20-letter words containing p, l, y, i
- polyanthus narcissus — a Eurasian amaryllidaceous plant, Narcissus tazetta, having clusters of small yellow or white fragrant flowers
- polyconic projection — a conic projection in which the parallels are arcs of circles that are not concentric but are equally spaced along the central straight meridian, all other meridians being curves equally spaced along the parallels.
- polymorphic function — a function in a computer program that can deal with a number of different types of data
- polyvinylidene resin — any of the class of thermoplastic resins derived by the polymerization or copolymerization of a polyvinylidene compound, used similarly to the polyvinyl resins.
- polyvinylpyrrolidone — a white, amorphous, water-soluble powder, (C 6 H 9 NO) n , used chiefly as a vehicle in the manufacture of pharmaceuticals.
- portfolio employment — the practice of working for several employers simultaneously rather than working full-time for a single employer
- positive electricity — the electricity present in a body or substance that has a deficiency of electrons, as the electricity developed on glass when rubbed with silk.
- postal delivery zone — zone (def 10).
- presidential primary — a direct primary for the selection of state delegates to a national party convention and the expression of preference for a U.S. presidential nominee.
- primary optical area — a point in or toward the upper left-hand corner of a printed page, advertisement, or the like, looked at first in reading. Abbreviation: POA.
- primitive polynomial — a polynomial that has content equal to 1. Compare content1 (def 11a).
- probability function — the function the values of which are probabilities of the distinct outcomes of a discrete random variable
- property speculation — the buying or selling of property in the hope of deriving capital gains
- pseudo-psychological — of or relating to psychology.
- psychiatric hospital — institution treating mental disorders
- psychological moment — the proper or critical time for achieving a desired result: She found the right psychological moment to make her request.
- psychomotor epilepsy — temporal-lobe epilepsy.
- pyrenees-atlantiques — a department in SW France. 2978 sq. mi. (7710 sq. km). Capital: Pau.
- pyroligneous alcohol — methyl alcohol.
- recreational therapy — therapy by means of recreational activities engaged in by the patient
- relative probability — a measure or estimate of the degree of confidence one may have in the occurrence of an event, defined as the limit of the proportion observed in a sample as the sample size tends to infinity
- revolving presidency — a form of presidency in which the president and vice-president, or countries or bodies acting as such, switch roles after a set period and then back again and so on
- royal leamington spa — a city in Warwickshire, central England: health resort.
- schizoid personality — sb with identity disorder
- spanish oyster plant — a composite plant, Scolymus hispanicus, of southern Europe, having spiny, thistlelike leaf margins, small yellow flowers, and an edible root.
- spuyten duyvil creek — a channel in New York City at the north end of Manhattan Island, connecting the Hudson and Harlem rivers.
- state highway patrol — a state's road traffic police
- subscription library — a commercial lending library
- synoptic meteorology — a branch of meteorology analyzing data collected simultaneously over a wide region, for the purpose of weather forecasting.
- synthetic philosophy — the philosophy of Herbert Spencer, intended as a synthesis of all the sciences.
- teletype corporation — (company) The company which made Teletype teletypewriters. Address: Skokie, Illinois, USA.
- theosophical society — a society founded by Madame Blavatsky and others, in New York in 1875, advocating a worldwide eclectic religion based largely on Brahmanic and Buddhistic teachings.
- to line your pockets — If you say that someone is lining their own or someone else's pockets, you disapprove of them because they are making money dishonestly or unfairly.
- triphenylmethane dye — any of a great number of dyes, as gentian violet, fuchsin, and rosaniline, produced from triphenylmethane by replacement of the ring hydrogen atoms with hydroxy, amino, sulfo, or other atoms or groups.
- turnip-rooted celery — celeriac.
- unemployment benefit — an allowance of money paid, usually weekly, to an unemployed worker by a state or federal agency or by the worker's labor union or former employer during all or part of the period of unemployment.
- unemployment figures — statistics relating to the number of people who are out of work
- upper yosemite falls — a section of Yosemite Falls in central California, in the Yosemite National Park that is 436 m (1430 ft) high
- visually handicapped — unable to carry out normal activities because of defects of vision, including blindness
- white-lipped peccary — a piglike artiodactyl mammal, Tayassu albirostris, of forests of southern North America, Central and South America: family Tayassuidae
- winter olympic games — an international contest of winter sports, esp skiing, held every four years
- woolly spider monkey — a rare related monkey, Brachyteles arachnoides, of SE Brazil
- yellow-billed magpie — either of two corvine birds, Pica pica (black-billed magpie) of Eurasia and North America, or P. nuttalli (yellow-billed magpie) of California, having long, graduated tails, black-and-white plumage, and noisy, mischievous habits.