18-letter words containing n, d, o, u
- down on one's luck — the force that seems to operate for good or ill in a person's life, as in shaping circumstances, events, or opportunities: With my luck I'll probably get pneumonia.
- down to the ground — thoroughly; completely
- drainpipe trousers — trousers with very narrow legs
- dramatic monologue — a poetic form in which a single character, addressing a silent auditor at a critical moment, reveals himself or herself and the dramatic situation.
- driver's education — high-school driving classes
- driving instructor — sb who teaches people to drive
- drop in the bucket — a deep, cylindrical vessel, usually of metal, plastic, or wood, with a flat bottom and a semicircular bail, for collecting, carrying, or holding water, sand, fruit, etc.; pail.
- drug on the market — Pharmacology. a chemical substance used in the treatment, cure, prevention, or diagnosis of disease or used to otherwise enhance physical or mental well-being.
- duchenne dystrophy — the most common form of muscular dystrophy, usually affecting only boys
- duodenojejunostomy — the formation of an artificial connection between the duodenum and the jejunum.
- duty-free shopping — the making of duty-free purchases
- dwarf storage unit — (humour) (DSU) An IBM term for a cupboard.
- dysfunctionalities — Plural form of dysfunctionality.
- eighty-column mind — (abuse) The sort said to be possessed by persons for whom the transition from punched card to paper tape was traumatic (nobody has dared tell them about disks yet). It is said that these people, including (according to an old joke) the founder of IBM, will be buried "face down, 9-edge first" (the 9-edge being the bottom of the card). This directive is inscribed on IBM's 1402 and 1622 card readers and is referenced in a famous bit of doggerel called "The Last Bug", the climactic lines of which are as follows: He died at the console Of hunger and thirst. Next day he was buried, Face down, 9-edge first. The eighty-column mind is thought by most hackers to dominate IBM's customer base and its thinking. See fear and loathing, card walloper.
- engelbart, douglas — Douglas Engelbart
- euglenoid movement — the expansion and contraction of the cell body of various flagellates
- executive decision — a decision made by a person or group that has executive power
- fall to the ground — (of a plan, theory, etc) to be rendered invalid, esp because of lack of necessary information
- fast-food industry — the industry surrounding fast-food restaurants
- fettuccine alfredo — fettuccine in cream sauce with grated Parmesan cheese.
- field of quotients — a field whose elements are pairs of elements of a given commutative integral domain such that the second element of each pair is not zero. The field of rational numbers is the field of quotients of the integral domain of integers.
- fissure of rolando — central sulcus.
- floating underflow — underflow
- foundation garment — an undergarment, as a girdle or corset, worn by women to support or give shape to the contours of the body.
- foundling hospital — an institutional home for foundlings.
- four-legged friend — a four-legged animal, esp a dog
- fourth commandment — “Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy”: fourth of the Ten Commandments.
- from hand to mouth — the terminal, prehensile part of the upper limb in humans and other primates, consisting of the wrist, metacarpal area, fingers, and thumb.
- from the ground up — the solid surface of the earth; firm or dry land: to fall to the ground.
- fulminating powder — powder that explodes by percussion.
- functional disease — a disease in which there is an abnormal change in the function of an organ, but no structural alteration in the tissues involved (opposed to organic disease).
- funding operations — the conversion of government floating stock or short-term debt into holdings of long-term bonds
- gabriele dannunzio — Gabriele [Italian gah-bree-e-le] /Italian ˌgɑ briˈɛ lɛ/ (Show IPA), (Duca Minimo) 1863–1938, Italian soldier, novelist, and poet.
- galactic longitude — the angular distance in degrees measured eastward in the galactic plane from a radius drawn from the earth as center to the constellation Sagittarius.
- gamma distribution — a continuous two-parameter distribution from which the chi-square and exponential distributions are derived, written Gamma (α. β), where α and β are greater than zero, and defined in terms of the gamma function
- gastroduodenostomy — See under gastroenterostomy.
- geodetic surveying — the surveying of the earth's surface, making allowance for its curvature and giving an accurate framework for smaller-scale surveys
- get off the ground — project: start well
- go round and round — If you say that something is going round and round in your head, you mean that you can't stop thinking about it.
- golden opportunity — perfect chance
- good conduct medal — a medal awarded an enlisted person for meritorious behavior during the period of service.
- grand council fire — a formal gathering of camp fire members requiring a minimum attendance of three troops.
- greater roadrunner — either of two large terrestrial cuckoos of the genus Geococcyx of arid regions of the western U.S., Mexico, and Central America, especially G. californianus (greater roadrunner)
- ground rule double — a safe hit ruled for two bases according to the rules of a particular stadium, as when a fly ball bounces once in the outfield and then clears a fence.
- guidance counselor — advisor in schools
- head and shoulders — If you say that someone or something stands head and shoulders above other people or things, you mean that they are a lot better than them.
- hebdomadal council — the governing council or senate of Oxford University
- hold up one's head — to be unashamed
- honour moderations — (at Oxford University) the first public examination, in which candidates are placed into one of three classes of honours
- house of detention — a place maintained by the civil authorities for persons charged with a crime, and sometimes for witnesses, awaiting trial.