18-letter words containing n, o, s, p

spackling compound — spackle
spaghetti junction — an interchange, usually between motorways, in which there are a large number of underpasses and overpasses and intersecting roads used by a large volume of high-speed traffic
spanish succession — War of thea war (1701-14) between European powers disputing the succession to the Spanish throne
special collection — a collection of materials segregated from a general library collection according to form, subject, age, condition, rarity, source, or value.
speech recognition — Computers. the computerized analysis of spoken words in order to identify the speaker, as in security systems, or to respond to voiced commands: the analysis is performed by finding patterns in the spectrum of the incoming sound and comparing them with stored patterns of elements of sound, as phones, or of complete words.
sperry corporation — (company) The company which merged with the Burroughs Corporation to form Unisys Corporation. Divisions included Sperry Univac, Sperry Flight Systems, and others. Some of these were sold off after the merger.
spin stabilization — a technique by which a bullet, rocket, etc, is made to spin around its longitudinal axis to assist it in maintaining a steady flight path
spirits of ammonia — a 10% solution of ammonia in alcohol
spread one's wings — to make full use of one's abilities
spur-of-the-moment — occurring or done without advance preparation or deliberation; extemporaneous; unplanned: a spur-of-the-moment decision.
stepping-off place — jumping-off place (def 2).
stroustrup, bjarne — Bjarne Stroustrup
subject complement — a word or a group of words, usually functioning as an adjective or noun, that is used in the predicate following a copula and describes or is identified with the subject of the sentence, as sleepy in The travelers became sleepy.
subsidiary company — a company whose controlling interest is owned by another company.
summary proceeding — a mode of trial authorized by statute to be held before a judge without the usual full hearing.
super giant slalom — a slalom race in which the course is longer and has more widely spaced gates than in a giant slalom.
superior vena cava — See under vena cava.
superstring theory — any supersymmetric string theory in which each type of elementary particle is treated as a vibration of a single fundamental string (superstring) at a particular frequency.
supporting actress — an actress playing a supporting role
sustaining program — a radio or television program without a commercial sponsor.
symphony orchestra — a large orchestra composed of wind, string, and percussion instruments and organized to perform symphonic compositions.
system-programming — a program, as an operating system, compiler, or utility program, that controls some aspect of the operation of a computer (opposed to application program).
systematic phoneme — a phonological unit in generative phonology representing an underlying form that takes into account the relationship between phonological patterns and morphological variation, as the unit underlying the second vowel in both derive and derivative.
telephone sex line — a telephone line operated by a phone-sex worker that offers phone sex to paying customers
television company — a company that broadcasts programmes by television
temporal summation — the act or process of summing.
temporary hardness — hardness of water due to the presence of magnesium and calcium hydrogencarbonates, which can be precipitated as carbonates by boiling
the encyclopedists — the writers of the French Encyclopedia (1751-72) edited by Diderot and d'Alembert, which contained the advanced ideas of the period
the heavens opened — it started pouring with rain
to all appearances — apparently
to cast aspersions — If you cast aspersions on someone or something, you suggest that they are not very good in some way.
to learn the ropes — If you are learning the ropes, you are learning how a particular task or job is done.
to lick into shape — If you lick, knock, or whip someone or something into shape, you use whatever methods are necessary to change or improve them so that they are in the condition that you want them to be in.
to pick and choose — If you pick and choose, you carefully choose only things that you really want and reject the others.
to pull a fast one — If you say that someone has pulled a fast one on you, you mean that they have cheated or tricked you.
to put years on sb — if you say that something such as an experience or a way of dressing has put years on someone, you mean that it has made them look or feel much older
to scrape a living — If you say that someone scrapes a living or scratches a living, you mean that they manage to earn enough to live on, but it is very difficult. In American English, you say they scrape out a living or scratch out a living.
to speak your mind — If you speak your mind, you say firmly and honestly what you think about a situation, even if this may offend or upset people.
to spill the beans — If you spill the beans, you tell someone something that people have been trying to keep secret.
to stop at nothing — If you say that someone will stop at nothing to get something, you are emphasizing that they are willing to do things that are extreme, wrong, or dangerous in order to get it.
torsion-free group — a group in which every element other than the identity has infinite order.
transient response — A transient response of a circuit is a temporary change in the way that it behaves due to an external excitation, that will disappear with time.
transporter bridge — a bridge for carrying passengers and vehicles by means of a platform suspended from a trolley.
transverse process — a process that projects from the sides of a vertebra.
turn up one's nose — to behave disdainfully towards (something)
turn up one's toes — to die
under-compensation — to compensate or pay less than is fair, customary, or expected.
unisys corporation — (company) The company formed in 1984-5 when Burroughs Corporation merged with Sperry Corporation. This was when the phrase "dinosaurs mating" was coined. Unisys is one of the largest providers of information services, technology, and software in the world. They employ about 49,000 people and do business in some 100 countries. In 1994 about 80 percent of revenue was derived from commercial information systems and services, with the remainder coming from electronic systems and services for the defense market. The defense business was sold to Loral in early 1995. Slightly more than half of Unisys's revenue is from business in the United States. They specialise in providing business-critical solutions, based on open information networks, for organisations that operate in transaction-intensive environments. These organisations include financial services companies, airlines, telecommunications companies, government agencies, and other commercial enterprises. In August 1994, quarterly sales were $1799M and profits $50M.
universal coupling — a coupling between rotating shafts set at an angle to one another, allowing for rotation in three planes.
up someone's alley — suited to someone's tastes or abilities

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