17-letter words containing n, o, w, h
- the witching hour — the hour at which witches are supposed to appear, usually midnight
- to know the ropes — If you know the ropes, you know how a particular job or task should be done.
- to 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 win hands down — If you win hands down, you win very easily.
- touch a raw nerve — If you say that you have touched a nerve or touched a raw nerve, you mean that you have accidentally upset someone by talking about something that they feel strongly about or are very sensitive about.
- tower of strength — a building or structure high in proportion to its lateral dimensions, either isolated or forming part of a building.
- turkish towelling — woven cloth which is used to make towels, wash cloths, etc
- turn of the screw — a short novel (1898) by Henry James.
- twenty-four hours — the time taken by the Earth to make a complete rotation on its axis; a whole day
- utagawa kuniyoshi — original name Igusa Magosabwo. 1797–1861, Japanese painter and printmaker of the ukiyo-e school, best known for his prints of warriors and landscapes
- walk on eggshells — to be very cautious or diplomatic for fear of upsetting someone
- warehousing costs — the costs involved in storing goods in a warehouse
- washington island — an island off the Door Peninsula, NE Wisconsin, in NW Lake Michigan. 20 sq. mi. (50 sq. km).
- washington square — a short novel (1881) by Henry James.
- water on the knee — an accumulation of fluid in the knee cavity caused by inflammation and trauma to the cartilages or membranes of the knee joint.
- weigh one's words — a unit of language, consisting of one or more spoken sounds or their written representation, that functions as a principal carrier of meaning. Words are composed of one or more morphemes and are either the smallest units susceptible of independent use or consist of two or three such units combined under certain linking conditions, as with the loss of primary accent that distinguishes black·bird· from black· bird·. Words are usually separated by spaces in writing, and are distinguished phonologically, as by accent, in many languages.
- welsh nationalism — the political belief that Wales should be independent
- welsh nationalist — a person who believes that Wales should be independent
- welshman's button — an angler's name for a species of caddis fly, Sericostoma personatum
- wet one's whistle — to make a clear musical sound, a series of such sounds, or a high-pitched, warbling sound by the forcible expulsion of the breath through a small opening formed by contracting the lips, or through the teeth, with the aid of the tongue.
- what do you want? — If you say to someone 'what do you want?', you are asking them in a rather rude or angry way why they have come to the place where you are or why they want to speak to you.
- what does sb know — You can use expressions such as What does she know? and What do they know? when you think that someone has no right to comment on a situation because they do not understand it.
- wheatstone bridge — a circuit for measuring an unknown resistance by comparing it with known resistances.
- whiskey rebellion — a revolt of settlers in western Pennsylvania in 1794 against a federal excise tax on whiskey: suppressed by militia called out by President George Washington to establish the authority of the federal government.
- white-nationalism — white supremacy.
- white-winged dove — a common dove, Zenaida asiatica, of the southwestern U.S. to Chile.
- wind chill factor — A wind chill factor is a measure of the cooling effect of the wind on the temperature of the air.
- wind-chill factor — the apparent temperature felt on the exposed human body owing to the combination of temperature and wind speed.
- windowglass shell — capiz.
- wings of the dove — a novel (1902) by Henry James.
- winter heliotrope — a creeping perennial, Petasites fragrans, related to the butterbur, having lilac to heliotrope-coloured flowers smelling of vanilla: found chiefly on road verges
- wish someone well — to wish success or good fortune for someone
- within an inch of — very close to
- without exception — all included
- woman of the hour — a woman honored by a group.
- wooden-headedness — thick-headed, dull; stupid.
- woolly rhinoceros — an extinct rhinoceros; Coelodonta antiquitatis
- world without end — for ever
- worth every penny — If you say that something or someone is worth every penny, you mean that they are worth all the money that is spent on them.
- worth one's while — a period or interval of time: to wait a long while; He arrived a short while ago.
- wring one's hands — If someone wrings their hands, they hold them together and twist and turn them, usually because they are very worried or upset about something. You can also say that someone is wringing their hands when they are expressing sorrow that a situation is so bad but are saying that they are unable to change it.
- write the book on — to be the definitive authority or expert on