21-letter words containing s, a, n, g
- pulse height analyzer — an instrument that records or counts an electrical pulse if its amplitude falls within specified limits: used in nuclear physics research for the determination of energy spectra of nuclear radiations
- purchasing department — the group of staff within an organization that is responsible for buying goods or products
- quantitative genetics — population genetics.
- quartermaster general — a general in command of the Quartermaster Corps.
- queen's-pawn openings — a class of chess openings in which the pawn in front of the queen is advanced two squares on the first move.
- radius of convergence — a positive number so related to a given power series that the power series converges for every number whose absolute value is less than this particular number.
- range of significance — the set of subjects for which a given predicate is intelligible
- rattle someone's cage — to upset or anger someone
- rayleigh distribution — (mathematics) A curve that yields a good approximation to the actual labour curves on software projects.
- reading comprehension — a text that students use to help them improve their reading skills, by reading it and answering questions relating to the text. Sometimes used as a test or examination of reading skills. A reading comprehension can be in the student's own or another language
- real operating system — (operating system, abuse) The sort the speaker is used to. People from the BSDophilic academic community are likely to issue comments like "System V? Why don't you use a *real* operating system?", people from the commercial/industrial Unix sector are known to complain "BSD? Why don't you use a *real* operating system?", and people from IBM object "Unix? Why don't you use a *real* operating system?" See holy wars, religious issues, proprietary, Get a real computer!.
- reckless endangerment — a crime whereby a person behaves in a reckless manner which creates a substantial risk of serious physical injury to another person
- reconnaissance flight — a flight made by an aircraft in order to obtain military information about a particular place
- registration document — a document giving identification details of a motor vehicle, including its manufacturer, date of registration, engine and chassis numbers, and owner's name
- revillagigedo islands — an uninhabited island group belonging to Mexico, in the Pacific Ocean, SSW of the Baja California peninsula: Socorro is the largest island. 320 sq. mi. (830 sq. km).
- ring-around-the-rosey — a children's game in which the players sing while going around in a circle and squat when the lyrics “all fall down” are sung.
- rolling in the aisles — (of an audience) overcome with laughter
- rutherford scattering — the scattering of an alpha particle through a large angle with respect to the original direction of motion of the particle, caused by an atom (Rutherford atom) with most of the mass and all of the positive electric charge concentrated at a center or nucleus.
- safe in the knowledge — If you do something safe in the knowledge that something else is the case, you do the first thing confidently because you are sure of the second thing.
- sail against the wind — to sail a course that slants slightly away from the true direction of the wind; sail closehauled
- salam-weinberg theory — the electroweak theory.
- sampling distribution — the distribution of a statistic based on all possible random samples that can be drawn from a given population.
- san gabriel mountains — a mountain range in S California, N of Los Angeles. Highest peak, San Antonio Peak, 10,080 feet (3072 meters).
- san gorgonio mountain — a mountain in S California: highest peak in the San Bernardino Mountains. 11,502 feet (3506 meters).
- santo tome de guayana — a city in NE Venezuela, on the Orinoco River.
- satisficing behaviour — the form of behaviour demonstrated by firms who seek satisfactory profits and satisfactory growth rather than maximum profits
- saving your reverence — a form of apology for using an obscene or taboo expression
- schlieren photography — a type of photography which records schlieren
- seating accommodation — the provision of seats for people in a room, building, etc
- seeing/hearing things — If you say that someone is seeing or hearing things, you mean that they believe they are seeing or hearing something that is not really there.
- serbia and montenegro — a former country in SE Europe, consisting of the republics of Serbia and Montenegro; replaced the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia in 2003, and dissolved in 2006 following Montenegro’s decision to secede
- seven-segment display — (electronics) (SSD) A kind of display element consisting of seven independently controllable lines arranged as a rectangular figure eight. A seven-segment display is the simplest device that can display any of the digits zero to nine (and some other characters) by lighting different combinations of lines. They are often seen in electronic calculators or measuring equipment.
- siamese fighting fish — a labyrinth fish, Betta splendens, that has been bred for centuries to develop brilliant coloration, very long fins, and pugnacity.
- signal-to-noise ratio — the ratio of one parameter, such as power of a wanted signal to the same parameter of the noise at a specified point in an electronic circuit, etc
- simple actor language — (language) (SAL) A minimal actor language, used for teaching in:
- sing a different tune — a succession of musical sounds forming an air or melody, with or without the harmony accompanying it.
- single parent benefit — a form of government funded financial assistance paid to single parents
- single spanish burton — a tackle having a runner as well as the fall supporting the load, giving a mechanical advantage of three, neglecting friction.
- siren call/siren song — A siren call or siren song is the appeal that something has although it is harmful or dangerous.
- snap one's fingers at — any of the terminal members of the hand, especially one other than the thumb.
- social anthropologist — an anthropologist who deals with cultural and social phenomena such as kinship systems or beliefs, esp of nonliterate peoples
- sovereign wealth fund — an investment fund created using the financial assets of a national government
- spark ignition engine — A spark ignition engine is an engine running on the Otto cycle.
- spin angular momentum — to make (yarn) by drawing out, twisting, and winding fibers: Pioneer women spun yarn on spinning wheels.
- split-finger fastball — a type of fastball that sinks abruptly as it nears home plate, thrown with the grip used for a forkball
- stained glass ceiling — a situation in a church organization in which promotion for a female member of the clergy appears to be possible, but discrimination prevents it
- stem-and-leaf diagram — a histogram in which the data points falling within each class interval are listed in order
- strategic air command — a U.S. Air Force command charged with intercontinental air strikes, especially nuclear attacks.
- submerged arc welding — a type of heavy electric-arc welding using mechanically fed bare wire with the arc submerged in powdered flux to keep out oxygen
- suction and curettage — a technique involving extraction of the fetus through a suction tube, used to perform abortions during the early stages of pregnancy.