19-letter words containing o, k, l, a

go off at half-cock — to fail as a result of inadequate preparation or premature starting
grand duke nicholas — of Cusa [kyoo-zuh] /ˈkyu zə/ (Show IPA), 1401–1464, German cardinal, mathematician, and philosopher. German Nikolaus von Cusa.
grandfather's clock — a pendulum floor clock having a case as tall as or taller than a person; tall-case clock; long-case clock.
grandmother's clock — a pendulum clock similar to a grandfather's clock but shorter.
inglenook fireplace — a large fireplace with a space on either side
jamaica honeysuckle — a climbing vine, Passiflora laurifolia, of tropical America, having red-spotted white flowers nearly 4 inches (10 cm) wide, with a white and violet-colored crown, and edible yellow fruit.
jerusalem artichoke — Also called girasol. a sunflower, Helianthus tuberosus, having edible, tuberous, underground stems or rootstocks.
kellogg-briand pact — a treaty renouncing war as an instrument of national policy and urging peaceful means for the settlement of international disputes, originally signed in 1928 by 15 nations, later joined by 49 others.
kill sth stone-dead — If you kill something such as an idea or emotion stone-dead, you completely destroy it.
kingdom of lorraine — an early medieval kingdom on the Meuse, Moselle, and Rhine rivers: later a duchy
kirlian photography — a photographic process that supposedly records electrical discharges naturally emanating from living objects, producing an auralike glow surrounding the object on a photographic plate or film with which the object is in direct contact.
knights hospitalers — a member of the religious and military order (Knights Hospitalers or Knights of St. John of Jerusalem) originating about the time of the first Crusade (1096–99) and taking its name from a hospital at Jerusalem.
komandorski islands — a group of islands in the Bering Sea, in NE Russia, E of the Kamchatka Peninsula: U.S.-Japan naval battle, 1943.
lady baltimore cake — a white layer cake using only the beaten whites of eggs and spread with a fruitnut filling consisting of raisins, figs, walnuts or pecans, and sometimes candied cherries.
lean over backwards — to make a special effort, esp in order to please
left-luggage locker — a coin-operated locker in which luggage can be left
leukoencephalopathy — (medicine) Any disease that effects the white matter of the brain.
like a dog's dinner — dressed smartly or ostentatiously
long-and-short work — an arrangement of rectangular quoins or jambstones set alternately vertically and horizontally.
look sb up and down — If someone looks you up and down, they direct their eyes from your head to your feet, in a rude and superior way and often as though they disapprove of you.
lord baltimore cake — a yellow layer cake, using only the yolks of eggs and having a fruit-nut filling consisting of pecans, almonds, maraschino cherries, and macaroon crumbs.
lumholtz's kangaroo — boongary.
make oneself scarce — insufficient to satisfy the need or demand; not abundant: Meat and butter were scarce during the war.
memory like a sieve — a very poor memory
miracle of st. mark — a painting (1548) by Tintoretto.
national book award — any of several awards given annually, 1949–79, to an author whose book was judged the best in its category: administered by the Association of American Publishers. Abbreviation: NBA, N.B.A.
niagara-on-the-lake — a town in SE Ontario, in S Canada, on Lake Ontario, at the mouth of the Niagara River, on the border between Canada and New York.
norfolk island pine — a coniferous evergreen tree, Araucaria heterophylla (or A. excelsa), having whorled branches and needlelike foliage, widely cultivated as a houseplant.
not by a long chalk — by no means; not possibly
not much to look at — unattractive or unimpressive
oak-leaved geranium — a geranium, Pelargonium quercifolium, of southern Africa, having oaklike leaves with purple veins and sparse clusters of purple flowers with darker markings.
office-block ballot — a ballot on which the candidates are listed alphabetically, with or without their party designations, in columns under the office for which they were nominated.
olive-backed thrush — Swainson's thrush.
on the baker's list — in good health
optical mark reader — (hardware) (OMR) A special scanning device that can read carefully placed pencil marks on specially designed documents. OMR is frequenty used in forms, questionnaires, and answer-sheets.
peak envelope power — (communications) (PEP) The maximum power output by a radio transmitter over one complete RF cycle at any modulation.
phakoemulsification — the removal of a cataract by first liquefying the affected lens with ultrasonic vibrations and then extracting it by suction.
pileated woodpecker — a large, black-and-white American woodpecker, Dryocopus pileatus, having a prominent red crest.
pistol-handle knife — a table knife, especially of the 18th century, having a slightly curved handle resembling the grip of a flintlock pistol.
port jackson willow — an Australian acacia tree, Acacia cyanophylla, introduced in the 19th century into South Africa, where it is now regarded as a pest
postal savings bank — any of the savings banks formerly operated by local post offices and limited to small accounts.
presentation skills — the set of techniques and skills required successfully to present oral information to others
raise one's hackles — one of the long, slender feathers on the neck or saddle of certain birds, as the domestic rooster, much used in making artificial flies for anglers.
rake over the coals — a black or dark-brown combustible mineral substance consisting of carbonized vegetable matter, used as a fuel. Compare anthracite, bituminous coal, lignite.
rap on the knuckles — a mild reprimand or light sentence
red-shouldered hawk — a North American hawk, Buteo lineatus, having rufous shoulders.
removable hard disk — (storage) A type of magnetic disk, or possibly magneto-optical disk which is not permanently attached to the disk drive (not a fixed disk) but which can be taken out and replaced, allowing many disks to be used in the same drive. The term "removable disk" would seem to be applicable to floppy disks but is generally reserved for hard disks in suitable cartridges such as those made by Syquest, Iomega and others. Removable disk packs were common on minicomputers such as the PDP-11 in use in the 1970s except that the drives were the size of washing machines and the disk packs as big as car wheels. Removable disks became popular on microcomputers in the 1990s as a cheap way of expanding disk space, transporting large amounts of data between computers and storing backups. Large, cheap fixed hard disks and USB memory sticks have made removable disks less attractive.
sackcloth and ashes — a public display of extreme grief, remorse, or repentance
saddle-billed stork — a large stork, Ephippiorhynchus senegalensis, of West Africa, having a white and black body and a long, red and black bill.
sell like hot cakes — a pancake or griddlecake.

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