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12-letter words containing s, a, i, n

  • bernina alps — a mountain group in SE Switzerland, extending from the Rhateian Alps on the Italian border. Highest peak, Piz Bernina, 13,304 feet (4055 meters).
  • bernina pass — a pass in the Alps between SE Switzerland and N Italy, east of Piz Bernina. Height: 2323 m (7622 ft)
  • beta orionis — Rigel
  • beta testing — (programming)   Evaluation of a pre-release (potentially unreliable) version of a piece of software (or possibly hardware) by making it available to selected users ("beta testers") before it goes on general distribution. Beta testign aims to discover bugs that only occur in certain environments or under certain patterns of use, while reducing the volume of feedback to a manageable level. The testers benefit by having earlier access to new products, features and fixes. Beta testing may be preceded by "alpha testing", performed in-house by a handful of users (e.g. other developers or friends), who can be expected to give rapid, high quality feedback on design and usability. Once the product is considered to be usable for its intended purpose it then moves on to "beta testing" by a larger, but typically still limited, number of ordinary users, who may include external customers. Some companies such as Google or Degree Jungle stretch the definition, claiming their products are "in beta" for many months by millions of users. The term derives from early 1960s terminology for product cycle checkpoints, first used at IBM but later standard throughout the industry. "Alpha test" was the unit test, module test or component test phase; "Beta Test" was initial system test. These themselves came from earlier A- and B-tests for hardware. The A-test was a feasibility and manufacturability evaluation done before any commitment to design and development. The B-test was a demonstration that the engineering model functioned as specified. The C-test (corresponding to today's beta) was the B-test performed on early samples of the production design.
  • beta version — beta testing
  • bias binding — a strip of material cut on the bias for extra stretch and often doubled, used for binding hems, interfacings, etc, or for decoration
  • bien pensant — a right-thinking person
  • bilingualism — Bilingualism is the ability to speak two languages equally well.
  • billingsgate — the largest fish market in London, on the N bank of the River Thames; moved to new site at Canary Wharf in 1982 and the former building converted into offices
  • bio-organism — a dangerous fast-proliferating organism that could be used as the basis of a biological weapon
  • bioastronomy — the branch of biology which deals with the study or the discovery of life forms on other planets or in space
  • biomagnetics — the study of magnetic fields as a form of therapy
  • biomagnetism — animal magnetism.
  • biomechanics — the study of the mechanics of the movement of living organisms
  • biscay green — a yellowish green.
  • biscayne bay — an inlet of the Atlantic Ocean, on the SE coast of Florida, separating the cities of Miami and Miami Beach.
  • biting stage — the second part of the oral phase of psychosexual development, approximately 8 to18 months of age, during which a child has the urge to bite or chew objects.
  • blandishment — the act of blandishing; cajolery
  • blastulation — the process of blastula formation
  • blazing star — a North American liliaceous plant, Chamaelirium luteum, with a long spike of small white flowers
  • blind casing — (in a box window frame) a rough framework to which the trim is secured.
  • bliss carman — (William) Bliss, 1861–1929, Canadian poet and journalist in the U.S.
  • block island — an island off the coast of and a part of Rhode Island, at the E entrance to Long Island Sound.
  • block signal — a fixed railroad signal governing the movements of trains entering and using a given section of track.
  • blood spavin — a disease of the hock joint of horses in which enlargement occurs because of collected fluids (bog spavin) bony growth (bone spavin) or distention of the veins (blood spavin)
  • bloodstained — Someone or something that is bloodstained is covered with blood.
  • blue jasmine — a southern U.S. shrubby vine, Clematis crispa, of the buttercup family, having solitary, bell-shaped, blue or bluish-purple to pink flowers and bearing fruit with silky appendages.
  • bluesnarfing — the practice of using one Bluetooth-enabled mobile phone to steal contact details, ring tones, images, etc from another
  • boardsailing — windsurfing
  • boatsmanship — seamanship as applied to boats, especially rowboats and motorboats.
  • bond washing — a series of deals in bonds made with the intention of avoiding taxation
  • bradykinesia — abnormal slowness of physical movement, esp as an effect of Parkinson's disease
  • brain teaser — A brain teaser is a question, problem, or puzzle that is difficult to answer or solve, but is not serious or important.
  • brain-teaser — a puzzle or problem whose solution requires great ingenuity.
  • brains trust — a group of knowledgeable people who discuss topics in public or on radio or television
  • brainstormer — a person who brainstorms
  • brainwashing — the process of brainwashing.
  • braunschweig — Brunswick
  • brinkmanship — Brinkmanship is a method of behaviour, especially in politics, in which you deliberately get into dangerous situations which could result in disaster but which could also bring success.
  • brisbane box — a broad-leaved evergreen tree, Tristania conferta, native to Australia, having a deciduous outer bark.
  • broadcasting — Broadcasting is the making and sending out of television and radio programmes.
  • buccaneerish — of or relating to a buccaneer
  • buenos aires — the capital of Argentina, a major port and industrial city on the Río de la Plata estuary: became capital in 1880; university (1821). Pop: 13 349 000 (2005 est)
  • bunco artist — a confidence trickster or con artist
  • burkina faso — an inland republic in W Africa: dominated by Mossi kingdoms (10th–19th centuries); French protectorate established in 1896; became an independent republic in 1960; consists mainly of a flat savanna plateau. Official language: French; Mossi and other African languages also widely spoken. Religion: mostly animist, with a large Muslim minority. Currency: franc. Capital: Ouagadougou. Pop: 17 812 961 (2013 est). Area: 273 200 sq km (105 900 sq miles)
  • burnt sienna — a reddish-brown dye or pigment obtained by roasting raw sienna in a furnace
  • bushwhacking — to make one's way through woods by cutting at undergrowth, branches, etc.
  • byelorussian — Byelorussian means belonging or relating to Byelorussia or to its people or culture.
  • cablecasting — relating to broadcasting by cable
  • cacophonious — cacophonous
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