16-letter words containing o, d, s, n
- bihar and orissa — a former province of NE India: now divided into the states of Bihar and Odisha (formerly Orissa).
- bird's-nest soup — a rich spicy Chinese soup made from the outer part of the nests of SE Asian swifts of the genus Collocalia
- birthday honours — (in Britain) honorary titles conferred on the official birthday of the sovereign
- blonde bombshell — Journalists sometimes use blonde bombshell to refer to a woman with blonde hair who is very attractive.
- board of pardons — an agency that determines which prisoners are to be released on parole or discretionary mandatory supervision and recommends pardons
- boarding kennels — a place where dog owners can pay to have their dogs looked after while they are away
- bodily functions — physical processes such as urination and defecation
- bois de boulogne — a large park in W Paris, formerly a forest: includes the racecourses of Auteuil and Longchamp
- bonded warehouse — a warehouse in which dutiable goods are deposited until duty is paid or the goods are cleared for export
- bornholm disease — an epidemic virus infection characterized by pain round the base of the chest
- bouches-du-rhone — a department of S central France, in Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Capital: Marseille. Pop: 1 883 645 (2003 est). Area: 5284 sq km (2047 sq miles)
- boundary dispute — dispute between neighbours about the boundary between their properties
- break one's word — to fail to keep one's promise
- british honduras — Belize
- brown-eyed susan — a composite plant, Rudbeckia triloba, of the southeastern U.S., having a single flower with yellow rays darkening to an orange orbrown at the base and a brownish-black disk.
- building society — In Britain, a building society is a business which will lend you money when you want to buy a house. You can also invest money in a building society, where it will earn interest. Compare savings and loan association.
- bundle of nerves — a very nervous person
- bundled software — software sold as part of a package with computers or other hardware or software
- busman's holiday — If you have a holiday, but spend it doing something similar to your usual work, you can refer to it as a busman's holiday.
- canadian soldier — the mayfly.
- cantor's paradox — the paradox derived from the supposition of an all-inclusive universal set, since every set has more subsets than members while every subset of such a universal set would be a member of it
- carbon bisulfide — carbon disulfide
- carbon disulfide — a heavy, volatile, colorless liquid, CS2, highly flammable and poisonous, used as a solvent, insecticide, etc.
- cardiac neurosis — an anxiety reaction characterized by quick fatigue, shortness of breath, rapid heartbeat, dizziness, and other cardiac symptoms, but not caused by disease of the heart.
- caroline islands — an archipelago of over 500 islands and islets in the W Pacific Ocean east of the Philippines, all of which are now part of the Federated States of Micronesia, except for the Palau group: formerly part of the US Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands; centre of a typhoon zone. Area: (land) 1183 sq km (457 sq miles)
- carrot and stick — If an organization has a carrot and stick approach or policy, they offer people things in order to persuade them to do something and punish them if they refuse to do it.
- cash on delivery — If you pay for goods cash on delivery, you pay for them in cash when they are delivered. The abbreviation C.O.D. is also used.
- cassini division — the gap or dark region between the two main outer rings of Saturn: it has a width of about 4,700 km (2,920 mi)
- casting director — the person in charge of choosing of actors for a production
- chanson de geste — one of a genre of Old French epic poems celebrating heroic deeds, the most famous of which is the Chanson de Roland
- chase the dragon — to smoke opium or heroin
- checking deposit — a deposit on which cheques may be drawn
- chichagof island — an island of Alaska, in the Alexander Archipelago. Area: 5439 sq km (2100 sq miles)
- chinese wood oil — tung oil.
- chondrodysplasia — (medicine) A genetic disorder characterized by short-limbed dwarfism.
- cisaconitic acid — a stereoisomer of 1-propene-1,2,3 tricarboxylic acid, C 6 H 6 O 6 , an important intermediate in the Krebs cycle.
- class background — a person's background with reference to social class
- cloak-and-suiter — a manufacturer or seller of clothing.
- close by/at hand — Something that is close by or close at hand is near to you.
- closed community — a plant community that does not allow for further colonization, all the available niches being occupied
- closed-captioned — (of a video recording) having subtitles which appear on screen only if the cassette is played through a special decoder
- coadministration — Joint administration.
- collagen disease — any of a group of diseases, as systemic lupus erythematosus, polyarteritis, scleroderma, and rheumatoid arthritis, involving inflammation or degeneration of connective tissue and accompanied by deposition of fibrinous material.
- colorado springs — a city and resort in central Colorado. Pop: 370 448 (2003 est)
- combined honours — (in British education) a degree course that includes more than one subject
- communion sunday — any Sunday on which communion is administered.
- concession stand — a stall where food, drinks, or other items are sold at a theatre or other venue
- condensed matter — crystalline and amorphous solids and liquids, including liquid crystals, glasses, polymers, and gels
- conditional sale — a sale in which the title of a property remains with the seller until some condition is met, as the payment of the full purchase price.
- confederationism — The advocacy of confederation as a means of government.