and spoke to the project leader: "It is a crock of excrement, and none may abide the odor thereof." And the project leader spake unto his section head, saying: "It is a container of excrement, and it is very strong, such that none may abide it." The section head then hurried to his department manager, and informed him thus: "It is a vessel of fertilizer, and none may abide its strength." The department manager carried these words to his general manager, and spoke unto him saying: "It containeth that which aideth the growth of plants, and it is very strong." And so it was that the general manager rejoiced and delivered the good news unto the Vice President. "It promoteth growth, and it is very powerful." The Vice President rushed to the President's side, and joyously exclaimed: "This powerful new software product will promote the growth of the company!" And the President looked upon the product, and saw that it was very good. After the subsequent disaster, the suits protect themselves by saying "I was misinformed!", and the implementors are demoted or fired.
- snowball effect — a process of continuously accelerating change in size, importance, etc
- so much/so many — You use so much and so many when you are saying that there is a definite limit to something but you are not saying what this limit is.
- social benefits — the social welfare provision made available to those in need
- social climbing — advancement of one's social status
- social contract — the voluntary agreement among individuals by which, according to any of various theories, as of Hobbes, Locke, or Rousseau, organized society is brought into being and invested with the right to secure mutual protection and welfare or to regulate the relations among its members.
- social distance — the extent to which individuals or groups are removed from or excluded from participating in one another's lives.
- social drinking — the practice of drinking alcohol occasionally and usually only in social situations
- social dynamics — the study of social processes, especially social change.
- social movement — a group of diffusely organized people or organizations striving toward a common goal relating to human society or social change, or the organized activities of such a group: The push for civil rights was a social movement that peaked in the 1950s and 1960s.
- social spending — the money that is spent on welfare payments
- social standing — a person's status or social class in society
- social-drinking — a person who drinks alcoholic beverages usually in the company of others and is in control of his or her drinking.
- society islands — a group of islands in the S Pacific: administratively part of French Polynesia; consists of the Windward Islands and the Leeward Islands; became a French protectorate in 1843 and a colony in 1880. Pop: 214 445 (2002). Area: 1595 sq km (616 sq miles)
- source language — the language in which a text appears that is to be translated into another language. Compare target language (def 1).
- south caucasian — a family of languages including Georgian, Mingrelian, and others that are spoken on the south slopes of the Caucasus and adjacent areas.
- south china sea — a part of the W Pacific, bounded by SE China, Vietnam, the Malay Peninsula, Borneo, and the Philippines.
- space scientist — an expert or specialist in any of the various science fields which relate to space flight or any phenomena occurring in space or on other planets. This would include for example such fields as Astronautics, Astrophysics, or Galactic Science
- spanish america — the Spanish-speaking countries south of the U.S.: Mexico, Central America (with the exception of Belize), South America (with the exceptions of Brazil, French Guiana, Guyana, and Suriname), and most of the West Indies.
- spanish customs — irregular practices among a group of workers to gain increased financial allowances, reduced working hours, etc
- spanish morocco — French Maroc. Spanish Marruecos. a kingdom in NW Africa: formed from a sultanate that was divided into two protectorates (French Morocco and Spanish Morocco) and an international zone. 172,104 sq. mi. (445,749 sq. km). Capital: Rabat. Compare Tangier Zone.
- sparcstation 10 — (computer) A SPARCStation with a 4-way associative data cache and a five-way associative instruction cache. The 10/31, 10/41 and 10/51 also have a secondary cache not present on earlier SPARCStations.
- sparcstation 20 — (computer) A SPARCStation based on the HyperSPARC processor. The 20 is compatible with the earlier SPARCstation 10. It has a clock rate of 100MHz and delivers a SPECfp92 of 127.6. The SPARCstation 20 Model 71 and 712MP uses the 75MHz SuperSPARC processors that give a 35% and 14% boost to SPECint92 and SPECfp92 respectively compared to the 61/612MP.