18-letter words containing r, f, e
- shrubby cinquefoil — a small shrub, Potentilla fruticosa, of the rose family, native to the Northern temperate region, having pinnate leaves and numerous, showy, bright-yellow flowers.
- sildenafil citrate — a white crystalline powder, C 22 H 30 N 6 O 4 S, that temporarily normalizes erectile function of the penis by blocking an enzyme known to inhibit the production of a chemical that causes erections: used in the form of a pill to treat impotence.
- silver certificate — a former paper currency first issued in 1878 by the U.S. federal government for circulation, equal to and redeemable for silver to a stated value.
- silvery cinquefoil — any of several plants belonging to the genus Potentilla, of the rose family, having yellow, red, or white five-petaled flowers, as P. reptans (creeping cinquefoil) of the Old World, or P. argentea (silvery cinquefoil) of North America.
- single-lens reflex — See under reflex camera. Abbreviation: SLR.
- six-finger country — an isolated area considered as being inhabited by people who practise inbreeding
- sixth-form college — (in England and Wales) a college offering A-level and other courses to pupils over sixteen from local schools, esp from those that do not have sixth forms
- smooth fox terrier — a breed of short-haired fox terrier with a mostly white, smooth coat.
- society of friends — a Christian denomination, founded in England c. 1650 by George Fox, that has no formal creed, liturgy, or priesthood and rejects violence in human relations, esp. warfare
- soda-lime feldspar — plagioclase.
- software backplane — (programming, tool) A CASE framework from Atherton.
- soldier of fortune — a person who independently seeks pleasure, wealth, etc., through adventurous exploits.
- sonic depth finder — a sonar instrument that uses echolocation to measure depths under water.
- sound and the fury — a novel (1929) by William Faulkner.
- speak for yourself — If you say 'Speak for yourself' when someone has said something, you mean that what they have said is only their opinion or applies only to them.
- specrate_base_fp92 — (benchmark) A variant of SPECrate_fp92 that reports "baseline" results, using stricter run rules.
- 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.
- 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.
- squinting modifier — a word or phrase that can modify either the words that precede it or those that follow, as frequently in the sentence Studying frequently is tedious.
- state of emergency — If a government or other authority declares a state of emergency in an area, it introduces special measures such as increased powers for the police or army, usually because of civil disorder or because of a natural disaster such as an earthquake.
- strait of magellan — a strait between the mainland of S South America and Tierra del Fuego, linking the S Pacific with the S Atlantic. Length: 600 km (370 miles). Width: up to 32 km (20 miles)
- street certificate — a certificate showing ownership of a specified number of shares of stock: endorsed by the owner and guaranteed by a broker, it may be traded without formal transfer on the books of the corporation issuing the stock.
- subsistence farmer — a farmer who consumes most of the produce he grows, leaving little or nothing to be marketed
- sulfuric anhydride — sulfur trioxide.
- sunflower seed oil — the oil extracted from sunflower seeds, used as a salad oil, in the manufacture of margarine, etc
- surface-to-surface — (of a missile, message, etc.) capable of traveling from a base on the surface of the earth to a target also on the surface.
- sweptwing aircraft — an aircraft which has wings that are swept (usually) backwards
- symmetric function — a polynomial in several indeterminates that stays the same under any permutation of the indeterminates.
- take the wraps off — to reveal
- telford and wrekin — a unitary authority in W Central England, in Shropshire. Pop: 160 300 (2003 est). Area: 289 sq km (112 sq miles)
- terms of reference — Terms of reference are the instructions given to someone when they are asked to consider or investigate a particular subject, telling them what they must deal with and what they can ignore.
- territory of papua — a former territory of Australia, consisting of SE New Guinea and adjacent islands: now part of Papua New Guinea
- the better part of — a large part of
- the bird has flown — the person in question has fled or escaped
- the first sea lord — the senior of the two serving naval officers who sits on the admiralty board of the Ministry of Defence
- the fourth of july — a holiday in the United States, traditionally celebrated with fireworks: the day of the adoption of the Declaration of Independence in 1776
- the french riviera — the Mediterranean coastal region of France from Cannes eastward to Italy
- the full treatment — If you say that someone is given the full treatment, you mean either that they are treated extremely well or that they are treated extremely severely.
- the mosque of omar — the mosque in Jerusalem, Israel, built in 691 ad by caliph 'Abd al-Malik: the third most holy place of Islam; stands on the Temple Mount alongside the al-Aqsa mosque
- the worse for wear — If you say that someone is the worse for wear, you mean that they are tired, ill, or in a bad state because they have been very active, been through a difficult experience, or been drinking alcohol.
- theater of cruelty — a form of surrealist theater originated by Antonin Artaud and emphasizing the cruelty of human existence by portraying sadistic acts and intense suffering.
- theatre of cruelty — a type of theatre advocated by Antonin Artaud in Le Théâtre et son double that seeks to communicate to its audience a sense of pain, suffering, and evil, using gesture, movement, sound, and symbolism rather than language
- thermal efficiency — the ratio of the work output of a heat engine to the heat input expressed in the same units of energy.
- think the world of — the earth or globe, considered as a planet.
- thorfinn karlsefni — 980–after 1007, Icelandic navigator, explorer, and leader of early colonizing expedition to Vinland, in North America.
- throw oneself into — to propel or cast in any way, especially to project or propel from the hand by a sudden forward motion or straightening of the arm and wrist: to throw a ball.
- tip of the iceberg — a large floating mass of ice, detached from a glacier and carried out to sea.
- to agree to differ — If two people who are arguing about something agree to disagree or agree to differ, they decide to stop arguing because neither of them is going to change their opinion.