15-letter words containing p, l, i
- self-punishment — the act of punishing.
- self-respecting — You can use self-respecting with a noun describing a particular type of person to indicate that something is typical of, or necessary for, that type of person.
- self-supporting — the supporting or maintaining of oneself or itself without reliance on outside aid.
- seller's option — (on the New York Stock Exchange) a special transaction that gives the seller the right to make late delivery of a security within a specified period, ranging from 5 to not more than 60 business days for stocks.
- sensitive plant — Also called humble plant. a tropical American plant, Mimosa pudica, cultivated in greenhouses, having bipinnate leaves whose leaflets fold together when touched.
- sepoy rebellion — the Indian Mutiny of 1857–58
- septendecillion — a cardinal number represented in the U.S. by 1 followed by 54 zeros, and in Great Britain by 1 followed by 102 zeros.
- septentrionally — northwards; in the direction of the north
- serendipitously — come upon or found by accident; fortuitous: serendipitous scientific discoveries.
- sewage disposal — waste processing
- sexual politics — the differences in the amount of power that male and female people have in a society or group
- sheffield plate — sheet copper with a cladding of silver.
- ship's articles — a type of contract by which sailors agree to the conditions, payment, etc, for the ship in which they are going to work
- shipping losses — the total loss of a navy's ships in wartime, esp with reference to those sunk during the Second World War
- shrimp cocktail — prawns and lettuce in Mary Rose sauce
- sibling species — one of two or more species that closely resemble one another but whose members cannot interbreed successfully.
- sidereal period — the period of revolution of a body about another with respect to one or more distant stars
- sidesplittingly — in a side-splitting manner
- sign the pledge — to make a vow to abstain from alcoholic drink
- simple division — a type of division to find out how many times the smaller number is contained in the larger one
- simple equation — linear equation
- simple fraction — a ratio of two integers.
- simple fracture — a fracture in which the bone does not pierce the skin.
- simple interest — interest payable only on the principal; interest that is not compounded.
- simple interval — an interval of an octave or less.
- simple majority — less than half of the total votes cast but more than the minimum required to win, as when there are more than two candidates or choices.
- simple pendulum — a hypothetical apparatus consisting of a point mass suspended from a weightless, frictionless thread whose length is constant, the motion of the body about the string being periodic and, if the angle of deviation from the original equilibrium position is small, representing simple harmonic motion (distinguished from physical pendulum).
- simple sentence — a sentence having only one clause, as I saw her the day before yesterday.
- 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.
- 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.
- sleeve coupling — a cylinder joining the ends of two lengths of shafting or pipe.
- slide projector — device for showing slides
- slumpflationary — of or relating to slumpflation
- smoke pollution — pollution caused by fuels, etc, that produce smoke when burned
- 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.
- snubfin dolphin — Australian dolphin with a small dorsal fin
- social spending — the money that is spent on welfare payments
- socialist party — a U.S. political party advocating socialism, formed about 1900 chiefly by former members of the Social Democratic Party and the Socialist Labor Party.
- socio-political — Socio-political systems and problems involve a combination of social and political factors.
- sodium sulphate — a solid white substance that occurs naturally as thenardite and is usually used as the white anhydrous compound (salt cake) or the white crystalline decahydrate (Glauber's salt) in making glass, detergents, and pulp. Formula: Na2SO4
- sole proprietor — only owner
- solipsistically — in a solipsistic manner
- sophisticatedly — (of a person, ideas, tastes, manners, etc.) altered by education, experience, etc., so as to be worldly-wise; not naive: a sophisticated young socialite; the sophisticated eye of an experienced journalist.