27-letter words containing s, e, n, a, t, o

the devil take the hindmost — You can say the devil take the hindmost to describe or comment on a situation you disapprove of because people do only what is best for themselves without thinking about other people.
the forest of fontainebleau — a forest in N France, where the town of Fontainebleau is located
the long and (the) short of — the whole story of in a few words; gist or point of
the odds are in sb's favour — If you say that the odds are in someone's favour, you mean that they are likely to succeed in what they are doing.
the shape of things to come — If you say that something is the shape of things to come, you mean that it is the start of a new trend or development, and in future things will be like this.
the tail is wagging the dog — If you say that the tail is wagging the dog, you mean that a small or unimportant part of something is becoming too important and is controlling the whole thing.
third law of thermodynamics — any of three principles variously stated in equivalent forms, being the principle that the change of energy of a thermodynamic system is equal to the heat transferred minus the work done (first law of thermodynamics) the principle that no cyclic process is possible in which heat is absorbed from a reservoir at a single temperature and converted completely into mechanical work (second law of thermodynamics) and the principle that it is impossible to reduce the temperature of a system to absolute zero in a finite number of operations (third law of thermodynamics)
throw one's hat in the ring — a shaped covering for the head, usually with a crown and brim, especially for wear outdoors.
thyroid stimulating hormone — thyrotropin. Abbreviation: TSH.
thyroid-stimulating hormone — thyrotropin. Abbreviation: TSH.
to all intents and purposes — something that is intended; purpose; design; intention: The original intent of the committee was to raise funds.
to be bursting at the seams — to be very full
to be suspended on full pay — if someone is suspended on full pay they are temporarily barred from work (due to misconduct, etc) while receiving full salary
to cast pearls before swine — If you say that someone is casting pearls before swine, you mean that they are wasting their time by offering something that is helpful or valuable to someone who does not appreciate or understand it.
to give someone a free hand — If someone gives you a free hand, they give you the freedom to use your own judgment and to do exactly as you wish.
to invade someone's privacy — If someone or something invades your privacy, they interfere in your life without your permission.
to know something backwards — In British English, if you say that someone knows something backwards, you are emphasizing that they know it very well. In American English, you say that someone knows something backward and forward.
to rule sb with a high hand — to behave imperiously towards someone
to run rings around someone — If you say that someone runs rings round you or runs rings around you, you mean that they are a lot better or a lot more successful than you at a particular activity.
to steal a march on someone — If you steal a march on someone, you start doing something before they do it in order to gain an advantage over them.
to stop dead in your tracks — If someone or something stops you in your tracks, or if you stop dead in your tracks, you suddenly stop moving because you are very surprised, impressed, or frightened.
to take someone by surprise — If something takes you by surprise, it happens when you are not expecting it or when you are not prepared for it.
to the accompaniment of sth — If one thing happens to the accompaniment of another, they happen at the same time.
to throw money at something — If you say that someone is throwing money at a problem, you are critical of them for trying to improve it by spending money on it, instead of doing more thoughtful and practical things to improve it.
united nations organization — the United Nations. Abbreviation: UNO, U.N.O.
united service organization — a private, non-profit organization that provides morale and recreational services to members of the US military, with programmes in 140 centres worldwide
universal computer protocol — (communications, protocol) An earlier form of External Machine Interface (EMI).
universal naming convention — (networking) (UNC) The type of file system path used in Microsoft Windows networking to completely specify a directory on a file server. The basic format is: \\servername\sharename where "servername" is the hostname or IP address of a network file server, and "sharename" is the name of a shared directory on the server. This is related to the conventional MS-DOS "C:\windows" style of directory name. E.g. \\server1\dave might be set up to point to C:\users\homedirs\dave on a server called "server1". It is possible to execute a program using this convention without having to specifically link a drive, by running: \\server\share\directory\program.exe The undocumented DOS command, TRUENAME can be used to find out the UNC name of a file or directory on a network drive. Even Microsoft don't know whether UNC stands for "Universal Naming Convention" or "Uniform Naming Convention", both appear on their website, sometimes withing the same document, but with a preference for "Universal".
university grants committee — an advisory committee of the British government, which advised on the distribution of grant funding amongst British universities. It was in existence from 1919 until 1989. Its functions have now largely been taken over by the higher education funding councils (HEFCE (England), SHEFC (Scotland), HEFCW (Wales), and the Department for Employment and Learning in Northern Ireland)
weapons of mass destruction — nuclear, biological and chemical arms
western digital corporation — (company) A company founded in 1970 as a specialised semiconductor manufacturer, which today manufactures and sells microcomputer products including small form factor hard disk drives for personal computers, integrated circuits and circuit boards for graphics, storage, communications, battery management, and logic functions.
wireless local area network — a wireless broadband system for linking personal computers and workstations with each other in order to share data, devices, programs, etc.: usually confined to one office, building, or home.
with one's back to the wall — in a difficult or desperate situation
working families tax credit — (in Britain) a means-tested allowance paid to single parents or families who have at least one dependent child, who work at least 16 hours per week, and whose earnings are low. It replaced family credit
you can't have it both ways — If someone says that you can't have it both ways, they are telling you that you have to choose between two things and cannot do or have them both.

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