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22-letter words containing r, i, s, b

  • probationary assistant — a teacher in the first probationary years
  • public domain software — public domain
  • public housing project — a group of homes for poorer families which is funded and controlled by the local government
  • public service vehicle — a bus or coach
  • pull/bring sb up short — If something pulls you up short or brings you up short, it makes you suddenly stop what you are doing.
  • pulmonary tuberculosis — tuberculosis of the lungs.
  • pyridostigmine bromide — a cholinesterase inhibitor, C 9 H 1 3 BrN 2 O 2 , used in its bromide form in the treatment of myasthenia gravis.
  • read between the lines — a mark or stroke long in proportion to its breadth, made with a pen, pencil, tool, etc., on a surface: a line down the middle of the page.
  • replacement cost basis — Replacement cost basis is a method of valuing insured property in which the cost of replacing property is calculated without a reduction for depreciation.
  • research establishment — an establishment or institution where research or investigation into a subject, topic, etc, can be conducted
  • round-table discussion — a discussion held at a meeting of parties or people on equal terms
  • saddleback caterpillar — a moth larva, Sibine stimulea, of the southeastern U.S, having a brown and green, saddlelike marking on its back and poisonous spines.
  • sainte anne de beaupre — a village in S Quebec, Canada, on the St. Lawrence River: shrine and basilica.
  • sainte-anne-de-beaupré — village in S Quebec, Canada, on the St. Lawrence: site of a Rom. Catholic shrine (established 1658): pop. 3,000
  • satellite broadcasting — the transmission of television or radio programmes from an artificial satellite at a power suitable for direct reception in the home
  • satisfiability problem — A problem used as an example in complexity theory. It can be stated thus: Given a Boolean expression E, decide if there is some assignment to the variables in E such that E is true. A Boolean expression is composed of Boolean variables, (logical) negation (NOT), (logical) conjunction (AND) and parentheses for grouping. The satisfiability problem was the first problem to be proved to be NP-complete (by Cook).
  • sb can whistle for sth — If you say that someone can whistle for a particular thing, you mean that you are not willing or able to give it to them.
  • scalable sampling rate — (compression, standard, algorithm)   (SSR) See, e.g., MPEG-4 AAC SSR.
  • scissors-and-paste job — if you describe a piece of work as a scissors and paste job, you mean that it has been mechanically compiled, as if by simply cutting and pasting different parts to make a new whole
  • search the fucking web — (web, jargon)   (Always abbreviated STFW) A response implying that an inquirer could have easily found an answer to his question using Google or some other web search engine. It is now often quicker and more productive to search the World-Wide Web than to RTFM.
  • sell sb down the river — If someone sells you down the river, they betray you for some personal profit or advantage.
  • shaken but not stirred — If you say that someone has been shaken but not stirred by an experience, you mean that they have been slightly disturbed or emotionally affected by it, but not deeply enough to change their behaviour or way of thinking.
  • sick building syndrome — an illness caused by exposure to pollutants or germs inside an airtight building.
  • simultaneous broadcast — a programme, etc, broadcast simultaneously on radio and television
  • sir william blackstone — Sir William, 1723–80, English jurist and writer on law.
  • sixteen bit organisers — (communications)   (SIBO) Psion's family of PDAs running EPOC, including the MC200, MC400, Series 3 (1991-1998), Series 3a, Series 3c, Series 3mx, Siena, Workabout and Workabout mx.
  • social security number — A Social Security number is a nine digit number that is given to U.S. citizens and to people living in the U.S. You need it to get a job, collect Social Security benefits and receive some government services.
  • softening of the brain — a softening of the cerebrum, caused by impairment of the blood supply; encephalomalacia.
  • someone's number is up — someone's time to die or suffer punishment has arrived
  • south african republic — former name of Transvaal.
  • start the ball rolling — to open or initiate (an action, discussion, movement, etc)
  • subjective probability — a measure or estimate of the degree of confidence one may have in the occurrence of an event, defined by subjective criteria
  • subliminal advertising — a form of advertising on film or television that employs subliminal images to influence the viewer unconsciously
  • subornation of perjury — the offense of bribing or otherwise persuading another to commit perjury.
  • substantive agreements — collective agreements that regulate jobs, pay, and conditions
  • swings and roundabouts — If you say that a situation is swings and roundabouts, you mean that there are as many gains as there are losses.
  • tear sb limb from limb — If someone threatens to tear you limb from limb, they mean that they are extremely angry with you, and may use violence against you.
  • temporal lobe epilepsy — a type of seizure disorder produced by abnormal electric discharges in the temporal lobe of the brain, characterized by the occurrence of any of a variety of auras followed by a brief loss of consciousness with accompanying repetitive, automatic movements.
  • temporal-lobe epilepsy — a type of seizure disorder produced by abnormal electric discharges in the temporal lobe of the brain, characterized by the occurrence of any of a variety of auras followed by a brief loss of consciousness with accompanying repetitive, automatic movements.
  • the edinburgh festival — an arts festival held in Edinburgh in August
  • the muslim brotherhood — a transnational Islamic religious and political organization dedicated to the establishment of a nation based on Islamic principles, founded in Egypt in 1928
  • threespine stickleback — a widely distributed stickleback, Gasterosteus aculeatus, occurring in marine, brackish, or fresh waters throughout the northern hemisphere.
  • to be full to bursting — to be very full
  • to cast your mind back — If you cast your mind back to a time in the past, you think about what happened then.
  • to twiddle your thumbs — If you say that someone is twiddling their thumbs, you mean that they do not have anything to do and are waiting for something to happen.
  • trans-siberian railway — a railway in S Russia, extending from Moscow to Vladivostok on the Pacific: constructed between 1891 and 1916, making possible the settlement and industrialization of sparsely inhabited regions. Length: 9335 km (5800 miles)
  • transition probability — the probability of going from a given state to the next state in a Markov process.
  • underground combustion — Underground combustion is the process of heating oil to allow it to flow more easily and make it easier to recover.
  • unreasonable behaviour — conduct by a spouse sufficient to cause the irretrievable breakdown of a marriage
  • urban district council — a council of an urban district that, in conjunction with a county council, has responsibilities for local government issues
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