15-letter words containing p, r, i, a
- rite de passage — rite of passage.
- rite of passage — Anthropology. a ceremony performed to facilitate or mark a person's change of status upon any of several highly important occasions, as at the onset of puberty or upon entry into marriage or into a clan.
- riverbank grape — a high-climbing vine, Vitis riparia, of eastern North America, having fragrant flowers and nearly black fruit.
- rocket airplane — an airplane propelled wholly or mainly by a rocket engine.
- room-and-pillar — noting a means of extracting coal or other minerals from underground deposits by first cutting out rooms, then robbing the pillars between them; pillar-and-breast.
- royal poinciana — a tree, Delonix regia, of the legume family, native to Madagascar, having showy clusters of brilliant scarlet flowers and long, flat, woody pods.
- ruby grapefruit — a grapefruit with red flesh
- rudyard kipling — (Joseph) Rudyard [ruhd-yerd] /ˈrʌd yərd/ (Show IPA), 1865–1936, English author: Nobel Prize 1907.
- rump parliament — the remnant of the Long Parliament established by the expulsion of the Presbyterian members in 1648, dismissed by force in 1653, and restored briefly in 1659–60.
- running repairs — repairs, as to a machine or vehicle, that are minor and can be made with little or no interruption in the use of the item
- sales promotion — the methods or techniques for creating public acceptance of or interest in a product, usually in addition to standard merchandising techniques, as advertising or personal selling, and generally consisting of the offer of free samples, gifts made to a purchaser, or the like.
- salisbury plain — a plateau in S England, N of Salisbury: the site of Stonehenge.
- sanitary napkin — a pad of absorbent material, as cotton, worn by women during menstruation to absorb the uterine flow.
- saprophytically — any organism that lives on dead organic matter, as certain fungi and bacteria.
- sarcoptic mange — mange caused by burrowing mites of the genus Sarcoptes.
- schopenhauerian — Arthur [ahr-too r] /ˈɑr tʊər/ (Show IPA), 1788–1860, German philosopher.
- schopenhauerism — the philosophy of Schopenhauer, who taught that only the cessation of desire can solve the problems arising from the universal impulse of the will to live.
- scratching post — a block or post of wood, usually covered with carpeting, on which a cat can use its claws.
- seaside sparrow — a species of sparrow, Ammospiza maritima, existing in two subspecies, one (Cape Sable seaside sparrow) having dark olive-drab plumage with a lighter breast and underbelly, and the other (dusky seaside sparrow) having bold black and white markings on the breast and underbelly: the dusky seaside sparrow is almost extinct.
- seleucia pieria — an ancient port in Syria, on the River Orontes: the port of Antioch, of military importance during the wars between the Ptolemies and Seleucids; largely destroyed by earthquake in 526; site of present-day Samandaǧ (Turkey)
- self-absorption — preoccupation with oneself or one's own affairs.
- self-persuasion — the act of persuading or seeking to persuade.
- self-proclaimed — to announce or declare in an official or formal manner: to proclaim war.
- semipornography — partial pornography; material that is almost pornographic
- semitransparent — imperfectly or almost transparent.
- 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.
- serum hepatitis — hepatitis B.
- share ownership — the owning of shares in a company
- 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
- 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
- shrimp cocktail — prawns and lettuce in Mary Rose sauce
- shrink-wrapping — a flexible plastic wrapping designed to shrink about its contours to protect and seal something
- side impact bar — A side impact bar is a long beam in a car door that is designed to protect passengers during a crash.
- sidereal period — the period of revolution of a body about another with respect to one or more distant stars
- simple fraction — a ratio of two integers.
- simple fracture — a fracture in which the bone does not pierce the skin.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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 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.
- 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.
- somatic therapy — any of a group of treatments presumed to act on biological factors leading to mental illness.
- southern paiute — See under Paiute (def 2).