14-letter words containing n, o, r, w, a
- rainbow-collar — being or of an employee who combines work or experience on the assembly line with more technical or administrative duties; having both blue-collar and white-collar duties or experience.
- reach-me-downs — trousers
- red sandalwood — the fragrant heartwood of any of certain Asian trees of the genus Santalum, used for ornamental carving and burned as incense.
- rent allowance — money given to individuals by the government that subsidises the cost of renting a property
- road allowance — land reserved by the government to be used for public roads
- rowing machine — an exercise machine having a mechanism with two oarlike handles, foot braces, and a sliding seat, allowing the user to go through the motions of rowing in a racing shell.
- saffron powder — the dried stigmas of the saffron crushed into powder, used to flavour or colour food
- sandwich board — two connected posters or signboards that hang in front of and behind a person and usually bear some advertisement, notice, exhortation, or the like.
- sanitary towel — sanitary napkin.
- secondary wall — the innermost part of a plant cell wall, deposited after the wall has ceased to increase in surface area.
- secondary wave — a transverse earthquake wave that travels through the interior of the earth and is usually the second conspicuous wave to reach a seismograph.
- shower curtain — waterproof sheet around a shower
- social network — a network of friends, colleagues, and other personal contacts: Strong social networks can encourage healthy behaviors.
- stock watering — the creation of more new shares in a company than is justified by its assets
- strong forward — power forward
- sturgeon's law — "Ninety percent of everything is crap". Derived from a quote by science fiction author Theodore Sturgeon, who once said, "Sure, 90% of science fiction is crud. That's because 90% of everything is crud." Oddly, when Sturgeon's Law is cited, the final word is almost invariably changed to "crap". Compare Ninety-Ninety Rule. Though this maxim originated in SF fandom, most hackers recognise it and are all too aware of its truth.
- sweet and sour — Sweet and sour is used to describe Chinese food that contains both a sweet flavour and something sharp or sour such as lemon or vinegar.
- sweet-and-sour — cooked with sugar and vinegar or lemon juice and often other seasonings.
- the phoney war — a period of apparent calm and inactivity, esp the period at the beginning of World War II
- there's no way — If you say there's no way that something will happen, you are emphasizing that you think it will definitely not happen.
- throw a wrench — If someone throws a wrench or throws a monkey wrench into a process, they prevent something happening smoothly by deliberately causing a problem.
- to windward of — advantageously situated with respect to
- transom window — a window divided by a transom.
- tripolitan war — a war (1801–05) that Tripoli declared on the United States because of American refusal to pay tribute for the safe passage of shipping in Barbary Coastal waters.
- two-name paper — commercial paper having more than one obligor, usually a maker and endorser, both of whom are fully liable.
- unforeknowable — not foreknowable
- unknown factor — a factor that is not known or understood
- unpraiseworthy — not worthy of praise
- url forwarding — URL redirection
- voluntary work — unpaid employment for a cause
- wainscot chair — an armchair of the 17th century, made of oak and having a solid paneled back.
- waiting period — a specified delay, required by law, between officially stating an intention and acting on it, as between securing a marriage license and getting married.
- walkaround pay — extra pay earned by an employee for accompanying an official inspector on a plant tour or around a job site.
- walking shorts — medium to long shorts, often cut fuller than Bermuda shorts and used for walking or leisure activity.
- warbling vireo — a grayish-green American vireo, Vireo gilvus, characterized by its melodious warble.
- wardrobe trunk — a large, upright trunk, usually with space on one side for hanging clothes and drawers or compartments on the other for small articles, shoes, etc.
- warning notice — official notification of a danger or threat
- washing powder — Washing powder is a powder that you use with water to wash clothes.
- water fountain — a drinking fountain, water cooler, or other apparatus supplying drinking water.
- water moccasin — the cottonmouth.
- water scorpion — any of several predaceous aquatic bugs of the family Nepidae, having clasping front legs and a long respiratory tube at the rear of the abdomen: capable of biting if handled.
- water softener — any of a group of substances that when added to water containing calcium and magnesium ions cause the ions to precipitate or change their usual properties: used in the purification of water for the laboratory, and for giving water more efficient sudsing ability with soap.
- waterproofness — The property of being waterproof.
- wearing course — the top layer of a road that carries the traffic; road surface
- weather window — a limited interval when weather conditions can be expected to be suitable for a particular project, such as laying offshore pipelines, reaching a high mountain summit, launching a satellite, etc
- weatherization — (US) The process of weatherizing.
- weatherpersons — Plural form of weatherperson.
- well-organized — affiliated in an organization, especially a union: organized dockworkers.
- west glamorgan — a county in S Wales. 315 sq. mi. (815 sq. km).
- westernisation — Non-Oxford British standard spelling of westernization.