16-letter words containing n, f, s
- non-transferable — to convey or remove from one place, person, etc., to another: He transferred the package from one hand to the other.
- nonfinite clause — a clause with a nonfinite verb or with no verb, as the hour being late in The hour being late, we left.
- nonprofessionals — Plural form of nonprofessional.
- not the faintest — no idea whatsoever
- not the foggiest — no idea whatsoever
- nothing short of — no thing; not anything; naught: to say nothing.
- nuclear transfer — the procedure used to produce the first cloned mammals, in which the nucleus of a somatic cell is transferred into an egg cell whose own nucleus has been removed. This cell is then stimulated by an electric shock to divide and form an embryo
- off one's rocker — Also called runner. one of the curved pieces on which a cradle or a rocking chair rocks.
- off one's stroke — performing or working less well than usual
- offensive weapon — an instrument designed to be used in attack, or an object which may be used in attack
- okefenokee swamp — a large wooded swamp area in SE Georgia.
- on the defensive — If someone is on the defensive, they are trying to protect themselves or their interests because they feel unsure or threatened.
- on the safe side — as a precaution
- on the stroke of — punctually at
- on-the-spot fine — a fine that is charged immediately upon being caught and found guilty of a crime
- one's cup of tea — the dried and prepared leaves of a shrub, Camellia sinensis, from which a somewhat bitter, aromatic beverage is prepared by infusion in hot water.
- one/a false move — If you say that one false move will cause a disaster, you mean that you or someone else must not make any mistakes because the situation is so difficult or dangerous.
- ostend manifesto — a declaration (1854) issued from Ostend, Belgium, by the U.S. ministers to England, France, and Spain, stating that the U.S. would be justified in seizing Cuba if Spain did not sell it to the U.S.
- outsmart oneself — to have one's efforts at cunning or cleverness result in one's own disadvantage
- ovals of cassini — the locus of a point x, whose distance from two fixed points, a and b, is such that |x–a| |x–b| is a constant
- ovshinsky effect — an effect that turns special types of glassy, thin films into semiconductors upon application of low voltage.
- pacific sturgeon — a dark gray sturgeon, Acipenser transmontanus, inhabiting marine and fresh waters along the northwestern coast of North America, valued as a food and sport fish.
- paraprofessional — a person trained to assist a doctor, lawyer, teacher, or other professional, but not licensed to practice in the profession.
- parts of lindsey — an area in E England constituting a former administrative division of Lincolnshire
- pass-band filter — band-pass filter
- passive transfer — Immunology. injection of lymphocytes or antibody from an immune or sensitized donor to a nonimmune host in order to impart immunity or test for allergic reactions.
- paulinus of nola — Saint. ?353–431 ad, Roman consul and Christian poet; bishop of Nola (409–431). Feast day: June 22
- pension benefits — the benefits that are paid to a person in accordance with his pension scheme
- perfecting press — a rotary press for printing both sides of a sheet or web in one operation.
- performance test — a test requiring little or no use of language, the test materials being designed to elicit manual or behavioral responses rather than verbal ones.
- person of colour — a person who is not White
- personal effects — belongings
- phase difference — the difference between two sinusoidally varying quantities that have the same frequency, measured either as an angle or a time
- physical fitness — good physical condition
- pique oneself on — to be proud of
- play off against — If you play people off against each other, you make them compete or argue, so that you gain some advantage.
- point of sailing — the bearing of a sailing vessel, considered with relation to the direction of the wind.
- post-reformation — the act of reforming; state of being reformed.
- postfix notation — (language) (Or "Reverse Polish Notation", RPN) One of the possible orderings of functions and operands: in postfix notation the functions are preceded by all their operands. For example, what may normally be written as "1+2" becomes "1 2 +". Postfix notation is well suited for stack based architectures but modern compilers reduced this advantage considerably. The best-known language with postfix syntax is FORTH. Some Hewlett-Packard calculators use it, e.g. HP-25, HP-29C, HP-41C, HP-23SII. Compare: infix notation, prefix notation.
- preference share — a share of preferred stock.
- preference stock — preferred stock.
- presence of mind — a calm state of mind that allows one to think clearly or act effectively in an emergency.
- prespecification — the act of specifying.
- press conference — a prearranged interview with news reporters, held to elicit publicity or, as granted by a dignitary, public official, research scientist, etc., to fulfill a request from the press.
- pressure flaking — a method of manufacturing a flint tool by pressing flakes from a stone core with a pointed implement, usually of wood tipped with antler or copper.
- pribilof islands — a group of islands in the Bering Sea, off SW Alaska, belonging to the US: the breeding ground of the northern fur seal. Area: about 168 sq km (65 sq miles)
- pride oneself on — to be proud of
- prince's feather — a tall, showy plant, Amaranthus hybridus erythrostachys, of the amaranth family, having reddish foliage and thick spikes of small, red flowers.
- prince's-feather — a tall, showy plant, Amaranthus hybridus erythrostachys, of the amaranth family, having reddish foliage and thick spikes of small, red flowers.
- prisoner of bill — (humour) (PoB) A derisory term, in use generally among Unix users, for anyone who uses Microsoft products either because they don't know there is anything better (i.e. Unix) or because they would be incapable of working anything more complex (i.e. Unix). The interesting and widespread presumption among users of the term is that (at least at the time of writing, 1998) using anything other than Unix or a Microsoft OS (whether VMS, Macintosh, Amiga) is so eccentric a choice as to be at least somewhat praiseworthy.