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18-letter words containing n, u, g, a, c

  • creeping featurism — (jargon)   /kree'ping fee'chr-izm/ (Or "feature creep") A systematic tendency to load more chrome and features onto systems at the expense of whatever elegance they may have possessed when originally designed. "The main problem with BSD Unix has always been creeping featurism." More generally, creeping featurism is the tendency for anything to become more complicated because people keep saying "Gee, it would be even better if it had this feature too". The result is usually a patchwork because it grew one ad-hoc step at a time, rather than being planned. Planning is a lot of work, but it's easy to add just one extra little feature to help someone, and then another, and another, .... When creeping featurism gets out of hand, it's like a cancer. Usually this term is used to describe computer programs, but it could also be said of the federal government, the IRS 1040 form, and new cars. A similar phenomenon sometimes afflicts conscious redesigns; see second-system effect. See also creeping elegance.
  • cumulative scoring — a method of scoring in which the score of a partnership is taken as the sum of their scores on all hands played.
  • cunninghame graham — R(obert) B(ontine). 1852–1936, Scottish traveller, writer, and politician, noted for his essays and short stories: first president (1928) of the Scottish Nationalist Party
  • dramatic monologue — a poetic form in which a single character, addressing a silent auditor at a critical moment, reveals himself or herself and the dramatic situation.
  • ducking and diving — evasiveness
  • equinoctial spring — either of the two highest spring tides that occur at the equinoxes
  • ethnomusicological — Relating to or pertaining to ethnomusicology.
  • feeping creaturism — /fee'ping kree"ch*r-izm/ A deliberate spoonerism for creeping featurism, meant to imply that the system or program in question has become a misshapen creature of hacks. This term isn"t really well defined, but it sounds so neat that most hackers have said or heard it. It is probably reinforced by an image of terminals prowling about in the dark making their customary noises.
  • fibrocartilaginous — a type of cartilage having a large number of fibers.
  • fracture toughness — The fracture toughness of a material is how likely it is to resist fracture.
  • fuel-saving device — a device that increases the fuel efficiency of a vehicle, so that it uses less fuel for a further distance
  • fuming nitric acid — a colorless, yellowish, or brownish fuming corrosive liquid, usually prepared from nitric acid by the addition of excess nitrogen dioxide: used in organic synthesis for nitration, and as an oxidizer in liquid propellants for rockets.
  • functional program — (language)   A program employing the functional programming approach or written in a functional language.
  • functional testing — (testing)   (Or "black-box testing", "closed-box testing") The application of test data derived from functional requirements without regard to how the system is implemented.
  • furnishing fabrics — fabrics used to make and cover furniture
  • galactic longitude — the angular distance in degrees measured eastward in the galactic plane from a radius drawn from the earth as center to the constellation Sagittarius.
  • good conduct medal — a medal awarded an enlisted person for meritorious behavior during the period of service.
  • goya (y lucientes) — Fran‧ˈcis‧co Jo‧ˈsé‧ de (fʀɑnˈθiskɔhɔˈsɛ ðɛ) ; fränt hēsˈk^ōh^ōseˈ the) 1746-1828; Sp. painter
  • graduated cylinder — a narrow, cylindrical container marked with horizontal lines to represent units of measurement and used to precisely measure the volume of liquids.
  • grand council fire — a formal gathering of camp fire members requiring a minimum attendance of three troops.
  • grandfather clause — U.S. History. a clause in the constitutions of some Southern states after 1890 intended to permit whites to vote while disfranchising blacks: it exempted from new literacy and property qualifications for voting those men entitled to vote before 1867 and their lineal descendants.
  • granulated surface — a roughened surface
  • guidance counselor — advisor in schools
  • gulf of california — an arm of the Pacific Ocean, between Sonora and Lower California
  • gulf saint vincent — a shallow inlet of SE South Australia, to the east of the Yorke Peninsula: salt industry
  • haulage contractor — a person or firm that transports goods by lorry
  • heart-lung machine — a device through which blood is shunted temporarily for oxygenation during surgery, while the heart or a lung is being repaired.
  • highbush cranberry — a shrub, Viburnum trilobum, of northern North America, having broad clusters of white flowers and edible scarlet berries.
  • immunohistological — the microscopic study of tissues with the aid of antibodies that bind to tissue components and reveal their presence.
  • immunopharmacology — the branch of pharmacology concerned with the immune system
  • inclusive language — language that avoids the use of certain expressions or words that might be considered to exclude particular groups of people, esp gender-specific words, such as "man", "mankind", and masculine pronouns, the use of which might be considered to exclude women
  • induction training — training intended to enable new staff and recruits to do their work
  • integrated circuit — a circuit of transistors, resistors, and capacitors constructed on a single semiconductor wafer or chip, in which the components are interconnected to perform a given function. Abbreviation: IC.
  • intercartilaginous — (anatomy) Within cartilage.
  • kentucky bluegrass — a grass, Poa pratensis, of the Mississippi valley, used for pasturage and lawns.
  • launching ceremony — a ceremony that celebrates the launch of a ship for the first time into the water
  • lean manufacturing — efficiency in the production of goods
  • magnesium silicate — a white powder, 3MgSiO 3 ⋅5H 2 O, with variable hydration, insoluble in water or alcohol, used as a rubber filler, a bleaching agent, an odor absorbent, and in the manufacture of paints and resins.
  • magnetic induction — Also called magnetic flux density. a vector quantity used as a measure of a magnetic field. Symbol: B.
  • magnetic tape unit — a computer device that moves reels of magnetic tape past read-write heads so that data can be transferred to or from the computer
  • malicious wounding — the intentional violent wounding or injuring of someone
  • manufactured goods — products made by machine
  • manufacturing base — the manufacturing industries of an area or a country considered as a unit and a constituent part of the economy
  • marriage encounter — a meeting with a person or thing, especially a casual, unexpected, or brief meeting: Our running into each other was merely a chance encounter.
  • medium of exchange — anything generally accepted as representing a standard of value and exchangeable for goods or services.
  • microminiaturizing — Present participle of microminiaturize.
  • molecular genetics — a subdivision of genetics concerned with the structure and function of genes at the molecular level.
  • mortgage insurance — policy to compensate for property loan payments
  • neurophysiological — the branch of physiology dealing with the functions of the nervous system.
  • neuropsychological — Of or pertaining to neuropsychology, the relation or combination of brain and mind.
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