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14-letter words containing o, a, k, c

  • record-breaker — A record-breaker is someone or something that beats the previous best result in a sport or other activity.
  • rock formation — rock that is arranged or formed in a certain way
  • rock mechanics — the study of the mechanical behaviour of rocks, esp their strength, elasticity, permeability, porosity, density, and reaction to stress
  • rock partridge — the Greek partridge; Alectoris graeca
  • rotating stock — Rotating stock is a system used especially in food stores and to reduce wastage, in which the oldest stock is moved to the front of shelves and new stock is added at the back.
  • rough as sacks — uncouth
  • scratch monkey — (humour)   As in "Before testing or reconfiguring, always mount a scratch monkey", a proverb used to advise caution when dealing with irreplaceable data or devices. Used to refer to any scratch volume hooked to a computer during any risky operation as a replacement for some precious resource or data that might otherwise get trashed. This term preserves the memory of Mabel, the Swimming Wonder Monkey, star of a biological research program at the University of Toronto. Mabel was not (so the legend goes) your ordinary monkey; the university had spent years teaching her how to swim, breathing through a regulator, in order to study the effects of different gas mixtures on her physiology. Mabel suffered an untimely demise one day when a DEC engineer troubleshooting a crash on the program's VAX inadvertently interfered with some custom hardware that was wired to Mabel. It is reported that, after calming down an understandably irate customer sufficiently to ascertain the facts of the matter, a DEC troubleshooter called up the field circus manager responsible and asked him sweetly, "Can you swim?" Not all the consequences to humans were so amusing; the sysop of the machine in question was nearly thrown in jail at the behest of certain clueless droids at the local "humane" society. The moral is clear: When in doubt, always mount a scratch monkey. A corespondent adds: The details you give are somewhat consistent with the version I recall from the Digital "War Stories" notesfile, but the name "Mabel" and the swimming bit were not mentioned, IIRC. Also, there's a very detailed account that claims that three monkies died in the incident, not just one. I believe Eric Postpischil wrote the original story at DEC, so his coming back with a different version leads me to wonder whether there ever was a real Scratch Monkey incident.
  • sheepback rock — roche moutonnée.
  • shock absorber — a device for damping sudden and rapid motion, as the recoil of a spring-mounted object from shock.
  • smoked haddock — haddock that has been cured by treating with smoke
  • smoking jacket — a loose-fitting jacket for men, often of a heavy fabric and trimmed with braid, worn indoors, especially as a lounging jacket.
  • social drinker — a person who drinks alcoholic beverages usually in the company of others and is in control of his or her drinking.
  • social network — a network of friends, colleagues, and other personal contacts: Strong social networks can encourage healthy behaviors.
  • sockeye salmon — an important food fish, Oncorhynchus nerka, inhabiting the North Pacific.
  • sorting tracks — the part of a railroad yard used for the final sorting of cars from a classification yard.
  • speaking clock — a telephone service that gives a precise verbal statement of the correct time
  • speaking voice — a person's normal voice in which they speak
  • starch blocker — a substance ingested in the belief that it inhibits the body's ability to metabolize starch and thereby promotes weight loss: declared illegal in the U.S. by the FDA.
  • starting block — a device used by runners, especially sprinters, for increasing their speed off the mark, consisting of a metal or wooden frame, usually secured to the ground at both ends, with adjustable, triangular-shaped blocks on each side for bracing the feet.
  • stock exchange — a building or place where stocks and other securities are bought and sold.
  • stock in trade — the requisites for carrying on a business, especially goods kept on hand for sale in a store.
  • stock transfer — Stock transfer is the act of moving goods from one part of the distribution chain to another.
  • stock watering — the creation of more new shares in a company than is justified by its assets
  • stock-in-trade — items used in performing a job
  • stockade fence — a fence of closely fitted vertical boards with pointed tops.
  • stockbrokerage — a stockbroker's work or business
  • stocking frame — a type of knitting machine
  • surface worker — a person who works on or near the ground surface
  • surgical shock — a state of shock that can occur during or after surgery
  • tailor's chalk — hardened chalk or soapstone used to make temporary guide marks on a garment that is being altered.
  • take exception — to make objections (to); demur (at)
  • take no notice — If you take no notice of someone or something, you do not consider them to be important enough to affect what you think or what you do.
  • take the count — to be unable to continue after a count of ten
  • telescope peak — a mountain in SE California: highest peak in the Panamint Range, above Death Valley. 11,049 feet (3368 meters).
  • ten-acre block — a block of subdivided farming land, usually within commuting distance of a city, that provides a semirural way of life
  • to break cover — If you break cover, you leave a place where you have been hiding or sheltering from attack, usually in order to run to another place.
  • to change tack — If you change tack or try a different tack, you try a different method for dealing with a situation.
  • to close ranks — If you say that the members of a group close ranks, you mean that they are supporting each other only because their group is being criticized.
  • to make a face — If you make a face, you show a feeling such as dislike or disgust by putting an exaggerated expression on your face, for example by sticking out your tongue. In British English, you can also say pull a face.
  • tomato ketchup — sauce made from tomatoes
  • toorak tractor — a luxury four-wheel drive or sport utility vehicle
  • torpedo attack — an attack launched from aircraft, ships, or submarines, using a bomb that is shaped like a tube and travels under water
  • treasury stock — outstanding shares of stock reacquired and held by the issuing corporation.
  • trick or treat — Halloween tradition
  • trick-or-treat — to become involved or take part in trick or treat.
  • unacknowledged — widely recognized; generally accepted: an acknowledged authority on Chinese art.
  • unknown factor — a factor that is not known or understood
  • vandyke collar — a wide collar of lace and linen with the edge formed into scallops or deep points.
  • vibropac block — a precast concrete building block
  • vinca alkaloid — any of a group of alkaloids obtained from the periwinkle Vinca rosea, such as vinblastine and vincristine, that interfere with cell division and are used in the treatment of cancer
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