28-letter words containing s, e, n, a
- not to take no for an answer — If you say that someone will not take no for an answer, you mean that they go on trying to make you agree to something even after you have refused.
- object persistence framework — (programming) (OPF) Any system for storing objects so they can be reloaded into a future session. Typically this will use a relational database along with some kind of object relational mapping. Another typical solution would store objects in XML files (a form of serialisation). One of the trickier problems to solve is how to maintain references between objects, e.g. replacing memory pointers with unique names or identifiers. Virtually identical considerations apply to transferring objects, or indeed any kind of data structure, from one process to another via some communications channel, e.g. a TCP/IP connection.
- on (or upon) someone's head — as someone's burden, responsibility, or misfortune
- online public access catalog — (library) (OPAC) A computerised system to catalogue and organise materials in a library (the kind that contains books). OPACs have replaced card-based catalogues in many libraries. An OPAC is available to library users (public access).
- ordinary-language philosophy — linguistic analysis.
- osborne computer corporation — (company) The unsucessful computer manufacturer founded by Adam Osborne that produced one of the first laptop computers, the Osborne 1.
- packet in plastic grid array — (integrated circuit) (PPGA) The package used for Intel's Celeron Socket 370 CPU.
- palestinian autonomous areas — the Gaza Strip and the West Bank in Israel: these areas were granted autonomous status under the control of the Palestinian National Authority following the 1993 peace agreement between Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization
- peaches-and-cream complexion — a pale complexion with rosy cheeks
- penny-wise and pound-foolish — careful about trifles but wasteful in large ventures
- persistent organic pollutant — a toxin resulting from a manufacturing process, which remains in the environment for many years
- personal liability insurance — Personal liability insurance protects the insured if they are sued for claims that are covered by the insurance policy.
- playboy of the western world — a satiric comedy (1907) by John Millington Synge.
- pleuropneumonialike organism — any antibiotic-resistant mycoplasma causing a form of pneumonia in humans. Abbreviation: PPLO.
- positron emission tomography — the process of producing a PET scan.
- potassium antimonyl tartrate — a white, water-soluble, sweet and metallic-tasting, poisonous powder or granules, C 4 H 4 KO 7 Sb, used as a mordant for dyeing textiles and leather, and in medicine as an expectorant, for inducing vomiting, and for infections by schistosomes.
- presidencia roque saenz pena — a city in N Argentina.
- probability density function — a function of a continuous variable whose integral over a region gives the probability that a random variable falls within the region.
- put one's cards on the table — a usually rectangular piece of stiff paper, thin pasteboard, or plastic for various uses, as to write information on or printed as a means of identifying the holder: a 3″ × 5″ file card; a membership card.
- put one's hand to the plough — to begin or undertake a task
- quick mail transfer protocol — (communications) (QMTP) An SMTP replacement that works better over high latency links as it doesn't require as much interaction as SMTP. QMTP listens on port 209 and is used by qmail.
- raise specification language — (language) (RSL) (RAISE = Rigorous Approach to Industrial Software Engineering). A wide-spectrum specification and design language developed by ESPRIT Project 315 at CRI A/S, Denmark. Systems may be modular, concurrent and nondeterministic. Specifications may be applicative or imperative, explicit or implicit, abstract or concrete.
- read the riot act to someone — to warn or reprimand someone severely
- real time streaming protocol — (multimedia, networking, protocol) (RTSP) An application layer protocol for controlling delivery of a stream of real-time multimedia content. RTSP allows users to start playing from a certain position. It does not actually deliver the data, but works alongside existing delivery channels such as UDP, TCP, or IP multicast. RTSP was developed by RealNetworks, Netscape Communications, and Columbia University, and is described in RFC 2326, April 1998. RTSP is an IETF proposed standard.
- real-estate investment trust — an unincorporated trust created for the purpose of investing in real property or to extend credit to those engaged in construction. Abbreviation: REIT.
