16-letter words containing o, c, t, a, h
- the eastern bloc — (formerly) the Soviet bloc
- the human comedy — French La Comédie Humaine. a collected edition of tales and novels in 17 volumes (1842–48) by Honoré de Balzac.
- the long paddock — a stockroute or roadside area offering feed to sheep and cattle in dry times
- the scots guards — a regiment of Guards Division of the British Army which dates back to 1642
- the state sector — the part of the economy that is controlled by the state
- thermal constant — a quantity that is considered invariable throughout a series of calculations relating to the heat of bodies
- thermionic valve — vacuum tube.
- thermoacidophile — any organism, especially a type of archaebacterium, that thrives in strongly acidic environments at high temperatures.
- thermoplasticity — soft and pliable when heated, as some plastics, without any change of the inherent properties.
- thioarsenic acid — any of three hypothetical acids, H3AsS4, HAsS3, and H4As2S7, known only in the forms of their salts
- three-card monte — a gambling game in which the players are shown three cards and bet that they can identify one particular card of the three, as stipulated by the dealer, after the cards have been moved around face down by the dealer.
- throat infection — an infection or inflammation of the throat or pharynx
- thrombocytopenia — an abnormal decrease in the number of blood platelets.
- to break the ice — If you break the ice at a party or meeting, or in a new situation, you say or do something to make people feel relaxed and comfortable.
- to call the tune — If you say that a person or organization is calling the tune, you mean that they are in a position of power or control in a particular situation.
- to carry the can — If you have to carry the can, you have to take all the blame for something.
- to carry the day — If someone carries the day, they are the winner in a contest such as a battle, debate, or sporting competition.
- to change places — If you change places with another person, you start being in their situation or role, and they start being in yours.
- to clear the air — If you do something to clear the air, you do it in order to resolve any problems or disagreements that there might be.
- to coin a phrase — You say 'to coin a phrase' to show that you realize you are making a pun or using a cliché.
- to cut both ways — If you say that something cuts both ways, you mean that it can have two opposite effects, or can have both good and bad effects.
- to pass the buck — If you pass the buck, you refuse to accept responsibility for something, and say that someone else is responsible.
- to rock the boat — If you say that someone is rocking the boat, you mean that they are upsetting a calm situation and causing trouble.
- to take the cake — If someone has done something very stupid, rude, or selfish, you can say that they take the cake or that what they have done takes the cake, to emphasize your surprise at their behavior.
- tobacco hornworm — the larva of a hawk moth, Manduca sexta, having a hornlike structure at its posterior end and feeding on the leaves of tobacco and other plants of the nightshade family.
- topsail schooner — a sailing vessel fore-and-aft rigged on all of two or more masts with square sails above the foresail, and often with a square sail before the foresail.
- tracheobronchial — of, relating to, or affecting the trachea and bronchi.
- trichloromethane — chloroform (def 1).
- trichotillomania — a compulsion to pull out one's hair.
- trick photograph — a photograph that creates an illusion
- twofold purchase — a purchase using a double standing block and a double running block so as to give a mechanical advantage of four or five, neglecting friction, depending on whether the hauling is on the standing block or the running block.
- typhoid bacillus — the bacterium Salmonella typhosa, causing typhoid fever.
- ventriculography — radiography of the ventricles of the heart after injection of a contrast medium
- voluntary school — a school that promotes specific religious beliefs and which is funded by a local education authority but was not established by the authority
- walrus moustache — a long thick moustache drooping at the ends
- washington, d. c — Booker T(aliaferro) [boo k-er tol-uh-ver] /ˈbʊk ər ˈtɒl ə vər/ (Show IPA), 1856–1915, U.S. reformer, educator, author, and lecturer.
- washington, d.c. — Booker T(aliaferro) [boo k-er tol-uh-ver] /ˈbʊk ər ˈtɒl ə vər/ (Show IPA), 1856–1915, U.S. reformer, educator, author, and lecturer.
- watch one's step — a movement made by lifting the foot and setting it down again in a new position, accompanied by a shifting of the weight of the body in the direction of the new position, as in walking, running, or dancing.
- way of the cross — stations of the cross.
- weather forecast — meteorological prediction
- whole-tone scale — a scale progressing entirely by whole tones, as C, D, E, F♯, G♯, A♯, C.
- windchill factor — an estimated measurement of the cooling effect of air and wind, esp. when applied to the loss of body heat from exposed skin; chill factor
- within an ace of — a playing card or die marked with or having the value indicated by a single spot: He dealt me four aces in the first hand.
- yah-boo politics — adversarial politics in which politicians constantly deride their opponents and dismiss everything suggested by them
- yet another yacc — (tool) (Yay) An extension of Yacc with LALR2 parsing. Yay is available from Bull as part of the University of Waterloo Tools package maintained by <[email protected]>.