23-letter words containing o, t, h, e, r

spirit of nitrous ether — ethyl nitrite spirit.
staggered directorships — a defence against unwelcome takeover bids in which a company resolves that its directors should serve staggered terms of office and that no director can be removed from office without just cause, thus preventing a bidder from controlling the board for some years
steal someone's thunder — to strike, drive, inflict, give forth, etc., with loud noise or violent action.
suit down to the ground — the solid surface of the earth; firm or dry land: to fall to the ground.
suprasegmental phonemes — phonemes or features of speech, as pitch, stress, and juncture, that may extend over and modify series of segmental phonemes
survival of the fittest — (not in technical use) natural selection.
take sth in your stride — In British English, if you take a problem or difficulty in your stride, you deal with it calmly and easily. The American expression is take something in stride.
tennessee walking horse — an American breed of horse, marked by its stamina and trained to move at a fast running walk
thank one's lucky stars — any of the heavenly bodies, except the moon, appearing as fixed luminous points in the sky at night.
the best of both worlds — advantages of two different things
the chamber of deputies — the lower legislative assembly in some parliaments
the data protection act — a United Kingdom act of parliament designed to ensure the proper handling of information stored about individuals on computers and entitling individuals to find out what information is stored about them
the department of state — the United States federal department concerned with foreign policy
the fright of your life — You can use expressions such as the fright of your life or the race of your life to emphasize, for example, that you have never been so frightened or that you never have run faster.
the information highway — the internet
the kingdom of lorraine — an early medieval kingdom on the Meuse, Moselle, and Rhine rivers: later a duchy
the lesser of two evils — If you have two choices, but think that they are both bad, you can describe the one which is less bad as the lesser of two evils, or the lesser evil.
the library of congress — the official library of the United States in Washington, DC. It houses extensive collections in all subject areas and formats, important historical documents, and is also a depository for copyrighted materials.
the metropolitan police — the police organization that is responsible for Greater London, excluding the City of London
the royal naval reserve — the volunteer reserve force of the Royal Navy in the United Kingdom
the scottish parliament — the devolved national legislature of Scotland, located in Edinburgh
the taming of the shrew — a comedy (1594?) by Shakespeare.
the teaching profession — the profession of a teacher
the thrill of the chase — If you talk about the thrill of the chase, you are referring to the excitement that people feel when they are trying hard to get something.
the whys and wherefores — The whys and wherefores of something are the reasons for it.
there is no holding him — he is so spirited or resolute that he cannot be restrained
there is nothing for it — If you say that there is nothing for it but to take a particular action, you mean that it is the only possible course of action that you can take, even though it might be unpleasant.
there'll be hell to pay — If you say there'll be hell to pay, you are emphasizing that there will be serious trouble.
there's no need/no need — You can tell someone that there's no need for them to do something as a way of telling them not to do it or of telling them to stop doing it, for example because it is unnecessary.
throttle-body injection — a fuel-injection system in which an injector (throttle-body injector) delivers fuel to a central location within the intake manifold of the engine. Abbreviation: TBI.
throw down the gauntlet — a medieval glove, as of mail or plate, worn by a knight in armor to protect the hand.
to be in short trousers — to be a little boy
to bring the house down — If a person or their performance or speech brings the house down, the audience claps, laughs, or shouts loudly because the performance or speech is very impressive or amusing.
to change for the worse — If a situation changes for the worse, it becomes more unpleasant or more difficult.
to draw the short straw — If you draw the short straw, you are chosen from a number of people to perform a job or duty that you will not enjoy.
to drive a hard bargain — If people drive a hard bargain, they argue with determination in order to achieve a deal which is favourable to themselves.
to fight fire with fire — If you fight fire with fire, you deal with people attacking or threatening you by using similar methods to the ones that they are using.
to force someone's hand — If you force someone's hand, you force them to act sooner than they want to, or to act in public when they would prefer to keep their actions secret.
to get the better of sb — If a feeling such as jealousy, curiosity, or anger gets the better of you, it becomes too strong for you to hide or control.
to have a police record — If you say that somebody has a police record, you mean that they have committed a crime or crimes and the police have a record of this.
to have an axe to grind — If someone has an axe to grind, they are doing something for selfish reasons.
to have feelings for sb — to be emotionally or sexually attracted to
to have your hands full — If you have your hands full with something, you are very busy because of it.
to keep a straight face — If you manage to keep a straight face, you manage to look serious, although you want to laugh.
to keep a tight rein on — If you keep a tight rein on someone, you control them firmly.
to keep sth to yourself — If you keep something to yourself, you do not tell anyone else about it.
to pay through the nose — If you say that you paid through the nose for something, you are emphasizing that you had to pay what you consider too high a price for it.
to play for high stakes — to gamble on something very important
to pluck up the courage — If you pluck up the courage to do something that you feel nervous about, you make an effort to be brave enough to do it.
to rise to the occasion — If you say that someone rose to the occasion, you mean that they did what was necessary to successfully overcome a difficult situation.

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