15-letter words containing s, e, p, u, l, c
- sauce espagnole — brown sauce.
- scaphocephalous — of or relating to scaphocephalus
- second republic — the republic established in France in 1848 and replaced by the Second Empire in 1852.
- security police — a police force responsible for maintaining order at a specific locale or under specific circumstances, as at an airport or factory.
- seleucia pieria — an ancient port in Syria, on the River Orontes: the port of Antioch, of military importance during the wars between the Ptolemies and Seleucids; largely destroyed by earthquake in 526; site of present-day Samandaǧ (Turkey)
- self-production — produced by oneself or itself.
- sexual politics — the differences in the amount of power that male and female people have in a society or group
- simple fracture — a fracture in which the bone does not pierce the skin.
- sleeve coupling — a cylinder joining the ends of two lengths of shafting or pipe.
- snafu principle — /sna'foo prin'si-pl/ [WWII Army acronym for "Situation Normal: All Fucked Up"] "True communication is possible only between equals, because inferiors are more consistently rewarded for telling their superiors pleasant lies than for telling the truth." - a central tenet of Discordianism, often invoked by hackers to explain why authoritarian hierarchies screw up so reliably and systematically. The effect of the SNAFU principle is a progressive disconnection of decision-makers from reality. This lightly adapted version of a fable dating back to the early 1960s illustrates the phenomenon perfectly: In the beginning was the plan, and then the specification; And the plan was without form, and the specification was void. And darkness was on the faces of the implementors thereof; And they spake unto their leader, saying: "It is a crock of shit, and smells as of a sewer." And the leader took pity on them, and spoke to the project leader: "It is a crock of excrement, and none may abide the odor thereof." And the project leader spake unto his section head, saying: "It is a container of excrement, and it is very strong, such that none may abide it." The section head then hurried to his department manager, and informed him thus: "It is a vessel of fertilizer, and none may abide its strength." The department manager carried these words to his general manager, and spoke unto him saying: "It containeth that which aideth the growth of plants, and it is very strong." And so it was that the general manager rejoiced and delivered the good news unto the Vice President. "It promoteth growth, and it is very powerful." The Vice President rushed to the President's side, and joyously exclaimed: "This powerful new software product will promote the growth of the company!" And the President looked upon the product, and saw that it was very good. After the subsequent disaster, the suits protect themselves by saying "I was misinformed!", and the implementors are demoted or fired.
- special feature — an article differing from the normal format and focusing on a particular topic
- special student — a student who is not seeking a degree but enrols in a course, esp to gain academic credits
- special subject — an area of knowledge in which someone specializes
- specific volume — volume per unit mass; the reciprocal of density.
- spiny cocklebur — a cocklebur, Xanthium spinosum, introduced into North America from Europe.
- splanchnopleure — the double layer formed by the association of the lower layer of the lateral plate of mesoderm with the underlying entoderm, which develops into the embryonic viscera.
- streptobacillus — any of various bacilli that form in chains.
- sulfite process — a process for making wood pulp by digesting wood chips in an acid liquor consisting of sulfurous acid and a salt, usually calcium bisulfite.
- superexcellence — extreme or supreme excellence; the quality of being superexcellent
- superficialness — being at, on, or near the surface: a superficial wound.
- superplasticity — the phenomenon, exhibited by certain metals and alloys usually at high temperatures, of stretching to extreme lengths without breaking
- superspecialist — a highly skilled specialist
- supreme council — the legislature of the former Soviet Union and its successor states, consisting of an upper house (Soviet of the Union or Council of the Union) whose delegates are elected on the basis of population, and a lower house (Soviet of Nationalities or Council of Nationalities) whose delegates are elected to represent the various nationalities.
- the black stump — an imaginary marker of the extent of civilization (esp in the phrase beyond the black stump)
- tricuspid valve — the valve, consisting of three triangular flaps of tissue between the right auricle and ventricle of the heart, that keeps blood from flowing back into the auricle.
- ultramicroscope — an instrument that uses scattering phenomena to detect the position of objects too small to be seen by an ordinary microscope.
- uncompromisable — that cannot or should not be compromised
- undisciplinable — unable to be disciplined or controlled
- unpeaceableness — the quality or state of being unpeaceable; quarrelsomeness
- unpolished rice — a partly refined rice, hulled and deprived of its germ but retaining some bran.
- upperclasswoman — An upperclasswoman is a junior or senior student in a high school, college, or university.
- wallpaper music — music that is pleasant but not interesting, so people do not pay much attention to it
- white corpuscle — white blood cell.
- zygophyllaceous — belonging to the Zygophyllaceae, the caltrop family of plants.