21-letter words containing o, n, w, a, t

one-way hash function — (algorithm) (Or "message digest function") A one-way function which takes a variable-length message and produces a fixed-length hash. Given the hash it is computationally infeasible to find a message with that hash; in fact one can't determine any usable information about a message with that hash, not even a single bit. For some one-way hash functions it's also computationally impossible to determine two messages which produce the same hash. A one-way hash function can be private or public, just like an encryption function. MD5, SHA and Snefru are examples of public one-way hash functions. A public one-way hash function can be used to speed up a public-key digital signature system. Rather than sign a long message, which can take a long time, compute the one-way hash of the message, and sign the hash.
portuguese man-of-war — any of several large, oceanic hydrozoans of the genus Physalia, having a large, bladderlike structure with a saillike crest by which they are buoyed up and from which dangle tentacles with stinging cells.
poweropen association — An independent body established to promote, and test conformance with, the PowerOpen Environment (POE).
powersoft corporation — (company) A leading vendor of client/server application development tools. In February 1994, Watcom became a wholly-owned subsidiary of Powersoft Corporation which merged with Sybase on 13 February 1995. In April 1995, the new company is the fastest growing top-ten software company and the seventh largest software company in the world. Headquarters: Concord, Massachusetts, USA.
protestant work ethic — work ethic.
redwood national park — a national park in N California: redwood forest with some of the world's tallest trees. 172 sq. mi. (445 sq. km).
ring down the curtain — to lower the curtain at the end of a theatrical performance
safe in the knowledge — If you do something safe in the knowledge that something else is the case, you do the first thing confidently because you are sure of the second thing.
salam-weinberg theory — the electroweak theory.
scarlet monkey flower — any of various plants belonging to the genus Mimulus, of the figwort family, as M. cardinalis (scarlet monkey flower) having spotted flowers that resemble a face.
second-hand endowment — A second-hand endowment is a traditional with-profits endowment policy that has been sold to a new owner part way through its term.
snr bandwidth product — (communications) The integral of the SNR over frequency. The SNR bandwidth product is an important limit in the capacity of a communication channel.
sovereign wealth fund — an investment fund created using the financial assets of a national government
step-down transformer — a device that transfers an alternating current from one circuit to one or more other circuits with a decrease of voltage
subsistence allowance — money given in advance to a new soldier, employee, etc., to buy food, clothing, and pay for other necessities while awaiting a first pay.
surface-to-underwater — (of a missile, message, etc.) traveling from the surface of the earth to a target underwater.
take one's (own) life — to commit suicide
the break of day/dawn — The break of day or the break of dawn is the time when it begins to grow light after the night.
the women's land army — a unit of women recruited to do agricultural work in the United Kingdom during World War I and World War II
thermal power station — a power station in which heat is converted into electricity
throw one's hat at it — to give up all hope of getting or achieving something
throw someone a curve — a continuously bending line, without angles.
to lay down your life — If someone lays down their life for another person, they die so that the other person can live.
to let your hair down — If you let your hair down, you relax completely and enjoy yourself.
to my way of thinking — You add to my way of thinking to a statement in order to indicate that you are giving your opinion.
to sink without trace — If you say that someone or something sinks without trace or sinks without a trace, you mean that they stop existing or stop being successful very suddenly and completely.
to take the long view — If you take the long view, you consider what is likely to happen in the future over a long period, rather than thinking only about things that are going to happen soon.
traffic control tower — an elevated structure for the visual observation and control of the air and ground traffic at an airport
twist the lion's tail — a large, usually tawny-yellow cat, Panthera leo, native to Africa and southern Asia, having a tufted tail and, in the male, a large mane.
under one's own steam — If you do something under your own steam, you do it without any help from anyone else.
venus's flower basket — a glass sponge of the genus Euplectella, inhabiting deep waters off the Philippines and Japan, having a cylindrical skeleton formed of an intricate latticework of siliceous spicules.
warm silence software — A small company run by(?) Robin Watts, producing software for the Acorn Archimedes.
washington's birthday — February 22, formerly observed as a legal holiday in most states of the U.S. in honor of the birth of George Washington.
water of constitution — water present in a molecule that cannot be removed without disrupting the molecule.
weinberg-salam theory — electroweak theory.
west lothian question — the apparent inconsistency that members of parliament who represent Scottish constituencies are eligible to vote at Westminster on matters that relate only to England, whereas members of parliament from English constituencies are not eligible to vote on Scottish matters
what price something? — what are the chances of something happening now?
whip-and-tongue graft — a graft prepared by cutting both the scion and the stock in a sloping direction and inserting a tongue in the scion into a slit in the stock.
white-crowned sparrow — a North American sparrow, Zonotrichia leucophrys, having black and white stripes on the head.
william the conqueror — ("the Conqueror") 1027–87, duke of Normandy 1035–87; king of England 1066–87 (son of Robert I, duke of Normandy).
with one's bare hands — If someone does something with their bare hands, they do it without using any weapons or tools.
without qualification — If something is stated or accepted without qualification, it is stated or accepted as it is, without the need for any changes.
word association test — a technique for determining a subject's associative pattern by providing a verbal stimulus to which a verbal response is required.
word-association test — a psychological test in which the person being tested responds to a given word with the first word (or the first word in a specified category, such as an antonym) brought to mind
workers' compensation — a government-sponsored insurance system, funded by contributions from employers, for compensating employees for injury or occupational disease suffered in connection with their employment

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