19-letter words containing p, o, i, r
- rock-paper-scissors — a method of selecting, for example, which of two people perform a task: each person simultaneously makes one of three hand gestures representing a rock, a sheet of paper, and a pair of scissors respectively. Each gesture defeats one and is defeated by one of the other two: rock defeats scissors but is defeated by paper; paper defeats rock but is defeated by scissors. The person whose gesture defeats the other is selected
- room-temperature iq — (abuse) (IBM) 80 or below. Used in describing the expected intelligence range of the luser. "Well, but how's this interface going to play with the room-temperature IQ crowd?" This is a much more insulting phrase in countries that use Celsius thermometers. See drool-proof paper.
- ruffini's corpuscle — an end organ of certain sensory neurons that branches out parallel to the skin and responds to steady pressure.
- sacrifice operative — a euphemistic term for a suicide bomber
- san bernardino pass — a pass over the Lepontine Alps in SE Switzerland. Highest point: 2062 m (6766 ft)
- san francisco peaks — a mountain mass in N Arizona: highest point in the state, Humphrey's Peak, 12,611 feet (3845 meters).
- san juan capistrano — a city in SW California: site of old Spanish mission; known for annual return of swallows, said to occur on March 19.
- sanitary protection — Sanitary protection is sanitary towels or tampons.
- sb's spiritual home — your spiritual home is the place where you feel that you belong, usually because your ideas or attitudes are the same as those of the people who live there
- sea floor spreading — a process in which new ocean floor is created as molten material from the earth's mantle rises in margins between plates or ridges and spreads out.
- sea-floor spreading — a process in which new ocean floor is created as molten material from the earth's mantle rises in margins between plates or ridges and spreads out.
- secondary picketing — the picketing by strikers of a place of work that supplies goods to or distributes goods from their employer
- self-interpretation — the act of interpreting; elucidation; explication: This writer's work demands interpretation.
- self-representation — the act of representing.
- self-responsibility — the state or fact of being responsible, answerable, or accountable for something within one's power, control, or management.
- semipalmated plover — a New World plover, Charadrius semipalmatus, having a black ring around the chest and semipalmate feet, inhabiting beaches and salt marshes.
- sense of proportion — If someone has a sense of proportion, they know what is really important and what is not.
- sensory deprivation — the experimental or natural reduction of environmental stimuli, as by physical isolation or loss of eyesight, often leading to cognitive, perceptual, or behavioral changes, as disorientation, delusions, or panic.
- separation negative — Photography. a black-and-white negative of one of the additive primary colors used to form a color image.
- sexual reproduction — reproduction involving the union of gametes.
- sexual stereotyping — the formation or promotion of a fixed general idea or image of how men and women will behave
- sharp-focus realism — photorealism.
- sharp-tailed grouse — a grouse, Pedioecetes phasianellus, of prairies and open forests of western North America, similar in size to the prairie chicken but with a more pointed tail.
- ship-to-shore radio — a radio that carries communications between land and sea
- shoestring potatoes — potatoes cut into long, very narrow strips and fried crisp in deep fat
- silk-screen process — Also called silkscreen process. a printmaking technique in which a mesh cloth is stretched over a heavy wooden frame and the design, painted on the screen by tusche or affixed by stencil, is printed by having a squeegee force color through the pores of the material in areas not blocked out by a glue sizing.
- simple carbohydrate — a carbohydrate, as glucose, that consists of a single monosaccharide unit.
- simple closed curve — a curve that is closed and that has no loops or points missing; a curve for which there exists a homeomorphism mapping it to a circle.
- single-cell protein — a protein produced or derived from the culture of a single-celled organism, used as a food supplement or substitute. Abbreviation: SCP.
- sleepy hollow chair — an armchair of the mid-19th century, sometimes on rockers, having a single piece forming a high upholstered back and a concave upholstered seat.
- smoking compartment — a compartment of a train where smoking is permitted
- social anthropology — study of human culture
- sodium hypochlorite — a pale-green, crystalline compound, NaOCl, unstable in air, soluble in cold water, decomposes in hot water: used as a bleaching agent for paper and textiles, in water purification, in household use, and as a fungicide.
- southern hemisphere — the half of the earth between the South Pole and the equator.
- specular reflection — Specular reflection is reflection of heat or light in which the angles of different parts of the surface are important.
- sphere of influence — any area in which one nation wields dominant power over another or others.
- spherical astronomy — the branch of astronomy dealing with the determination of the positions of celestial bodies on the celestial sphere.
- spirit of hartshorn — a colorless, pungent, suffocating, aqueous solution of about 28.5 percent ammonia gas: used chiefly as a detergent, for removing stains and extracting certain vegetable coloring agents, and in the manufacture of ammonium salts.
- splinterproof glass — glass that is designed not to form sharp splinters should it be shattered
- spotted wintergreen — an evergreen plant, Chimaphila maculata, of central North America, having leaves with mottled-white veins and white, fragrant flowers.
- spread oneself thin — to draw, stretch, or open out, especially over a flat surface, as something rolled or folded (often followed by out).
- stabilization print — a print made by the stabilization process.
- stakeholder pension — In Britain, a stakeholder pension is a flexible pension scheme with low charges. Both employees and the state contribute to the scheme, which is optional, and is in addition to the basic state pension.
- standing broad jump — a jump for distance from a standing position.
- stationers' company — a company or guild of the city of London composed of booksellers, printers, dealers in writing materials, etc., incorporated in 1557.
- stationery cupboard — a cupboard where things like paper, pens and paper clips are kept
- streaming potential — the potential produced in the walls of a porous membrane or a capillary tube by forcing a liquid through it.
- strict counterpoint — the application of the rules of counterpoint as an academic exercise
- substitution cipher — a cipher that replaces letters of the plain text with another set of letters or symbols.
- subtractive process — a process of color photography in which the colors are formed by combination of cyan, yellow, and magenta lights.