25-letter words containing o, n, a, s, h

phase-contrast microscope — a microscope that utilizes the phase differences of light rays transmitted by different portions of an object to create an image in which the details of the object are distinct despite their near-uniformity of refractive index.
play into someone's hands — a dramatic composition or piece; drama.
polymerase chain reaction — a technique in which a known DNA sequence is synthesized at high temperatures by means of a polymerase, producing millions of copies for statistical analysis: used in DNA fingerprinting, in detecting minute quantities of cancer cells, etc.
portable network graphics — (file format) /ping/ (PNG) An extensible file format for the lossless, portable, well-compressed storage of raster images. PNG provides a patent-free replacement for GIF and can also replace many common uses of TIFF. Indexed-colour, greyscale and truecolour images are supported, plus an optional alpha channel. Sample depths range from 1 to 16 bits. PNG is designed for on-line viewing applications, such as the World Wide Web, so it is fully streamable with a progressive display option. PNG is robust, providing both full file integrity checking and simple detection of common transmission errors. Also, PNG can store gamma correction and chromaticity data for improved colour matching on heterogeneous platforms.
preferred ordinary shares — shares issued by a company that rank between preference shares and ordinary shares in the payment of dividends
put on one's thinking cap — to ponder a matter or problem
put one's head in a noose — to bring about one's own downfall
put sb/sth/swh on the map — If you say that someone or something put a person, thing, or place on the map, you approve of the fact that they made it become well-known and important.
ram down someone's throat — the passage from the mouth to the stomach or to the lungs, including the pharynx, esophagus, larynx, and trachea.
rate monotonic scheduling — (algorithm) A means of scheduling the time allocated to periodic hard-deadline real-time users of a resource. The users are assigned priorities such that a shorter fixed period between deadlines is associated with a higher priority. Rate monotonic scheduling provides a low-overhead, reasonably resource-efficient means of guaranteeing that all users will meet their deadlines provided that certain analytical equations are satisfied during the system design. It avoids the design complexity of time-line scheduling and the overhead of dynamic approaches such as earliest-deadline scheduling.
read someone the riot act — If someone in authority reads you the riot act, they tell you that you will be punished unless you start behaving properly.
ruffle someone's feathers — one of the horny structures forming the principal covering of birds, consisting typically of a hard, tubular portion attached to the body and tapering into a thinner, stemlike portion bearing a series of slender, barbed processes that interlock to form a flat structure on each side.
saddle block (anesthesia) — a method of spinal anesthesia, often used during obstetric delivery, that produces anesthesia in that area of the body that would be in contact with a saddle during horseback riding
saint joseph of arimathea — a wealthy member of the Sanhedrin, who obtained the body of Jesus after the Crucifixion and laid it in his own tomb (Matthew 27:57–60). Feast day: Mar 17 or July 31
selective synchronization — a sound-recording process that facilitates overdubs by feeding the recorded track to the performer straight from the recording head
sequential parlog machine — (SPM) The virtual machine (and its machine code) for the Parlog logic programming language.
slip/fall through the net — You use slip through the net or fall through the net to describe a situation where people are not properly cared for by the system that is intended to help them.
stand in a person's light — to stand so as to obscure a person's vision
stretch one's imagination — If you say that something stretches your imagination, you mean that it is good because it makes you think about things that you had not thought about before.
sympathetic introspection — a study of human conduct in which the investigator imagines himself or herself engaged in that conduct.
take the sting out of sth — If something takes the sting out of a situation, it makes it less unpleasant.
tetragonal trisoctahedron — Geometry. a trisoctahedron the faces of which are quadrilaterals; trapezohedron.
thank one's (lucky) stars — to be thankful for what appears to be good luck
the ball is in sb's court — If you say that the ball is in someone's court, you mean that it is his or her responsibility to take the next action or decision in a situation.
the ball is in your court — you are obliged to make the next move
the department of defense — the United States federal department concerned with national security
the industrial revolution — the transformation in the 18th and 19th centuries of first Britain and then other W European countries and the US into industrial nations
the knives are out for sb — If a lot of people want something unpleasant to happen to someone, for example if they want them to lose their job, you can say that the knives are out for that person.
the leaning tower of pisa — the bell tower of Pisa Cathedral
the mother of parliaments — the British Parliament: the model and creator of many other Parliaments
the protestant work ethic — a belief in the moral value of work, associated with Protestant Christianity
the sands are running out — there is not much time left before death or the end
the scholastic profession — the profession of teaching
there are no flies on him — he is no fool
thermoluminescence dating — a method of dating archaeological specimens, chiefly pottery, by measuring the radiation given off by ceramic materials as they are heated.
through the looking-glass — a story for children (1871) by Lewis Carroll: the sequel to Alice's Adventures in Wonderland.
throw one's weight around — the amount or quantity of heaviness or mass; amount a thing weighs.
to be in the catbird seat — to be in a very good situation
to be in the driving seat — If you say that someone is in the driving seat, you mean that they are in control in a situation.
to be on the naughty step — to experience public disfavour, usually because of perceived wayward behaviour
to call something to mind — If something brings another thing to mind or calls another thing to mind, it makes you think of that other thing, usually because it is similar in some way.
to catch sight of someone — If you catch sight of someone, you suddenly see them, often briefly.
to cut a long story short — In British English, you use to cut a long story short to indicate that you are going to state the final result of an event and not give any more details. In American English, you say to make a long story short.
to drink someone's health — When you drink to someone's health or drink their health, you have a drink as a sign of wishing them health and happiness.
to go on a shooting spree — (of a fanatic)to shoot a number of people
to go on a shopping spree — to shop excessively; to buy a lot of things in an extravagant way
to have irons in the fire — If someone has a lot of irons in the fire, they are involved in several different activities or have several different plans.
to hold someone to ransom — If a kidnapper is holding someone to ransom or holding them ransom in British English, or is holding a person for ransom in American English, they keep that person prisoner until they are given what they want.
to lay claim to something — If you lay claim to something you do not have, you say that it belongs to you.
to lay siege to something — If police, soldiers, or journalists lay siege to a place, they surround it in order to force the people there to come out or give up control of the place.

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