18-letter words containing p, o, t, s, f
- population figures — population totals; statistics relating to the size of populations
- potassium fluoride — a white, crystalline, hygroscopic, toxic powder, KF, used chiefly as an insecticide, a disinfectant, and in etching glass.
- power-on self-test — (hardware, testing) (POST) A sequence of diagnostic tests that are run automatically by a device when the power is turned on. In a personal computer a typical POST sequence does the following: - checks that the system board is working - checks that the memory is working - compares the current system configuration with that recorded by the PC's configuration program to see if anything has been added or removed or broken - starts the video operation - checks that the diskette drive, hard disk drive, CD-ROM drive, and any other drives that may be installed are working. When POST is finished, typically it will beep, and then let your operating system start to boot. If POST finds an error, it may beep more than once (or possibly not at all if it is your PC speaker that is broken) and display a POST error message. These messages are often nothing more than a single ominous number. Some common numbers and their meanings are: 161 Dead battery (get a new battery for the system board) 162 Configuration changed (you added some memory or a new card to the PC) 301 Keyboard error (take the book off the corner of the keyboard) Because a successful POST indicates that the system is restored to known state, turning the power off and on is a standard way to reset a system whose software has hung. Compare 120 reset, Big Red Switch, power cycle.
- prefect of studies — a senior master in a Jesuit school or college
- preferred position — especially desirable advertising space for which, if it is specifically requested by the advertiser, a publication charges a premium rate.
- presumption of law — a presumption based upon a policy of law or a general rule and not upon the facts or evidence in an individual case.
- process identifier — (operating system) (PID) An integer used by the Unix kernel to uniquely identify a process. PIDs are returned by the fork system call and can be passed to wait() or kill() to perform actions on the given process.
- programme of study — the prescribed syllabus that pupils must be taught at each key stage in the National Curriculum
- purple loosestrife — an Old World plant, Lythrum salicaria, of the loosestrife family, widely naturalized in North America, growing in wet places and having spikes of reddish-purple flowers.
- reinforced plastic — plastic with fibrous matter, such as carbon fibre, embedded in it to confer additional strength
- safety-deposit box — a lockable metal box or drawer, especially in a bank vault, used for safely storing valuable papers, jewelry, etc.
- salt of phosphorus — a colorless, odorless, crystalline, water-soluble solid, NaNH 4 HPO 4 ⋅4H 2 O, originally obtained from human urine: used as a blowpipe flux in testing metallic oxides.
- self-contemplation — the act or process of thinking about oneself or one's values, beliefs, behavior, etc.
- self-preoccupation — the state of being preoccupied.
- shatterproof glass — glass designed to resist shattering
- shoot from the hip — the act of shooting with a bow, firearm, etc.
- slip of the tongue — If you describe something you said as a slip of the tongue, you mean that you said it by mistake.
- sodium hyposulfite — sodium thiosulfate.
- software backplane — (programming, tool) A CASE framework from Atherton.
- sonic depth finder — a sonar instrument that uses echolocation to measure depths under water.
- specific viscosity — a measure of the resistance to flow of a fluid, expressed as the ratio of the absolute viscosity of the fluid to that of a reference fluid (usually water in the case of liquids)
- spectrofluorimeter — an instrument in which the spectrum of secondarily emitted fluorescent light is used to identify chemical compounds.
- spectrofluorometer — an instrument in which the spectrum of secondarily emitted fluorescent light is used to identify chemical compounds.
- spirits of ammonia — a 10% solution of ammonia in alcohol
- spotted flycatcher — a European woodland songbird, Muscicapa striata, with a greyish-brown streaked plumage: family Muscicapidae (Old World flycatchers)
- spur-of-the-moment — occurring or done without advance preparation or deliberation; extemporaneous; unplanned: a spur-of-the-moment decision.
- stepping-off place — jumping-off place (def 2).
- take the wraps off — to reveal
- to play favourites — to display favouritism
- to pull a fast one — If you say that someone has pulled a fast one on you, you mean that they have cheated or tricked you.
- torsion-free group — a group in which every element other than the identity has infinite order.
- visiting professor — a professor from another institution invited to teach at a university or college for a limited period, usually for a semester or one academic year.