23-letter words containing n, d, o, u
- professional misconduct — a violation of the rules or boundaries set by the governing body of a profession
- profit and loss account — income account (def 2).
- program design language — Any of a large class of formal and profoundly useless pseudo-languages in which management forces one to design programs. Too often, management expects PDL descriptions to be maintained in parallel with the code, imposing massive overhead of little or no benefit. See also flow chart.
- publicly-quoted company — a company whose shares are traded on a stock exchange
- quantum electrodynamics — the quantum field theory that deals with the electromagnetic field and its interaction with electrons and positrons. Abbreviation: QED.
- quantum flavourdynamics — a gauge theory of the electromagnetic and weak interactions
- queen charlotte islands — a group of about 150 islands off the W coast of Canada: part of British Columbia. Pop: about 6000 (latest est). Area: 9596 sq km (3705 sq miles)
- quod erat demonstrandum — (at the conclusion of a proof, esp of a theorem in Euclidean geometry) which was to be proved
- quote chapter and verse — [by analogy with the mainstream phrase] To cite a relevant excerpt from an appropriate bible. "I don't care if "rn" gets it wrong; "Followup-To: poster" is explicitly permitted by RFC 1036. I'll quote chapter and verse if you don't believe me." See also legalese, language lawyer, RTFS (sense 2).
- random number generator — a piece of computer software used to create a sequence of random numbers
- rank outsider/outsiders — If one of the people in a competition is described as a rank outsider, they are considered to have very little chance of winning.
- rectangular coordinates — Usually, rectangular coordinates. either of two Cartesian coordinates in which the axes meet at right angles.
- route of administration — A route of administration is the means by which a drug or agent enters the body, such as by mouth or by injection.
- russian orthodox church — the national Church of Russia, constituting a branch of the Eastern Church, presided over by the Patriarch of Moscow
- school (crossing) guard — a person, either an adult or an older student, whose duty it is to help children cross streets near schools safely
- security association id — (networking) (SAID) A 32-bit field added to packet headers for encryption and authentication in the proposed Internet Protocol Version 6.
- severinus de monzambano — Samuel von [zah-moo-uh l fuh n] /ˈzɑ mu əl fən/ (Show IPA), ("Severinus de Monzambano") 1632–94, German jurist and historian.
- social education centre — a daycentre, run by a local authority, for people with learning disabilities and sometimes also for people who have physical disabilities or are mentally ill
- st. pierre and miquelon — two small groups of islands off the S coast of Newfoundland: an overseas territory of France; important base for fishing. 3 sq. mi. (240 sq. km). Capital: St. Pierre.
- stand up and be counted — express opinion
- state-trading countries — countries whose export and import trading is government controlled
- steal someone's thunder — to strike, drive, inflict, give forth, etc., with loud noise or violent action.
- suit down to the ground — the solid surface of the earth; firm or dry land: to fall to the ground.
- sustainable development — supporting economy via renewable resources
- take sth in your stride — In British English, if you take a problem or difficulty in your stride, you deal with it calmly and easily. The American expression is take something in stride.
- thousand and one nights — a collection of Eastern folk tales derived in part from Indian and Persian sources and dating from the 10th century a.d.
- throw down the gauntlet — a medieval glove, as of mail or plate, worn by a knight in armor to protect the hand.
- to add insult to injury — You say to add insult to injury when mentioning an action or fact that makes an unfair or unacceptable situation even worse.
- to be at your wit's end — If you say that you are at your wits' end, you are emphasizing that you are so worried and exhausted by problems or difficulties that you do not know what to do next.
- to bring the house down — If a person or their performance or speech brings the house down, the audience claps, laughs, or shouts loudly because the performance or speech is very impressive or amusing.
- to have your hands full — If you have your hands full with something, you are very busy because of it.
- to put your mind to sth — If you put your mind to something, you start making an effort to do it.
- tongue-and-groove joint — a long, narrow cut or indentation in a surface, as the cut in a board to receive the tongue of another board (tongue-and-groove joint) a furrow, or a natural indentation on an organism.
- transcendental equation — an equation that involves transcendental functions.
- transcendental function — a function that is not an algebraic function.
- trellis code modulation — (TCM) A modulation technique with hardware error detection and correction.
- trials and tribulations — difficult experiences
- turn a cold shoulder to — to treat with disdain; snub
- turn-and-bank indicator — bank-and-turn indicator.
- turn-and-slip indicator — bank-and-turn indicator.
- twenty-fourth amendment — an amendment to the U.S. Constitution, ratified in 1964, forbidding the use of the poll tax as a requirement for voting in national or U.S. Congressional elections.
- unconditional discharge — the release of a defendant without having to spend time on parole or probation
- under a gooseberry bush — used humorously in answering children's questions regarding their birth
- under one's (very) nose — in plain view
- uniform commercial code — a codification of commercial laws designed to provide uniformity among the states
- unincorporated business — a privately owned business, often owned by one person who has unlimited liability as the business is not legally registered as a company
- united church of canada — the largest Protestant denomination in Canada, formed in the 1920s by incorporating some Presbyterians and most Methodists
- united church of christ — an American Protestant denomination formed in 1957 by a union of the Evangelical and Reformed churches and the Congregational Christian churches.
- united methodist church — the largest denomination of the Methodist church in the U.S., formed in 1939 from the merger of the Methodist Episcopal Church, the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, and the Methodist Protestant Church, with the addition in 1968 of the Evangelical United Brethren.
- united states air force — the permanent or regular military air force of the United States, established in 1947 as a separate service under the authority of the Department of Defense: a branch of the U.S. Army before 1947. Abbreviation: USAF.