- real-time transport protocol — (protocol) (RTP) An Internet protocol for transmitting real-time data such as audio and video. RTP itself does not guarantee real-time delivery of data, but it does provide mechanisms for the sending and receiving applications to support streaming data. Typically, RTP runs on top of the UDP protocol, although the specification is general enough to support other transport protocols. RTP has received wide industry support. Netscape intends to base its LiveMedia technology on RTP, and Microsoft claims that its NetMeeting product supports RTP.
- reflexive transitive closure — Two elements, x and y, are related by the reflexive transitive closure, R+, of a relation, R, if they are related by the transitive closure, R*, or they are the same element.
- regular expression converter — CONVERT
- richardson's ground squirrel — a ground squirrel of the NW USA and Canada, Citellus richardsoni
- rocky mountain spotted fever — an infectious disease characterized by high fever, pains in joints, bones, and muscles, and a cutaneous eruption, caused by rickettsii and transmitted by ticks: first reported in the Rocky Mountain area, but now more widely distributed.
- scanning electron microscope — a device in which the specimen is examined point by point directly in a moving electron beam, and electrons reflected by the specimen are used to form a magnified, three-dimensional image on a television screen. Abbreviation: SEM.
- second axiom of countability — the property satisfied by a topological space in which the neighborhood system of each point has a base consisting of a countable number of neighborhoods (first axiom of countability) or the property satisfied by a topological space that has a base for its topology consisting of a countable number of subsets of the space (second axiom of countability)
- second 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)
- second marquis of rockingham — Charles, 2nd Marquis of Rockingham [rok-ing-uh m] /ˈrɒk ɪŋ əm/ (Show IPA), 1730–82, British statesman: prime minister 1765–66, 1782.
- second-order lambda-calculus — (language) (SOL) A typed lambda-calculus.
- secondary sex characteristic — any of a number of manifestations, as development of breasts or beard, muscularity, distribution of fat tissue, and change of pitch in voice, specific to each sex and incipient at puberty but not essential to reproduction.
- self-regulating organization — one of several British organizations set up in 1986 under the auspices of the Securities and Investment Board to regulate the activities of London investment markets
- sell someone a bill of goods — to persuade someone by deception or misrepresentation to accept, believe, or do something
- semiconservative replication — replication.
- service advertising protocol — (networking) (SAP) A Novell NetWare protocol. SAP follows the spirit of the Xerox Clearinghouse protocol, it permits file, print, and gateway servers to advertise their services and addresses.
- sexually transmitted disease — any disease characteristically transmitted by sexual contact, as gonorrhea, syphilis, genital herpes, and chlamydia. Abbreviation: STD.
- shared-appreciation mortgage — a type of mortgage that carries a smaller down payment or lower interest rate than usual in return for the lender's sharing in the appreciation of the property at some future date, as at the time of its sale. Abbreviation: SAM.
- sign one's own death warrant — A death warrant is an official document which orders that someone is to be executed as a punishment for a crime.
- simulation oriented language — (language) (SOL) An ALGOL extension for discrete simulation by Donald Knuth and McNeley.
- single sideband transmission — a method of transmitting radio waves in which either the upper or the lower sideband is transmitted, the carrier being either wholly or partially suppressed. This reduces the required bandwidth and improves the signal-to-noise ratio
- smooth endoplasmic reticulum — a network of tubular membranes within the cytoplasm of the cell, occurring either with a smooth surface (smooth endoplasmic reticulum) or studded with ribosomes (rough endoplasmic reticulum) involved in the transport of materials.
- software productivity centre — (body) (SPC) A non-profit organisation based in Vancouver, BC, Canada with the mandate to assist software developers to improve their software engineering process.
- special power of appointment — authority to appoint persons from a particular class to take an estate or interest in property
- spectral luminous efficiency — a measure of the efficiency of radiation of a given wavelength in producing a visual sensation. It is equal to the ratio of the radiant flux at a standard wavelength to that at the given wavelength when the standard wavelength is chosen so that the maximum value of this ratio is unity
- standard operating procedure — a set of fixed instructions or steps for carrying out usually routine operations. Abbreviation: SOP.