21-letter words containing s, e, l, o
- subjective complement — subject complement.
- subliminal perception — perception of or reaction to a stimulus that occurs without awareness or consciousness
- subsistence allowance — money given in advance to a new soldier, employee, etc., to buy food, clothing, and pay for other necessities while awaiting a first pay.
- sunday school teacher — someone who teaches at a Sunday school
- supergranulation cell — one of a number of large convection cells in the photosphere and chromosphere of the sun, each having a diameter of 10,000–20,000 miles (16,000–32,000 km) and lasting longer than a day.
- supply-side economics — a school of economic thought that emphasizes the importance to a strong economy of policies that remove impediments to supply
- surface of revolution — a surface formed by revolving a plane curve about a given line.
- systeme international — Système International d'Unités
- take one's (own) life — to commit suicide
- take sb/sth seriously — If you take someone or something seriously, you believe that they are important and deserve attention.
- tartarian honeysuckle — an Asian honeysuckle, Lonicera tatarica, having fragrant, white to pink flowers.
- television evangelist — a Christian minister who devotes time to preaching on television
- terrestrial radiation — long-wave electromagnetic radiation in the form of heat emitted from the earth's surface and atmosphere.
- terrestrial telescope — a refracting telescope having inverting lenses or an eyepiece that presents an erect image.
- tetrabromofluorescein — eosin (def 1).
- the antipodes islands — a group of small uninhabited islands in the South Pacific, southeast of and belonging to New Zealand. Area: 62 sq km (24 sq miles)
- the barber of seville — Italian Il barbiere di Siviglia. a comic opera (1816) by Gioacchino Rossini based on a comedy (1775) by Beaumarchais.
- the central provinces — the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec
- the fall of the cards — the chance distribution of cards in a given deal
- the household cavalry — a group of British soldiers on horseback who have the job of protecting the king or queen and their family
- the jury is still out — it has not yet been decided or agreed on
- the lower vertebrates — relatively simple and primitive vertebrates
- the oldest profession — prostitution
- the royal scots greys — (formerly) a British cavalry regiment, the Second Dragoons
- the slough of despond — a state of extreme despondency, depression or degradation
- the women's land army — a unit of women recruited to do agricultural work in the United Kingdom during World War I and World War II
- theoretical physicist — a scientist who studies theoretical physics
- thermal decomposition — Thermal decomposition is the process in which a chemical species breaks down when its temperature is increased.
- thermal power station — a power station in which heat is converted into electricity
- threshold wage policy — a policy whereby wages are increased in accordance with inflation
- throw sb a curve ball — If someone throws you a curve or throws you a curve ball, they surprise you by doing something that you do not expect.
- to be a hospital case — if you say that someone or something is a hospital case, you mean that they need urgent help because they are doing very badly
- to be hard luck on sb — to be unfortunate or unlucky for someone
- to blow sth wide open — to expose something
- to dig one's heels in — If you dig your heels in or dig in your heels, you refuse to do something such as change your opinions or plans, especially when someone is trying very hard to make you do so.
- to lay something bare — If you lay something bare, you uncover it completely so that it can then be seen.
- to move the goalposts — If you accuse someone of moving the goalposts, you mean that they have changed the rules in a situation or an activity, in order to gain an advantage for themselves and to make things difficult for other people.
- to play second fiddle — If you play second fiddle to someone, your position is less important than theirs in something that you are doing together.
- to pull someone's leg — If you are pulling someone's leg, you are teasing them by telling them something shocking or worrying as a joke.
- to rear its ugly head — If something unpleasant rears its head or rears its ugly head, it becomes visible or noticeable.
- to risk life and limb — If someone risks life and limb, they do something very dangerous that may cause them to die or be seriously injured.
- to rub shoulders with — If you rub shoulders with famous people, you meet them and talk to them. You can also say that you rub elbows with someone, especially in American English.
- topgallant forecastle — a partial weather deck on top of a forecastle superstructure; forecastle deck.
- total recoverable gas — Total recoverable gas is the amount of gas which is still left in the ground in gas fields that have already been worked.
- toussaint l'ouverture — François Dominique [frahn-swa dawmee-neek] /frɑ̃ˈswa dɔmiˈnik/ (Show IPA), 1743–1803, Haitian patriot and leader of the Haitian Revolution slave rebellion.
- transformational rule — Linguistics. a rule of transformational grammar that relates two phrase markers in the course of a derivation from the deep to the surface syntactic representation of a sentence, as by reordering, inserting, or deleting elements; a rule that converts deep structures into surface structures.
- traveling salesperson — a representative of a business firm who travels in an assigned territory soliciting orders for a company's services.
- triple superphosphate — superphosphate (def 2).
- triple-superphosphate — Also called acid phosphate. a mixture of calcium acid phosphate and calcium sulfate prepared by treating phosphate rock with sulfuric acid: used chiefly as a fertilizer.
- twist the lion's tail — a large, usually tawny-yellow cat, Panthera leo, native to Africa and southern Asia, having a tufted tail and, in the male, a large mane.