15-letter words containing r, s, f
- retrofocus lens — a wide-angle lens, for use on single-lens reflex cameras, of inverted telephoto design, with a back focus greater than the focal length.
- reversing falls — a series of rapids in the Saint John River, New Brunswick, Canada, the flow of which regularly reverses itself owing to the force an incoming tide
- reworked fossil — a fossil eroded from sediment and redeposited in younger sediment
- rhodesian front — the governing party in Zimbabwe (then called Rhodesia) 1962–78
- riemann surface — a geometric representation of a function of a complex variable in which a multiple-valued function is depicted as a single-valued function on several planes, the planes being connected at some of the points at which the function takes on more than one value.
- right of asylum — the right of alien fugitives to protection or nonextradition in a country or its embassy.
- right of search — the privilege of a nation at war to search neutral ships on the high seas for contraband or other matter, carried in violation of neutrality, that may subject the ship to seizure.
- rime suffisante — full rhyme.
- rite of passage — Anthropology. a ceremony performed to facilitate or mark a person's change of status upon any of several highly important occasions, as at the onset of puberty or upon entry into marriage or into a clan.
- roaring forties — the stormy oceanic areas between 40° and 50° south latitude
- rockrose family — the plant family Cistaceae, characterized by herbaceous plants and shrubs having simple, usually opposite leaves, solitary or clustered flowers, and capsular fruit, and including the frostweed, pinweed, and rockrose.
- ronne ice shelf — an ice barrier in Antarctica, in SW Weddell Sea, bordered by Ellsworth Land on the NW and Berkner Island on the E.
- rose of jericho — an Asian plant, Anastatica hierochuntica, of the mustard family, which, after drying and curling up, expands when moistened.
- round whitefish — a whitefish, Prosopium cylindraceum, found in northern North America and Siberia, having silvery sides and a dark bronze back.
- ruffle feathers — to cause upset or offence
- rule one's life — If you say that something rules someone's life, you mean that it affects everything they do, usually in a negative way.
- saffian leather — leather made of sheepskin or goatskin tanned with sumac and usually dyed a bright color
- saffron strands — the dried stigmas of the saffron, which are then crushed into powder to flavour or colour food
- sale of produce — the selling of something that is produced, esp agricultural products
- saltwater taffy — a taffy sometimes made with seawater but more generally made with salted fresh water.
- samuel fb morse — Jedidiah [jed-i-dahy-uh] /ˌdʒɛd ɪˈdaɪ ə/ (Show IPA), 1761–1826, U.S. geographer and Congregational clergyman (father of Samuel F. B. Morse).
- sargon of akkad — 24th to 23rd century bc, semilegendary Mesopotamian ruler whose empire extended from the Gulf to the Mediterranean
- say a few words — to give a brief speech
- sb of few words — A person of few words says very little, especially about their opinions or feelings.
- schiffs-reagent — a solution of rosaniline and sulfurous acid in water, used to test for the presence of aldehydes.
- scolopendriform — resembling scolopendra
- scotch foursome — foursome (def 2b).
- seafood platter — a plate of assorted seafood, served in a restaurant
- securities firm — a firm that deals in securities
- security forces — police or soldiers responsible for maintaining security
- self perception — the act or faculty of perceiving, or apprehending by means of the senses or of the mind; cognition; understanding.
- self-abhorrence — a feeling of extreme repugnance or aversion; utter loathing; abomination.
- self-absorption — preoccupation with oneself or one's own affairs.
- self-admiration — a feeling of wonder, pleasure, or approval.
- self-authorized — given or endowed with authority: an authorized agent.
- self-betterment — the act or process of bettering; improvement.
- self-caricature — a picture, description, etc., ludicrously exaggerating the peculiarities or defects of persons or things: His caricature of the mayor in this morning's paper is the best he's ever drawn.
- self-censorship — the act or practice of censoring.
- self-controlled — Someone who is self-controlled is able to not show their feelings or not do the things that their feelings make them want to do.
- self-correcting — automatically adjusting to or correcting mistakes, malfunctions, etc.: a self-correcting mechanism.
- self-disclosure — the act or an instance of disclosing; exposure; revelation.
- self-energizing — giving rise to energy or power from within itself or oneself; capable of generating energy or power automatically.
- self-enrichment — an act of enriching.
- self-expression — the expression or assertion of one's own personality, as in conversation, behavior, poetry, or painting.
- self-expressive — the expression or assertion of one's own personality, as in conversation, behavior, poetry, or painting.
- self-flattering — praise and exaggeration of one's own achievements coupled with a denial or glossing over of one's faults or failings; self-congratulation.
- self-forgetting — self-forgetful.
- self-generating — producing from within itself.
- self-generation — production or reproduction of something without the aid of an external agent; spontaneous generation.
- self-glorifying — to cause to be or treat as being more splendid, excellent, etc., than would normally be considered.