17-letter words containing r, h, a, t
- three-strikes law — a law that mandates a life sentence to a felon convicted for the third time.
- threshing machine — a machine for removing grains and seeds from straw and chaff.
- throat microphone — a microphone worn around the throat and actuated by vibrations of the larynx, used when background noise would obscure the sound of speech, as in an airplane cockpit.
- throat sweetbread — sweetbread (def 2).
- throw the book at — a handwritten or printed work of fiction or nonfiction, usually on sheets of paper fastened or bound together within covers.
- thuringian forest — a forested mountain region in central Germany: a resort area.
- tiglath-pileser i — died 1102? b.c, king of Assyria c1115–1102?.
- to argue the toss — If you say that someone argues the toss, you are criticizing them for continuing to argue for longer than is necessary about something that is not very important.
- to break the bank — If you say that the cost of something will not break the bank, you mean that it will not cost a large sum of money.
- to have a tin ear — If you say that someone has a tin ear for something, you mean that they do not have any natural ability for it and cannot appreciate or understand it fully.
- to keep your head — If you keep your head, you remain calm in a difficult situation. If you lose your head, you panic or do not remain calm in a difficult situation.
- to make sth clear — If you make something clear, you say something in a way that makes it impossible for there to be any doubt about your meaning, wishes, or intentions.
- to play with fire — If you say that someone is playing with fire, you mean that they are doing something dangerous that may result in great harm for them and cause many problems.
- to raise the roof — If a group of people inside a building raise the roof, they make a very loud noise, for example by singing or shouting.
- to show your face — If you show your face somewhere, you go there and see people, although you are not welcome, are rather unwilling to go, or have not been there for some time.
- to strike a chord — If something strikes a chord with you, it makes you feel sympathy or enthusiasm.
- to test the water — If you test the water or test the waters, you try to find out what reaction an action or idea will get before you do it or tell it to people.
- to throw a wrench — If someone throws a wrench or throws a monkey wrench into a process, they prevent something happening smoothly by deliberately causing a problem.
- tortoiseshell cat — a domestic cat, especially a female one, of variegated black, yellow, and white coloring.
- touch a raw nerve — If you say that you have touched a nerve or touched a raw nerve, you mean that you have accidentally upset someone by talking about something that they feel strongly about or are very sensitive about.
- transdermal patch — a small piece of material used to mend a tear or break, to cover a hole, or to strengthen a weak place: patches at the elbows of a sports jacket.
- travancore-cochin — a former Indian state that was a merger of Travancore and Cochin, two former princely states of India, and which became part of Kerala state in 1956
- trick photography — photography that creates an illusion
- trigger mechanism — a physiological or psychological process caused by a stimulus and resulting in a usually severe reaction.
- triskaidekaphobia — fear or a phobia concerning the number 13.
- trucial sheikdoms — an independent federation in E Arabia, formed in 1971, now comprising seven emirates on the S coast (formerly, Pirate Coast or Trucial Coast) of the Persian Gulf, formerly under British protection: Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Sharjah, Ajman, Umm al-Qaiwain, Ras al-Khaimah (joined 1972), and Fujairah. About 32,300 sq. mi. (83,657 sq. km). Capital: Abu Dhabi. Abbreviation: U.A.E.
- try one's hand at — to attempt (to do something), esp. for the first time
- turbosupercharger — (formerly) a turbocharger.
- turn on the charm — If someone turns on the charm, they behave in a way that seems very friendly but which you think is insincere, often in order to obtain something or deceive someone.
- twelve patriarchs — any of the sons of Jacob ((the twelve patriarchs),) from whom the tribes of Israel were descended.
- tyrant flycatcher — flycatcher (def 2).
- ultimate strength — the quantity of the utmost tensile, compressive, or shearing stress that a given unit area of a certain material is expected to bear without failing.
- ultrametamorphism — metamorphism during which the temperature of a rock exceeds its melting point.
- under the weather — the state of the atmosphere with respect to wind, temperature, cloudiness, moisture, pressure, etc.
- undulatory theory — wave theory (def 1).
- unitary authority — (in the United Kingdom) a district administered by a single tier of local government, esp those districts of England that became administratively independent of the county councils in 1996–98
- up/raise the ante — If you up the ante or raise the ante, you increase your demands when you are in dispute or fighting for something.
- upper paleolithic — See under Paleolithic.
- varix lymphaticus — a similar condition affecting an artery or lymphatic vessel
- ventura publisher — Corel VENTURA
- victoriano huerta — Victoriano [beek-taw-ryah-naw] /ˌbik tɔˈryɑ nɔ/ (Show IPA), 1854–1916, Mexican general: provisional president of Mexico 1913–14.
- visitation rights — the legal right granted to a divorced or separated parent to visit a child in the custody of the other parent.
- vulcan death grip — (jargon) A variant of Vulcan nerve pinch derived from a Star Trek classic epsisode where a non-existant "Vulcan death grip" was used to fool Romulans that Spock had killed Kirk.
- wall street crash — the dramatic collapse of share prices on the New York Stock Exchange in October 1929, an important factor in the early stages of the Depression
- war establishment — the full wartime complement of men, equipment, and vehicles of a military unit
- warehouse receipt — a receipt for goods placed in a warehouse.
- warehousing costs — the costs involved in storing goods in a warehouse
- wars of the roses — the civil struggle between the royal house of Lancaster, whose emblem was a red rose, and the royal house of York, whose emblem was a white rose, beginning in 1455 and ending with the accession of Henry VII in 1485 and the union of the two houses.
- washington square — a short novel (1881) by Henry James.
- water on the knee — an accumulation of fluid in the knee cavity caused by inflammation and trauma to the cartilages or membranes of the knee joint.