17-letter words containing o, b, s, l
- purple shore crab — any of numerous crabs that live along the shoreline between the tidemarks, as Hemigrapsus nudus (purple shore crab) of the Pacific coast of North America.
- rhinoceros beetle — any of several scarabaeid beetles, especially of the genus Dynastes, which comprises the largest beetles, characterized by one or more horns on the head and prothorax.
- rhode island bent — a European pasture grass, Agrostis tenuis, naturalized in North America, having red flower clusters.
- roseate spoonbill — a tropical New World spoonbill, Ajaia ajaja, having rose-colored plumage and a bare head.
- sable island pony — a variety of wild pony found on Sable Island, Nova Scotia
- sandro botticelli — Sandro [san-droh,, sahn-;; Italian sahn-draw] /ˈsæn droʊ,, ˈsɑn-;; Italian ˈsɑn drɔ/ (Show IPA), (Alessandro di Mariano dei Filipepi) 1444?–1510, Italian painter.
- sb could do worse — If you tell someone that they could do worse than do a particular thing, you are advising them that it would be quite a good thing to do.
- second balkan war — Balkan War (def 2).
- self-incompatible — not capable of self-pollination.
- semi-biographical — of or relating to a person's life: He's gathering biographical data for his book on Milton.
- shopping bag lady — bag lady (def 1).
- shopping-bag lady — bag lady (def 1).
- sinbad the sailor — a merchant in The Arabian Nights who makes seven adventurous voyages
- sleeping problems — difficulties in getting to sleep or in staying asleep
- slowly but surely — If you say that something is happening slowly but surely, you mean that it is happening gradually but it is definitely happening.
- smokeless tobacco — snuff1 (def 9).
- sorolla y bastida — Joaquín [hwah-keen] /ʰwɑˈkin/ (Show IPA), 1863–1923, Spanish painter.
- special constable — a person recruited for temporary or occasional police duties, esp in time of emergency
- spiritual bouquet — the spiritual presentation of a good work to another person.
- split keyboarding — the act or practice of editing data from one terminal on another terminal
- spoonbill catfish — flathead catfish.
- star of bethlehem — the star that is supposed to have appeared above Bethlehem at the birth of Christ
- star-of-bethlehem — any of several plants belonging to the genus Ornithogalum, of the lily family, having grasslike leaves and clusters of white flowers.
- statue of liberty — a large copper statue, on Liberty Island, in New York harbor, depicting a woman holding a burning torch: designed by F. A. Bartholdi and presented to the U.S. by France; unveiled 1886.
- strawberry blonde — woman: with reddish fair hair
- subclavian groove — either of two grooves in the first rib, one for the main artery (subclavian artery) and the other for the main vein (subclavian vein) of the arm
- subject catalogue — a catalogue with entries arranged by subject in a classified sequence
- subtractive color — cyan, yellow, or magenta, as used in the subtractive process of color photography.
- surrender to bail — to present oneself at court at the appointed time after having been on bail
- symbolic assembly — (language) An early system on the IBM 705.
- symbolic language — a specialized language dependent upon the use of symbols for communication and created for the purpose of achieving greater exactitude, as in symbolic logic or mathematics.
- synovial membrane — anatomy: connective tissue
- synthetic biology — the application of computer science techniques to create artificial biological systems
- teething problems — If a project or new product has teething problems, it has problems in its early stages or when it first becomes available.
- teething troubles — Teething troubles are the same as teething problems.
- telephone numbers — extremely large numbers, esp in reference to salaries or prices
- terrestrial globe — the planet Earth (usually preceded by the).
- the tabloid press — (considered as a whole) newspapers with pages about 30 cm (12 inches) by 40 cm (16 inches), usually characterized by an emphasis on photographs and a concise and often sensational style
- the whole shebang — The whole shebang is the whole situation or business that you are describing.
- toothbrush holder — a container or rack in a bathroom where toothbrushes are kept when not in use
- transferable vote — a vote that is transferred to a second candidate indicated by the voter if the first is eliminated from the ballot
- triboluminescence — luminescence produced by friction, usually within a crystalline substance.
- trobriand islands — a group of coral islands in the Solomon Sea, north of the E part of New Guinea: part of Papua New Guinea. Area: about 440 sq km (170 sq miles)
- troilus butterfly — spicebush swallowtail.
- uncle tom's cabin — an antislavery novel (1852) by Harriet Beecher Stowe.
- uncomfortableness — causing discomfort or distress; painful; irritating.
- unreconstructible — not capable of being reconstructed.
- visible radiation — electromagnetic radiation that causes the sensation of sight; light. It has wavelengths between about 380 and 780 nanometres
- wang laboratories — (body) Computer manufacturer, known for their office automation products and the Wang PC. Quarterly sales $208M, profits $3M (Aug 1994).
- welshman's button — an angler's name for a species of caddis fly, Sericostoma personatum