13-letter words containing r, o, s, a, l
- flash-forward — a device in the narrative of a motion picture, novel, etc., by which a future event or scene is inserted into the chronological structure of the work.
- flavoproteins — Plural form of flavoprotein.
- flirtatiously — given or inclined to flirtation.
- floating ribs — the eleventh and twelfth pairs of ribs, not attached to the breastbone or to other ribs but only to the vertebrae
- florianopolis — a state in S Brazil. 36,856 sq. mi. (95,455 sq. km). Capital: Florianópolis.
- floristically — In a floristic manner.
- flowering ash — a variety of ash tree that produces conspicuous flowers
- fluorocarbons — Plural form of fluorocarbon.
- fluoroplastic — any of the plastics, as Teflon, in which hydrogen atoms of the hydrocarbon chains are replaced by fluorine atoms.
- flutterboards — Plural form of flutterboard.
- focal seizure — an epileptic manifestation arising from a localized anomaly in the brain, as a small tumor or scar, and usually involving a single motor or sensory mechanism but occasionally spreading to other areas and causing convulsions and loss of consciousness.
- fool's errand — a completely absurd, pointless, or useless errand.
- foolhardiness — recklessly or thoughtlessly bold; foolishly rash or venturesome.
- for values of — (jargon) A common rhetorical maneuver at MIT is to use any of the canonical random numbers as placeholders for variables. "The max function takes 42 arguments, for arbitrary values of 42". "There are 69 ways to leave your lover, for 69 = 50". This is especially likely when the speaker has uttered a random number and realises that it was not recognised as such, but even "non-random" numbers are occasionally used in this fashion. A related joke is that pi equals 3 - for small values of pi and large values of 3. This usage probably derives from the programming language MAD (Michigan Algorithm Decoder), an ALGOL-like language that was the most common choice among mainstream (non-hacker) users at MIT in the mid-1960s. It had a control structure FOR VALUES OF X = 3, 7, 99 DO ... that would repeat the indicated instructions for each value in the list (unlike the usual FOR that generates an arithmetic sequence of values). MAD is long extinct, but similar for-constructs still flourish (e.g. in Unix's shell languages).
- force a smile — to make oneself smile
- formal system — an uninterpreted symbolic system whose syntax is precisely defined, and on which a relation of deducibility is defined in purely syntactic terms; a logistic system
- formalisation — Alternative spelling of formalization.
- formularising — Present participle of formularise.
- formularistic — relating to formularization
- forward slash — a short oblique stroke (/), or slash, especially one used in computer programming or to specify an Internet address or computer filename.
- fowler's toad — an eastern U.S. toad, Bufo woodhousii fowleri, having an almost patternless white belly.
- fractionalise — Alt form fractionalize.
- fractionalism — the state of being separate or inharmonious
- fractionalist — an advocate or supporter of fractionalism
- fractocumulus — low ragged slightly bulbous cloud, often appearing below nimbostratus clouds during rain
- frise aileron — an aircraft wing control surface designed with its leading edge extending forward of its axis of rotation so that when the aileron's trailing edge is raised the leading edge extends below the bottom surface of the wing.
- frontal gyrus — any of several convolutions on the outer surface of the frontal lobe of the cerebrum.
- frosted glass — etched glass with a translucent surface
- gabrilowitsch — Ossip [aw-syip] /ˈɔ syɪp/ (Show IPA), 1878–1936, Russian pianist and conductor, in America.
- galerie house — (in French Louisiana) a house with its main story above the ground floor and with verandas (galeries) for both stories in tiers on at least one side.
- gallows frame — headframe.
- gallows humor — humor that treats serious, frightening, or painful subject matter in a light or satirical way.
- galois theory — the branch of mathematics that deals with the application of the theory of finite groups to the solution of algebraic equations.
- galvanometers — Plural form of galvanometer.
- garcia robles — Alfonso [al-fon-soh,, -zoh;; Spanish ahl-fawn-saw] /ælˈfɒn soʊ,, -zoʊ;; Spanish ɑlˈfɔn sɔ/ (Show IPA), 1911–91, Mexican diplomat: Nobel Prize 1982.
- garrison life — the life of troops who maintain and guard a military base or fortified place
- garrulousness — Garrulity.
- gas:oil ratio — The gas:oil ratio is the volume of gas produced at standard temperature and pressure, in relation to the volume of oil produced at standard temperature and pressure, used as a measurement for reservoir fluids.
- gastronomical — the art or science of good eating.
- general costs — the general expenses of running a business
- general store — a store, usually in a rural area, that sells a wide variety of merchandise, as clothing, food, or hardware, but is not divided into departments.
- general synod — the governing body, under Parliament, of the Church of England, made up of the bishops and elected clerical and lay representatives
- generalissimo — the supreme commander of the armed forces.
- gesticulatory — Making a lot of gesticulations.
- ghettoblaster — Alternative form of ghetto blaster.
- gladiatorship — the work of a gladiator
- glamorisation — Alternative spelling of glamorization.
- glamour stock — a popular stock that rises quickly or continuously in price and attracts large numbers of investors.
- global search — a word-processing operation in which a complete computer file or set of files is searched for every occurrence of a particular word or other sequence of characters
- glossographer — a glossator.