23-letter words containing o, a, t, e

to drive a hard bargain — If people drive a hard bargain, they argue with determination in order to achieve a deal which is favourable to themselves.
to force someone's hand — If you force someone's hand, you force them to act sooner than they want to, or to act in public when they would prefer to keep their actions secret.
to get ahold of oneself — to force oneself to become calm and sensible after a shock or in a difficult situation
to get/put sb's back up — If someone or something puts your back up or gets your back up, they annoy you.
to go from bad to worse — If a situation goes from bad to worse, it becomes even more unpleasant or unsatisfactory.
to have a police record — If you say that somebody has a police record, you mean that they have committed a crime or crimes and the police have a record of this.
to have an axe to grind — If someone has an axe to grind, they are doing something for selfish reasons.
to have feelings for sb — to be emotionally or sexually attracted to
to have your hands full — If you have your hands full with something, you are very busy because of it.
to hell in a handbasket — to one's doom
to keep a straight face — If you manage to keep a straight face, you manage to look serious, although you want to laugh.
to keep a tight rein on — If you keep a tight rein on someone, you control them firmly.
to keep someone company — If you keep someone company, you spend time with them and stop them feeling lonely or bored.
to keep your nose clean — If you keep your nose clean, you behave well and stay out of trouble.
to make the best of sth — If you make the best of something, you accept an unsatisfactory situation cheerfully and try to manage as well as you can. In British English, you can also say that you make the best of a bad job.
to make your skin crawl — If something makes your skin crawl or makes your flesh crawl, it makes you feel shocked or disgusted.
to meet someone halfway — If you meet someone halfway, you accept some of the points they are making so that you can come to an agreement with them.
to outstay your welcome — If you say that someone outstays their welcome or overstays their welcome, you mean that they stay somewhere longer than they are wanted or expected to.
to pass the time of day — If you pass the time of day with someone, you have a short friendly conversation with them.
to pay through the nose — If you say that you paid through the nose for something, you are emphasizing that you had to pay what you consider too high a price for it.
to play for high stakes — to gamble on something very important
to pluck up the courage — If you pluck up the courage to do something that you feel nervous about, you make an effort to be brave enough to do it.
to rest on your laurels — If someone is resting on their laurels, they appear to be satisfied with the things they have achieved and have stopped putting effort into what they are doing.
to rise to the occasion — If you say that someone rose to the occasion, you mean that they did what was necessary to successfully overcome a difficult situation.
to run someone to earth — If you run someone or something to earth, you find them after searching for them for a long time.
to save someone's bacon — If someone or something saves your bacon, they get you out of a dangerous or difficult situation.
to see the light of day — If something sees the light of day at a particular time, it comes into existence or is made known to the public at that time.
to send someone packing — If you send someone packing, you make them go away.
to shake someone's hand — If you shake someone's hand or shake someone by the hand, you shake hands with them.
to take a leap of faith — to risk belief
to turn over a new leaf — If you say that you are going to turn over a new leaf, you mean that you are going to start to behave in a better or more acceptable way.
to win the popular vote — to get a majority as regards the votes cast by individual voters
to wipe the slate clean — If you wipe the slate clean, you decide to forget previous mistakes, failures, or debts and to start again.
to your heart's content — as much as you please
tongass national forest — a temperate rainforest in SE Alaska that also harbors more than two dozen communities, including Juneau: largest US national forest. 17 million acres (69,000 km).
tongue-and-groove joint — a long, narrow cut or indentation in a surface, as the cut in a board to receive the tongue of another board (tongue-and-groove joint) a furrow, or a natural indentation on an organism.
topological equivalence — the property of two topological spaces such that there is a homeomorphism from one to the other.
trans-siberian railroad — a railroad traversing Siberia, from Chelyabinsk in the Ural Mountains to Vladivostok: constructed by the Russian government 1891–1916. over 4000 miles (6440 km) long.
transcendental equation — an equation that involves transcendental functions.
transcendental function — a function that is not an algebraic function.
transplantation antigen — a histocompatibility antigen identified by its effect on the rejection of transplanted cells or tissues.
transverse presentation — presentation in which the fetus is turned with its long axis across the mouth of the uterus, at right angles to the axis of the birth canal.
tread on someone's toes — the action of treading, stepping, or walking.
treat someone like dirt — If you say that someone treats you like dirt, you are angry with them because you think that they treat you unfairly and with no respect.
trellis code modulation — (TCM) A modulation technique with hardware error detection and correction.
trigonal trisoctahedron — a trisoctahedron whose faces are triangles.
triple expansion engine — (formerly) a steam engine in which the steam is expanded in three stages in cylinders of increasing diameter to accommodate the increasing volume of the steam
turn a cold shoulder to — to treat with disdain; snub
twenty-fourth amendment — an amendment to the U.S. Constitution, ratified in 1964, forbidding the use of the poll tax as a requirement for voting in national or U.S. Congressional elections.
twenty-second amendment — an amendment to the U.S. Constitution, ratified in 1951, limiting presidential terms to two for any one person, or to one elected term if the person has completed more than two years of another's term.

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