15-letter words containing p, i, s, a, n
- scratching post — a block or post of wood, usually covered with carpeting, on which a cat can use its claws.
- self-absorption — preoccupation with oneself or one's own affairs.
- self-persuasion — the act of persuading or seeking to persuade.
- semipornography — partial pornography; material that is almost pornographic
- semitransparent — imperfectly or almost transparent.
- sensitive plant — Also called humble plant. a tropical American plant, Mimosa pudica, cultivated in greenhouses, having bipinnate leaves whose leaflets fold together when touched.
- september rains — rainy weather during the month of September
- septentrionally — northwards; in the direction of the north
- serpentine jade — a green variety of serpentine used as a gem: not a true jade.
- share ownership — the owning of shares in a company
- ship's manifest — a list of the shipments or cargo that a vessel is carrying
- shock probation — the release on probation of a criminal after brief imprisonment
- shopping arcade — a place where a number of shops are connected together under one roof
- shopping basket — a metal or plastic container with one or two handles, used to carry shopping in a shop
- shrink-wrapping — a flexible plastic wrapping designed to shrink about its contours to protect and seal something
- simple equation — linear equation
- simple fraction — a ratio of two integers.
- simple interval — an interval of an octave or less.
- simplicidentate — belonging or pertaining to the Simplicidentata, formerly regarded as a suborder or division of rodents having only one pair of upper incisor teeth.
- sinai peninsula — broad peninsula in NE Egypt, between the Gulf of Suez & the Gulf of Aqaba
- singapore sling — a cocktail of gin, cherry brandy, sugar, and water.
- sinorespiratory — of, relating to, or affecting the paranasal sinuses and the respiratory tract.
- slab plastering — coarse plastering, as between the studs in a half-timbered wall.
- slap and tickle — sexual play
- sleeping beauty — a beautiful princess, the heroine of a popular fairy tale, awakened from a charmed sleep by the kiss of the prince who is her true love.
- sleeping tablet — A sleeping tablet is the same as a sleeping pill.
- slumpflationary — of or relating to slumpflation
- snafu principle — /sna'foo prin'si-pl/ [WWII Army acronym for "Situation Normal: All Fucked Up"] "True communication is possible only between equals, because inferiors are more consistently rewarded for telling their superiors pleasant lies than for telling the truth." - a central tenet of Discordianism, often invoked by hackers to explain why authoritarian hierarchies screw up so reliably and systematically. The effect of the SNAFU principle is a progressive disconnection of decision-makers from reality. This lightly adapted version of a fable dating back to the early 1960s illustrates the phenomenon perfectly: In the beginning was the plan, and then the specification; And the plan was without form, and the specification was void. And darkness was on the faces of the implementors thereof; And they spake unto their leader, saying: "It is a crock of shit, and smells as of a sewer." And the leader took pity on them, and spoke to the project leader: "It is a crock of excrement, and none may abide the odor thereof." And the project leader spake unto his section head, saying: "It is a container of excrement, and it is very strong, such that none may abide it." The section head then hurried to his department manager, and informed him thus: "It is a vessel of fertilizer, and none may abide its strength." The department manager carried these words to his general manager, and spoke unto him saying: "It containeth that which aideth the growth of plants, and it is very strong." And so it was that the general manager rejoiced and delivered the good news unto the Vice President. "It promoteth growth, and it is very powerful." The Vice President rushed to the President's side, and joyously exclaimed: "This powerful new software product will promote the growth of the company!" And the President looked upon the product, and saw that it was very good. After the subsequent disaster, the suits protect themselves by saying "I was misinformed!", and the implementors are demoted or fired.
- snapping beetle — click beetle.
- snapping turtle — either of two large, edible, freshwater turtles of the family Chelydridae, of North and Central America, having a large head and powerful hooked jaws, especially the common snapping turtle, Chelydra serpentina.
- social spending — the money that is spent on welfare payments
- southern paiute — See under Paiute (def 2).
- space scientist — an expert or specialist in any of the various science fields which relate to space flight or any phenomena occurring in space or on other planets. This would include for example such fields as Astronautics, Astrophysics, or Galactic Science
- spanish america — the Spanish-speaking countries south of the U.S.: Mexico, Central America (with the exception of Belize), South America (with the exceptions of Brazil, French Guiana, Guyana, and Suriname), and most of the West Indies.
- spanish bayonet — any of certain plants belonging to the genus Yucca, of the agave family, having narrow, spine-tipped leaves and a cluster of white flowers.
- spanish customs — irregular practices among a group of workers to gain increased financial allowances, reduced working hours, etc
- spanish morocco — French Maroc. Spanish Marruecos. a kingdom in NW Africa: formed from a sultanate that was divided into two protectorates (French Morocco and Spanish Morocco) and an international zone. 172,104 sq. mi. (445,749 sq. km). Capital: Rabat. Compare Tangier Zone.
- spanish needles — (used with a singular or plural verb) a composite plant, Bidens bipinnata, having achenes with downwardly barbed awns.
- spanish paprika — a cultivated pepper, Capsicum annuum, grown originally in Spain.
- spanish trefoil — alfalfa.
- sparcstation 10 — (computer) A SPARCStation with a 4-way associative data cache and a five-way associative instruction cache. The 10/31, 10/41 and 10/51 also have a secondary cache not present on earlier SPARCStations.
- sparcstation 20 — (computer) A SPARCStation based on the HyperSPARC processor. The 20 is compatible with the earlier SPARCstation 10. It has a clock rate of 100MHz and delivers a SPECfp92 of 127.6. The SPARCstation 20 Model 71 and 712MP uses the 75MHz SuperSPARC processors that give a 35% and 14% boost to SPECint92 and SPECfp92 respectively compared to the 61/612MP.
- sparkling water — soda water (def 1).
- spawning ground — a place where fish deposit their eggs for fertilization
- speaking as sth — You can say 'speaking as a parent' or 'speaking as a teacher', for example, to indicate that the opinion you are giving is based on your experience as a parent or as a teacher.
- speaking of sth — You can say speaking of something that has just been mentioned as a way of introducing a new topic which has some connection with that thing.
- special edition — newspaper, magazine: extra issue
- special licence — a licence permitting a marriage to take place by dispensing with the usual legal conditions
- special partner — a partner whose liability for the firm's debts is limited to the amount that partner has invested in the firm.
- special session — a session, as of a legislature or council, called to meet in addition to those held regularly.