23-letter words containing p, e, c, a, n, t

plain old documentation — (text) (pod, occasionally "POD") A simple markup language used to embed documentation, literate programming-style, in Perl programs. Pod readers and converters are part of the standard Perl distribution and the documentation provided with Perl is all in pod format.
play by electronic mail — (games) A kind of game where the players use electronic mail to communicate. This may be done via a human moderator or an automatic mailing list exploder on some central machine or it may be fully distributed with each player just addressing his mail to all other players. This is a natural extension of "play by mail" games conducted via snail mail.
political incorrectness — Political incorrectness is the attitude or policy shown by someone who does not care if they offend or upset any group of people in society who have a disadvantage, or who have been treated differently because of their sex, race, or disability.
portable tool interface — (programming, standard) (PTI) A standard such as PCTE, allowing interworking between different software tools via defined interfaces to the user and to the repository or object management system.
positive discrimination — special opportunities
postcode discrimination — discrimination on the basis of the area where someone lives, with relation to employment, credit rating, etc
power factor correction — Power factor correction is the process of increasing the power factor to near unity without altering the original load.
precautionary principle — the precept that an action should not be taken if the consequences are uncertain and potentially dangerous
precipitation hardening — a process in which alloys are strengthened by the formation, in their lattice, of a fine dispersion of one component when the metal is quenched from a high temperature and aged at an intermediate temperature
preclinical safety data — Preclinical safety data is information about the safety of a medication that is assessed before clinical trials.
price escalation clause — a clause in a contract allowing the seller to raise prices if the cost of inputs increases
print services facility — (printer) (PSF) IBM's system software which generates native IBM printer language, IPDS and, depending on the version, PostScript and LaserJet PCL. See also: Advanced Function Presentation.
printer access protocol — (networking, protocol, printer) (PAP) A protocol used in Mac OS Appletalk to provide bi-directional communication between PostScript printers and the client computer.
private branch exchange — (communications) (PBX) A telephone exchange local to a particular organisation who use, rather than provide, telephone services. The earliest PBXs were manual (Private Manual Branch EXchange, PMBX) but are now more likely to be automatic (Private Automatic Branch eXchange).
private limited company — a company whose shares can be bought by the public
process intensification — Process intensification is a change made to a process to make it work in a smaller volume for the same performance.
product differentiation — the real or illusory distinction between competing products in a market
professional misconduct — a violation of the rules or boundaries set by the governing body of a profession
provocative maintenance — [Common ironic mutation of "preventive maintenance"] Actions performed upon a machine at regularly scheduled intervals to ensure that the system remains in a usable state. So called because it is all too often performed by a field servoid who doesn't know what he is doing; such "maintenance" often *induces* problems, or otherwise results in the machine's remaining in an *un*usable state for an indeterminate amount of time. See also scratch monkey.
psychomotor retardation — a generalized slowing of psychological and physical activity, frequently occurring as a symptom of severe depression.
publicly-quoted company — a company whose shares are traded on a stock exchange
puerto rican royal palm — a feather palm, Roystonea borinquena, of Puerto Rico and St. Croix, having leaves about 10 feet (3 meters) long and egg-shaped, yellowish-brown fruit.
put through one's paces — a rate of movement, especially in stepping, walking, etc.: to walk at a brisk pace of five miles an hour.
quote chapter and verse — [by analogy with the mainstream phrase] To cite a relevant excerpt from an appropriate bible. "I don't care if "rn" gets it wrong; "Followup-To: poster" is explicitly permitted by RFC 1036. I'll quote chapter and verse if you don't believe me." See also legalese, language lawyer, RTFS (sense 2).
real simple syndication — (spelling) Illiterate form of Really Simple Syndication.
rocky mountain beeplant — a rank-smelling plant, Cleome serrulata, of the caper family, native to the western U.S., having showy, dense clusters of pink or white flowers, frequented by bees.
saint christopher-nevis — St. Kitts-Nevis.
schizotypal personality — a personality disorder characterized by a group of symptoms similar to but less severe than schizophrenia, as odd behavior, peculiar thinking, and social isolation.
silicone breast implant — silicone filled bags that are implanted into a woman in order to increase the size of her breasts
slip between the cracks — to break without complete separation of parts; become fissured: The plate cracked when I dropped it, but it was still usable.
social security payment — a payment of social security made to an individual
somaliland protectorate — official name of the former British Somaliland.
specialite de la maison — the specialty of the house (used in referring to the most important dish served by a restaurant).
spigot and socket joint — a joint between two pipes using male and female parts
stand up and be counted — express opinion
structural unemployment — unemployment caused by basic changes in the overall economy, as in demographics, technology, or industrial organization.
sub specie aeternitatis — from the standpoint of eternity; from a universal perspective
supplementary insurance — Supplementary insurance is insurance coverage that is purchased in addition to an insurance policy to provide additional benefits or coverage.
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 metropolitan police — the police organization that is responsible for Greater London, excluding the City of London
the scottish parliament — the devolved national legislature of Scotland, located in Edinburgh
the teaching profession — the profession of a teacher
thompson submachine gun — a portable, .45-caliber, automatic weapon designed to be fired from the shoulder or hip.
to clap eyes on someone — To clap eyes on someone or something, or set or lay eyes on them, means to see them.
to keep someone company — If you keep someone company, you spend time with them and stop them feeling lonely or bored.
to keep your nose clean — If you keep your nose clean, you behave well and stay out of trouble.
to send someone packing — If you send someone packing, you make them go away.
to wipe the slate clean — If you wipe the slate clean, you decide to forget previous mistakes, failures, or debts and to start again.
topological equivalence — the property of two topological spaces such that there is a homeomorphism from one to the other.
unincorporated business — a privately owned business, often owned by one person who has unlimited liability as the business is not legally registered as a company

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