16-letter words containing n, a, s, d
- sexual deviation — a type of mental disorder characterized by a preference for or obsession with unusual sexual practices, as pedophilia, sadomasochism, or exhibitionism.
- shake one's head — to move or sway with short, quick, irregular vibratory movements.
- shakedown cruise — extortion, as by blackmail or threats of violence.
- shaker and mover — mover and shaker
- share and enjoy! — 1. Commonly found at the end of software release announcements and README files, this phrase indicates allegiance to the hacker ethic of free information sharing (see hacker ethic). 2. The motto of the Sirius Cybernetics Corporation (the ultimate gaggle of incompetent suits) in Douglas Adams's "Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy". The irony of using this as a cultural recognition signal appeals to freeware hackers.
- shared ownership — (in Britain) a form of house purchase whereby the purchaser buys a proportion of the dwelling, usually from a local authority or housing association, and rents the rest
- shoot one's load — (of a man) to ejaculate at orgasm
- shorthand typing — shorthand and typing
- shorthand typist — A shorthand typist is a person who types and writes shorthand, usually in an office.
- shorthand writer — a person trained to write in shorthand
- shot in the dark — a discharge of a firearm, bow, etc.
- shoulder harness — the part of a seat belt that goes over the shoulder and diagonally across the chest.
- single-barrelled — (of a firearm) having a single barrel
- sinus meridianii — an area on the equator of Mars, appearing as a dark region when viewed telescopically from the earth.
- situation comedy — a comedy drama, especially a television series made up of discrete episodes about the same group of characters, as members of a family.
- slang dictionary — a specialized dictionary covering the words, phrases, and idioms that reflect the least formal speech of a language. These terms are often metaphorical and playful, and are likely to be evanescent as the spoken language changes from one generation to another. Much slang belongs to specific groups, as the jargon of a particular class, profession, or age group. Some is vulgar. Some slang terms have staying power as slang, but others make a transition into common informal speech, and then into the standard language. An online slang dictionary, such as the Dictionary.com Slang Dictionary, provides immediate information about the meaning and history of a queried term and its appropriateness or lack of appropriateness in a range of social and professional circumstances.
- sleeping draught — any drink containing a drug or agent that induces sleep
- snakebite remedy — hard liquor.
- social darwinism — a 19th-century theory, inspired by Darwinism, by which the social order is accounted as the product of natural selection of those persons best suited to existing living conditions and in accord with which a position of laissez-faire is advocated.
- sodium carbonate — Also called soda ash. an anhydrous, grayish-white, odorless, water-soluble powder, Na 2 CO 3 , usually obtained by the Solvay process and containing about 1 percent of impurities consisting of sulfates, chlorides, and bicarbonates of sodium: used in the manufacture of glass, ceramics, soaps, paper, petroleum products, sodium salts, as a cleanser, for bleaching, and in water treatment.
- sodium pentothal — the sodium salt of thiopental sodium.
- soft in the head — stupid or foolish
- solid propellant — a rocket propellant in solid form, usually containing a mixture or combination of fuel and oxidizer.
- sonata da camera — an instrumental musical form, common in the Baroque period, usually consisting of a series of dances.
- sonata da chiesa — an instrumental musical form, common in the Baroque period, that usually consists of four movements alternating between slow and fast.
- sounding balloon — a balloon carrying instruments aloft to make atmospheric measurements, especially a radiosonde balloon.
- sounding machine — any of various machines for taking and recording soundings.
- south plainfield — a city in N New Jersey.
- southern uplands — a hilly region extending across S Scotland: includes the Lowther, Moorfoot, and Lammermuir hills
- spanish windlass — a stick used as a device for twisting and tightening a rope or cable
- speak one's mind — give one's frank opinion
- spear-head spoon — diamond-point spoon.
- special handling — (in the U.S. Postal Service) the handling of third- and fourth-class mail as first-class upon the payment of a fee.
- special pleading — Law. pleading that alleges special or new matter in avoidance of the allegations made by the opposite side.
- spiny-rayed fish — any of various fishes, as basses and perches, that have sharp, often pointed and usually rigid fin spines.
- spit-and-sawdust — (of a pub) shabby, dirty, and basic
- spotted redshank — a sandpiper, Tringa erythropus, which is a large wader with red legs
- spreading center — a linear zone in the sea floor along which magma rises and from which adjacent crustal plates are moving apart.
- spreading factor — a substance, as hyaluronidase, that promotes the diffusion of a material through body tissues
- st. john's-bread — carob (def 2).
- stage production — a play or show which is performed on stage
- stagedoor johnny — a man who often goes to a theater or waits at a stage door to court an actress.
- stand to someone — to be useful to someone
- standard annuity — A standard annuity is a retirement investment insurance contract that pays a regular income in return for a lump sum payment.
- standard english — the English language in its most widely accepted form, as written and spoken by educated people in both formal and informal contexts, having universal currency while incorporating regional differences.
- standing cypress — a plant, Ipomopsis rubra, of the southern U.S., having feathery leaves and clusters of red and yellow flowers.
- standing ovation — rising to applaud
- standing rigging — rigging remaining permanently in position as a means of steadying various spars, shrouds, stays, etc. (contrasted with running rigging).
- standoff missile — a missile capable of striking a distant target after launch by an aircraft outside the range of missile defences
- stannic chloride — a colorless fuming and caustic liquid, SnCl 4 , soluble in water and alcohol, that converts with water to a crystalline solid: used for electrically conductive and electroluminescent coatings and in ceramics.