19-letter words containing s, e, r, d
- to shorten the odds — To shorten the odds on something happening means to make it more likely to happen. To lengthen the odds means to make it less likely to happen. You can also say that the odds shorten or lengthen.
- to shudder to think — If you say that you shudder to think what would happen in a particular situation, you mean that you expect it to be so bad that you do not really want to think about it.
- to suck someone dry — If you say that someone is sucking something dry or milking it dry, you are criticizing them for taking all the good things from it until there is nothing left.
- tourette's syndrome — a neurological disorder characterized by recurrent involuntary movements, including multiple neck jerks and sometimes vocal tics, as grunts, barks, or words, especially obscenities.
- trahison des clercs — a compromising of intellectual integrity, esp. for political reasons
- transdenominational — of or relating to a denomination or denominations.
- travelers' diarrhea — persistent and often severe diarrhea experienced by a traveler whose digestive system is unaccustomed to the bacteria in local food and water.
- tricks of the trade — expert techniques
- trisodium phosphate — sodium phosphate (def 3).
- tropical depression — an atmospheric low-pressure system originating in the tropics, specifically, a tropical cyclone in which the maximum sustained wind speed is 38 miles per hour (62 kilometers per hour) or less.
- turn someone's head — the upper part of the body in humans, joined to the trunk by the neck, containing the brain, eyes, ears, nose, and mouth.
- turn sth inside out — If someone turns a place inside out or upside down, they search it very thoroughly and usually make it very untidy.
- ultracrepidarianism — noting or pertaining to a person who criticizes, judges, or gives advice outside the area of his or her expertise: The play provides a classic, simplistic portrayal of an ultracrepidarian mother-in-law.
- unclassified degree — a degree that has not been given a grade because it is of a low standard
- under consideration — being deliberated
- under one's control — If something is under your control, you have the power to make all the important decisions about the way that it is run.
- under police escort — If you go somewhere or are taken somewhere under police escort, you go there accompanied by a police escort.
- under the shadow of — in danger of; apparently fated for
- under the spotlight — If someone or something comes under the spotlight, they are thoroughly examined, especially by journalists and the public.
- underrepresentation — the act of representing.
- united presbyterian — a member of the United Presbyterian Church of North America, founded in Pittsburgh in 1858 by a union of two Presbyterian groups.
- venus of willendorf — a village in NE Austria, near Krems: site of an Aurignacian settlement where a 4½ inches (11 cm) limestone statuette (Venus of Willendorf) was found.
- verdigris toadstool — a basidiomycetous fungus, Stropharia aeruginosa, having a distinctive and unusual blue-green cap and paler shaggy stem
- versa module europa — (hardware) (VME) A flexible open-ended bus system which makes use of the Eurocard standard. VME was introduced in 1981 by Motorola, Philips, Thompson, and Mostek. It was intended to be a flexible environment supporting a variety of computing intensive tasks, and has become a rather popular protocol in the computer industry. It is defined by the IEEE standard 1014-1987.
- very large database — (database) (VLDB) A database that can use a Very Large Memory model to keep as much data as possible in physical memory. (Oracle http://oracle.com/platforms/dec/collateral/vlmwp_3.html).
- wandering albatross — a large albatross, Diomedea exulans, of southern waters, having the plumage mostly white with dark markings on the upper parts.
- wassermann antibody — reagin (def 1).
- websters-dictionary — Informal. a dictionary of the English language, especially American English, such as Dictionary.com.
- wedding anniversary — the annual commemoration of a couple's marriage: a tenth wedding anniversary.
- west dunbartonshire — a council area of W central Scotland, on Loch Lomond and the Clyde estuary: corresponds to part of the historical county of Dunbartonshire; part of Strathclyde Region from 1975 to 1996: engineering industries. Administrative centre: Dumbarton. Pop: 92 320 (2003 est). Area: 162 sq km (63 sq miles)
- wet behind the ears — moistened, covered, or soaked with water or some other liquid: wet hands.
- whistle in the dark — to make a clear musical sound, a series of such sounds, or a high-pitched, warbling sound by the forcible expulsion of the breath through a small opening formed by contracting the lips, or through the teeth, with the aid of the tongue.
- white-fronted goose — a grayish-brown wild goose, Anser albifrons, of Eurasia and western North America, having a white patch on the front of the face.
- white-winged scoter — a blackish North American duck, Melanitta deglandi, having a white patch on each wing.
- whorled loosestrife — any of various plants belonging to the genus Lysimachia, of the primrose family, having clusters of usually yellow flowers, as L. vulgaris (garden loosestrife) or L. quadrifolia (whorled loosestrife)
- winged spindle tree — a stiff, spreading shrub, Euonymus alata, of eastern Asia, having corky-winged twigs, yellowish flowers, and purplish fruit.
- wire-wound resistor — a resistor consisting of a wire with a high resistance wound in a coil around a cylindrical core of insulating material.
- withdrawal syndrome — a spectrum of physical and behavioral symptoms following cessation from the continuous use of an addictive drug, the character and severity of the symptoms depending upon the particular drug and the daily dose.
- work sb/os to death — If you say that someone works another person to death, you are emphasizing that they make them work very hard indeed, especially in a way that seems cruel or unfair.
- world heritage site — a natural or manmade area or structure which is recognized as being of international importance and therefore deserving special protection
- yesterday afternoon — during the afternoon of the day preceding today
- your hands are tied — If you say that your hands are tied, you mean that something is preventing you from acting in the way that you want to.
- zero-base budgeting — a process in government and corporate finance of justifying an overall budget or individual budgeted items each fiscal year or each review period rather than dealing only with proposed changes from a previous budget. Abbreviation: ZBB.