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18-letter words containing s, e, l, i

  • assignment problem — (mathematics, algorithm)   (Or "linear assignment") Any problem involving minimising the sum of C(a, b) over a set P of pairs (a, b) where a is an element of some set A and b is an element of set B, and C is some function, under constraints such as "each element of A must appear exactly once in P" or similarly for B, or both. For example, the a's could be workers and the b's projects. The problem is "linear" because the "cost function" C() depends only on the particular pairing (a, b) and is independent of all other pairings.
  • at the last minute — almost too late
  • athletic supporter — jockstrap
  • australian doubles — an unusual formation in doubles in which the server's partner is positioned on the same side of the court as the server.
  • australian terrier — a small wire-haired breed of terrier similar to the cairn
  • australopithecines — Plural form of australopithecine.
  • axiological ethics — the branch of ethics dealing primarily with the relative goodness or value of the motives and end of any action.
  • axis of revolution — an axis in a plane, about which an area is revolved to form a solid of revolution.
  • back in the saddle — at work again
  • ballistic pendulum — a device consisting of a large mass hung from a horizontal bar by two rods, used to measure the velocity of an object, as a bullet, by retaining the object upon impact, its velocity being a function of the displacement of the mass.
  • barium thiosulfate — a white, crystalline, water-insoluble, poisonous solid, BaS 2 O 3 ⋅H 2 O, used chiefly in the manufacture of explosives, matches, paints, and varnishes.
  • bats-in-the-belfry — a hairy Eurasian campanulaceous plant, Campanula trachelium, with bell-shaped blue-purple flowers
  • be lost in thought — If you are lost in thought, you give all your attention to what you are thinking about and do not notice what is going on around you.
  • beaujolais nouveau — the first Beaujolais wine of the season, usually available for sale within two months after the grapes are harvested.
  • behavioral science — any of several studies, as sociology, psychology, anthropology, etc., that examine human activities in an attempt to discover recurrent patterns and to formulate rules about social behavior
  • bellingshausen sea — an area of the S Pacific Ocean off the coast of Antarctica
  • bells and whistles — additional features or accessories which are nonessential but very attractive
  • bilateral symmetry — the property of an organism or part of an organism such that, if cut in only one plane, the two cut halves are mirror images of each other
  • bill of quantities — a document drawn up by a quantity surveyor providing details of the prices, dimensions, etc, of the materials required to build a large structure, such as a factory
  • biological parents — the biological mother and father of a child
  • bird's-foot violet — a North American violet (Viola pedata) having divided leaves and large blue or purple flowers
  • bitwise complement — The bitwise complement of a bit field is a bit field of the same length but with each zero changed to a one and vice versa. This is the same as the ones complement of a binary integer.
  • biz-core stability — (security)   Internet security products which secure the business core.
  • black lives matter — a political and social movement originating among African Americans, emphasizing basic human rights and racial equality for black people and campaigning against various forms of racism. Abbreviations: BLM, B.L.M.
  • blanche of castile — ?1188–1252, queen consort (1223–26) of Louis VIII of France, born in Spain. The mother of Louis IX, she acted as regent during his minority (1226–36) and his absence on a crusade (1248–52)
  • blissful ignorance — unawareness or inexperience of something unpleasant
  • bloggs family, the — An imaginary family consisting of Fred and Mary Bloggs and their children. Used as a standard example in knowledge representation to show the difference between extensional and intensional objects. For example, every occurrence of "Fred Bloggs" is the same unique person, whereas occurrences of "person" may refer to different people. Members of the Bloggs family have been known to pop up in bizarre places such as the DEC Telephone Directory. Compare Mbogo, Dr. Fred.
  • blue-plate special — an inexpensive restaurant meal served at a fixed price on a large plate, originally blue
  • board of elections — a bipartisan board appointed usually by local authorities and charged with control of elections and voting procedure.
  • boole's inequality — the theorem that the probability of several events occurring is less than or equal to the sum of the probabilities of each event occurring.
  • borosilicate glass — any of a range of heat- and chemical-resistant glasses, such as Pyrex, prepared by fusing together boron(III) oxide, silicon dioxide, and, usually, a metal oxide
  • bottlenose dolphin — any dolphin of the genus Tursiops, esp T. truncatus, some of which have been kept in captivity and trained to perform tricks
  • boulogne-sur-seine — an industrial suburb of SW Paris. Pop: 106 367 (1999)
  • brazilian rosewood — a Brazilian tree, Dalbergia nigra, of the legume family.
  • brazilian sapphire — a blue variety of tourmaline used as a gem: not a true sapphire.
  • break your silence — If someone breaks their silence about something, they talk about something that they have not talked about before or for a long time.
  • brewer's blackbird — a blackbird, Euphagus cyanocephalus, of the U.S., the male of which has greenish-black plumage with a purplish-black head.
  • brightness control — a control that enables the brightness of the image on a television screen, computer monitor, etc to be adjusted
  • bring someone luck — If you say that something brings bad luck or brings someone good luck, you believe that it has an influence on whether good or bad things happen to them.
  • bring-and-buy sale — A bring-and-buy sale is an informal sale to raise money for a charity or other organization. People who come to the sale bring things to be sold and buy things that other people have brought.
  • building materials — materials such as bricks, cement, timber, etc
  • built-in self test — (BIST) The technique of designing circuits with additional logic which can be used to test proper operation of the primary (functional) logic.
  • butler's sideboard — a sideboard, often with a fall front, having on its top a china cabinet with glazed doors.
  • california rosebay — a Pacific coast shrub or tree (Rhododendron californicum) of the heath family, with rosy or purplish flowers
  • call into question — to raise a question or doubt about
  • calliper compasses — an instrument for measuring internal or external dimensions, consisting of two steel legs hinged together
  • camel's-hair brush — an artist's small brush, made of hair from a squirrel's tail
  • cape breton island — an island off SE Canada, in NE Nova Scotia, separated from the mainland by the Strait of Canso: its easternmost point is Cape Breton. Pop: 132 298 (2006). Area: 10 280 sq km (3970 sq miles)
  • capital allowances — the money spent by a company on fixed assets which can be taken off the profits of the company before tax is imposed
  • capital investment — the money that is invested in something
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