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19-letter words containing p, u, s, h

  • physical sequential — (file format)   (PS, QSAM, Queued Sequential Access Method) The simplest data set on an IBM mainframe. Sequential files can only be read or written from the beginning: they do not support random access.
  • pillars of hercules — the two promontories at the E end of the Strait of Gibraltar: the Rock of Gibraltar on the European side and the Jebel Musa on the African side; according to legend, formed by Hercules
  • police headquarters — building where police are stationed
  • portobello mushroom — a dark mushroom, strong in flavor, having a broad, flat cap that is often grilled and eaten
  • potassium hydroxide — a white, deliquescent, water-soluble solid, KOH, usually in the form of lumps, sticks, or pellets, that upon solution in water generates heat: used chiefly in the manufacture of soap, as a laboratory reagent, and as a caustic.
  • potassium phosphate — any of the three orthophosphates of potassium ((potassium monophosphate) (K 2 HPO 4), (potassium diphosphate) (KH 2 PO 4), and (tripotassium phosphate) (K 3 PO 4) )
  • priority scheduling — (operating system)   Processes scheduling in which the scheduler selects tasks to run based on their priority as opposed to, say, a simple round-robin. Priorities may be static or dynamic. Static priorities are assigned at the time of creation, while dynamic priorities are based on the processes' behaviour while in the system. For example, the scheduler may favour I/O-intensive tasks so that expensive requests can be issued as early as possible. A danger of priority scheduling is starvation, in which processes with lower priorities are not given the opportunity to run. In order to avoid starvation, in preemptive scheduling, the priority of a process is gradually reduced while it is running. Eventually, the priority of the running process will no longer be the highest, and the next process will start running. This method is called aging.
  • pseudo-biographical — of or relating to a person's life: He's gathering biographical data for his book on Milton.
  • pseudo-hieroglyphic — noting or pertaining to a script dating from the second millennium b.c. that appears to be syllabic and to represent the Phoenician language and that is inscribed on objects found at Byblos.
  • pseudohermaphrodite — an individual having internal reproductive organs of one sex and external sexual characteristics resembling those of the other sex or being ambiguous in nature. Compare hermaphrodite (def 1).
  • pseudopsychological — of or relating to psychology.
  • puerperal psychosis — a mental disorder sometimes occurring in women after childbirth, characterized by deep depression, delusions of the child's death, and homicidal feelings towards the child
  • pugwash conferences — international peace conferences of scientists held regularly to discuss world problems: Nobel peace prize 1995 awarded to Joseph Rotblat (1908–2005) , one of the founders of the conferences, secretary-general (1957–73), and president (1988–97)
  • pull in one's horns — one of the bony, permanent, hollow paired growths, often curved and pointed, that project from the upper part of the head of certain ungulate mammals, as cattle, sheep, goats, or antelopes.
  • punch and judy show — A Punch and Judy show is a puppet show for children, often performed at fairs or at the seaside. Punch and Judy, the two main characters, are always fighting.
  • punch-and-judy show — a puppet show having a conventional plot consisting chiefly of slapstick humor and the tragicomic misadventures of the grotesque, hook-nosed, humpback buffoon Punch and his wife Judy.
  • push comes to shove — matters become serious or reach a critical point where some action or decision is required
  • put a figure on sth — When you put a figure on an amount, you say exactly how much it is.
  • put sth into action — If you put an idea or policy into action, you begin to use it or cause it to operate.
  • put sth to the test — If you put something to the test, you find out how useful or effective it is by using it.
  • put the skids under — a plank, bar, log, or the like, especially one of a pair, on which something heavy may be slid or rolled along.
  • put up the shutters — to close business at the end of the day or permanently
  • rap on the knuckles — a mild reprimand or light sentence
  • reflux oesophagitis — inflammation of the gullet caused by regurgitation of stomach acids, producing heartburn: may be associated with a hiatus hernia
  • saddharma-pundarika — a Mahayana sutra, forming with its references to Amida and the Bodhisattvas the basis for the doctrine that there is something of Buddha in everyone, so that salvation is universally available: a central text of Mahayana Buddhism.
  • samuel de champlain — Samuel de [sam-yoo-uh l duh;; French sa-my-el duh] /ˈsæm yu əl də;; French sa müˈɛl də/ (Show IPA), 1567–1635, French explorer in the Americas: founder of Quebec; first colonial governor 1633–35.
  • 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
  • set/put the seal on — If something sets or puts the seal on something, it makes it definite or confirms how it is going to be.
  • 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.
  • 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.
  • sodium thiosulphate — a white soluble substance used, in the pentahydrate form, in photography as a fixer to dissolve unchanged silver halides and also to remove excess chlorine from chlorinated water. Formula: Na2S2O3
  • south pacific ocean — the part of the Pacific Ocean extending S from the Equator to the Antarctic continent.
  • southern crab apple — a tree, Malus angustifolia, of the eastern U.S., having oblong leaves, fragrant, pink or rose-colored flowers, and small, round, yellow-green fruit.
  • southern hemisphere — the half of the earth between the South Pole and the equator.
  • spanish inquisition — the Inquisition in Spain, under state control from 1480 to 1834, marked by the extreme severity and cruelty of its proceedings in the 16th century.
  • spare a thought for — If you spare a thought for an unfortunate person, you make an effort to think sympathetically about them and their bad luck.
  • sphere of influence — any area in which one nation wields dominant power over another or others.
  • spider-hunting wasp — any solitary wasp of the superfamily Pompiloidea, having a slender elongated body: the fast-running female hunts spiders as a food store for her larvae
  • squamous epithelium — epithelium consisting of one or more layers of scalelike cells.
  • substitution cipher — a cipher that replaces letters of the plain text with another set of letters or symbols.
  • sulphonium compound — any one of a class of salts derived by the addition of a proton to the sulphur atom of a thiol or thio-ether thus producing a positive ion (sulphonium ion)
  • superhigh frequency — any frequency between 3000 and 30,000 megahertz. Abbreviation: SHF.
  • surface effect ship — a large, ship-size air cushion vehicle operated over water.
  • take up the cudgels — If you take up the cudgels for someone or something, you speak or fight in support of them.
  • tarnished plant bug — a bug, Lygus lineolaris, of the family Miridae, that is a common and widely distributed pest of alfalfa and other legumes and of peach and other fruit trees.
  • tehachapi mountains — a transverse (E–W) mountain range in S central California. Highest peak, Double Mountain, 7982 feet (2433 meters).
  • the buck stops here — the ultimate responsibility lies here
  • the compassion club — (in Canada) a nonprofit organization that provides uncontaminated cannabis for medical purposes and natural therapies in a safe environment
  • the open university — (in Britain) a university founded in 1969 for mature students studying by television and radio lectures, correspondence courses, local counselling, and summer schools
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