20-letter words containing n, o, r, m, e

request for comments — (standard) (RFC) One of a series, begun in 1969, of numbered Internet informational documents and standards widely followed by commercial software and freeware in the Internet and Unix communities. Few RFCs are standards but all Internet standards are recorded in RFCs. Perhaps the single most influential RFC has been RFC 822, the Internet electronic mail format standard. The RFCs are unusual in that they are floated by technical experts acting on their own initiative and reviewed by the Internet at large, rather than formally promulgated through an institution such as ANSI. For this reason, they remain known as RFCs even once adopted as standards. The RFC tradition of pragmatic, experience-driven, after-the-fact standard writing done by individuals or small working groups has important advantages over the more formal, committee-driven process typical of ANSI or ISO. Emblematic of some of these advantages is the existence of a flourishing tradition of "joke" RFCs; usually at least one a year is published, usually on April 1st. Well-known joke RFCs have included 527 ("ARPAWOCKY", R. Merryman, UCSD; 22 June 1973), 748 ("Telnet Randomly-Lose Option", Mark R. Crispin; 1 April 1978), and 1149 ("A Standard for the Transmission of IP Datagrams on Avian Carriers", D. Waitzman, BBN STC; 1 April 1990). The first was a Lewis Carroll pastiche; the second a parody of the TCP/IP documentation style, and the third a deadpan skewering of standards-document legalese, describing protocols for transmitting Internet data packets by carrier pigeon. The RFCs are most remarkable for how well they work - they manage to have neither the ambiguities that are usually rife in informal specifications, nor the committee-perpetrated misfeatures that often haunt formal standards, and they define a network that has grown to truly worldwide proportions. See also For Your Information, STD.
reservations manager — A reservations manager at a hotel is responsible for the reservations at the hotel.
restriction fragment — a length of DNA cut from the strand by a restriction enzyme.
retinitis pigmentosa — degeneration of the retina manifested by night blindness and gradual loss of peripheral vision, eventually resulting in tunnel vision or total blindness.
retirement community — a group of houses in a suburban area or a town designed primarily for retired persons.
return from the dead — (jargon) To regain access to the net after a long absence. Compare person of no account.
return on investment — the amount of profit, before tax and after depreciation, from an investment made, usually expressed as a percentage of the original total cost invested. Abbreviation: ROI.
ride on shank's mare — to walk
rocky mountain sheep — bighorn.
romantic involvement — the condition of being in a romantic or sexual relationship
root canal treatment — dental treatment
rotations per minute — revolutions per minute
royal leamington spa — a city in Warwickshire, central England: health resort.
run off at the mouth — Anatomy, Zoology. the opening through which an animal or human takes in food. the cavity containing the structures used in mastication. the structures enclosing or being within this cavity, considered as a whole.
run-time environment — (operating system) A collection of subroutines and environment variables that provide commonly used functions and data for a program while it is running. Compare run-time support.
second-degree murder — Law. the killing of another human being under conditions specifically covered in law. In the U.S., special statutory definitions include murder committed with malice aforethought, characterized by deliberation or premeditation or occurring during the commission of another serious crime, as robbery or arson (first-degree murder) and murder by intent but without deliberation or premeditation (second-degree murder)
secure accommodation — an institution where young offenders are kept in custody
senior aircraftwoman — a rank in the Royal Air Force comparable to that of a private in the army, though not the lowest rank in the Royal Air Force
shaken baby syndrome — a usually fatal condition of abused infants brought on by violent shaking by the arms or shoulders that causes severe internal bleeding, especially around the brain and in the eyes.
shear transformation — a map of a coordinate space in which one coordinate is held fixed and the other coordinate or coordinates are shifted.
single point mooring — monobuoy.
sodium meta-arsenite — sodium arsenite.
solitary confinement — the confinement of a prisoner in a cell or other place in which he or she is completely isolated from others.
sound motion picture — a motion picture with a soundtrack.
south american plate — a major tectonic division of the earth's crust, comprising the continent of South America and several ocean basins and bounded on the north by the Caribbean Plate, on the east by the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, on the west by a submarine trench that borders the western coast of the continent, and on the south by the Antarctic Plate.
south temperate zone — the part of the earth's surface between the tropic of Capricorn and the Antarctic Circle.
specific performance — (especially in the sale of land) literal compliance with one's contractual promises pursuant to a judicial mandate.
staff sergeant major — a noncommissioned officer equivalent in rank to a command sergeant major but having no command responsibility.
standard book number — International Standard Book Number. Abbreviation: SBN.
stony-iron meteorite — a meteorite of roughly equal proportions of metallic iron and stony matter.
synoptic meteorology — a branch of meteorology analyzing data collected simultaneously over a wide region, for the purpose of weather forecasting.
system international — Système International d'Unités
systemic circulation — the circulatory system in general.
tangent galvanometer — a type of galvanometer having a vertical coil of wire with a horizontal magnetic needle at its centre. The current to be measured is passed through the coil and produces a proportional magnetic field which deflects the needle
technology agreement — a framework designed by trade unions for negotiating changes in employment caused by the introduction of new technology
television programme — a programme broadcast on television
terms and conditions — commerce: rules, restrictions
the gnomes of zurich — Swiss bankers and financiers
the price of someone — what someone deserves, esp a fitting punishment
there's no mistaking — You can say there is no mistaking something when you are emphasizing that you cannot fail to recognize or understand it.
thermal conductivity — the amount of heat per unit time per unit area that can be conducted through a plate of unit thickness of a given material, the faces of the plate differing by one unit of temperature.
thermodynamic system — a system whose states of equilibrium can be specified by a few macroscopic properties.
thiamine mononitrate — a white, crystalline, water-soluble compound of the vitamin-B complex, containing a thiazole and a pyrimidine group, C 12 H 17 ClN 4 OS, essential for normal functioning of the nervous system, a deficiency of which results chiefly in beriberi and other nerve disorders: occurring in many natural sources, as green peas, liver, and especially the seed coats of cereal grains, the commercial product of which is chiefly synthesized in the form of its chloride (thiamine chloride or thiamine hydrochloride) for therapeutic administration, or in nitrate form (thiamine mononitrate) for enriching flour mixes.
thomas of erceldoune — Thomas of, Thomas of Erceldoune.
three-dimensionality — having, or seeming to have, the dimension of depth as well as width and height.
to burst into flames — If something bursts into flames or bursts into flame, it suddenly starts burning strongly.
to cost someone dear — If something that someone does costs them dear, they suffer a lot as a result of it.
to do your damnedest — If you say that you will do your damnedest to achieve something, you mean that you will try as hard as you can to do it, even though you think that it will take a lot of effort.
to make up your mind — If you make up your mind or make your mind up, you decide which of a number of possible things you will have or do.
tom, dick, and jerry — a hot mixed drink containing rum, brandy, egg, nutmeg, and sometimes milk

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