23-letter words containing p, e, n, r
- separation of variables — a grouping of the terms of an ordinary differential equation so that associated with each differential is a factor consisting entirely of functions of the independent variable appearing in the differential.
- sidewalk superintendent — a bystander who watches the building, demolition, repair, or other work being done at a construction site.
- 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.
- slum clearance campaign — a campaign to rehouse those people who live in a slum area, and to prepare the area for demolition and rebuilding
- social security payment — a payment of social security made to an individual
- somaliland protectorate — official name of the former British Somaliland.
- sparkling mineral water — Sparkling mineral water is mineral water that is slightly carbonated.
- spirit of nitrous ether — ethyl nitrite spirit.
- split-fingered fastball — a pitch, similar to the forkball but thrown with the same arm speed as a fastball, that drops suddenly as it nears the batter.
- st. pierre and miquelon — two small groups of islands off the S coast of Newfoundland: an overseas territory of France; important base for fishing. 3 sq. mi. (240 sq. km). Capital: St. Pierre.
- statutory maternity pay — the maternity pay a woman is legally entitled to
- 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
- subscription television — pay television.
- superposition principle — principle of superposition.
- supplementary insurance — Supplementary insurance is insurance coverage that is purchased in addition to an insurance policy to provide additional benefits or coverage.
- suprasegmental phonemes — phonemes or features of speech, as pitch, stress, and juncture, that may extend over and modify series of segmental phonemes
- text processing utility — (language) (TPU) A DEC language for creation of text-processing interfaces, used to implement DEC's Extensible VAX Editor (EVE).
- 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 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
- to keep a tight rein on — If you keep a tight rein on someone, you control them firmly.
- to keep your nose clean — If you keep your nose clean, you behave well and stay out of trouble.
- 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 win the popular vote — to get a majority as regards the votes cast by individual voters
- trans-new guinea phylum — the largest grouping of the non-Austronesian languages of Papua and New Guinea and the surrounding regions
- transplantation antigen — a histocompatibility antigen identified by its effect on the rejection of transplanted cells or tissues.
- transverse presentation — presentation in which the fetus is turned with its long axis across the mouth of the uterus, at right angles to the axis of the birth canal.
- triple expansion engine — (formerly) a steam engine in which the steam is expanded in three stages in cylinders of increasing diameter to accommodate the increasing volume of the steam
- 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
- unipress software, inc. — (company) A developer and distributor of Unix software. They produce PC-UNIX connectivity software, development tools and applications and provide technical support and maintenance, porting services, training and consulting.
- unprotected intercourse — an act of sexual intercourse or sodomy performed without the use of a condom thus involving the risk of sexually transmitted diseases
- variable contrast paper — printing paper in which the contrast of the image is controlled by the color of the printing light.
- verifiability principle — the doctrine that if a nonanalytic statement is to be cognitively meaningful it must be empirically verifiable.
- virtual private network — (networking, security) (VPN) The use of encryption in the lower protocol layers to provide a secure connection through an otherwise insecure network, typically the Internet. VPNs are generally cheaper than real private networks using private lines but rely on having the same encryption system at both ends. The encryption may be performed by firewall software or possibly by routers. Link-level (layer 2 and 3) encryption provides extra protection by encrypting all of each datagram except the link-level information. This prevents a listener from obtaining information about network structure. While link-level encryption prevents traffic analysis (a form of attack), it must encrypt/decrypt on every hop and every path. Protocol-level encryption (layer 3 and 4) encryption encrypts protocol data but leaves protocol and link headers clear. While protocol-level encryption requires you to encrypt/decrypt data only once, and it encrypts/decrypts only those sessions that need it, headers are sent as clear text, allowing traffic analysis. Application (layer 5 up) encryption is based on a particular application and requires that the application be modified to incorporate encryption.
- visual display terminal — video display terminal. Abbreviation: VDT.
- volumetric displacement — the volume of air per revolution that passes through a mechanical pump when the pressure at the intake and the exhaust is the same as that of the atmosphere
- voyageurs national park — a national park in N Minnesota. 343 sq. mi. (888 sq. km).
- war manpower commission — the board (1942–45) that regulated the most efficient use of labor during World War II. Abbreviation: WMC.
- when the chips are down — a small, slender piece, as of wood, separated by chopping, cutting, or breaking.
- white-coat hypertension — the phenomenon of having elevated blood pressure only during a medical consultation
- wind cave national park — a national park in SW South Dakota. 41½ sq. mi. (107 sq. km).
- wordperfect corporation — (company) The original developers of the WordPerfect word processor and a variety of other applications for personal computers. WordPerfect was founded in Provo, Utah, USA in 1979 by Alan Ashton and Bruce Bastion as "Satellite Software International". The company name was changed to Wordperfect Corporation in 1986. The company was bought by Novell, Inc. in 1994, who then sold it to Corel Corporation in 1996.