24-letter words containing s, e, r, i, a

serial interface adaptor — (SIA) The Ethernet driver chip used on a Filtabyte Ethernet card.
shadow foreign secretary — the member of the main opposition party in Parliament who would hold the office of Foreign Secretary if their party were in power
shenandoah national park — a national park in N Virginia, including part of the Blue Ridge mountain range. 302 sq. mi. (782 sq. km).
sign one's death warrant — to cause one's own destruction
simultaneous translation — a form of translation in which the interpreter translates into the target language as quickly as possible while the speaker is still speaking in the source language
single european currency — the official currency, also known as the Euro, of some of the members of the European Union
single premium insurance — Single premium insurance is insurance where all the premium is paid at once, in one payment.
single transferable vote — of or relating to a system of voting in which voters list the candidates in order of preference. Any candidate achieving a predetermined proportion of the votes in a constituency is elected. Votes exceeding this amount and those cast for the bottom candidate are redistributed according to the stated preferences. Redistribution continues until all the seats are filled
skeleton in the cupboard — a scandalous fact or event in the past that is kept secret
socialist workers' party — one of the biggest extreme left wing parties in Britain
south equatorial current — an ocean current, flowing westward, found near the equator in the Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian oceans.
special development area — an area earmarked for special development by the government
split image range finder — a range finder in which opposing halves of a split field move relative to each other and coincide when the object centered in the field is in focus.
st.-bruno-de-montarville — a town in S Quebec, in E Canada, near Montreal.
staggered pin grid array — (hardware) (SPGA) A style of integrated circuit socket or pin-out with a staggered grid of pins around the edge of the socket, positioned as several squares, one inside the other. SPGA is commonly used on motherboards for processors, e.g. Socket 5, Socket 7 and Socket 8. See also PGA.
standard housing benefit — a rebate of a proportion of a person's eligible housing costs paid by a local authority and calculated on the basis of level of income and family size
stereographic projection — a one-to-one correspondence between the points on a sphere and the extended complex plane where the north pole on the sphere corresponds to the point at infinity of the plane.
sth bodes ill/augurs ill — If something bodes ill or augurs ill, it gives you a reason to fear that something harmful might happen soon.
stratified charge engine — an internal-combustion engine in which a small charge of a rich fuel mixture is ignited first and used to improve combustion of a larger charge of a lean fuel mixture.
stratified random sample — a random sample of a population in which the population is first divided into distinct subpopulations, or strata, and random samples are then taken separately from each stratum.
subordinate con-junction — a conjunction introducing a subordinate clause, as when in They were glad when I finished.
supportive psychotherapy — a type of psychotherapy that seeks to reduce psychological conflict and strengthen a patient's defenses through the use of various techniques, as reassurance, suggestion, counseling, and reeducation.
take sb under one's wing — If you take someone under your wing, you look after them, help them, and protect them.
take someone at his word — to assume that someone means, or will do, what he or she says
take/draw sb to one side — If you take someone to one side or draw them to one side, you speak to them privately, usually in order to give them advice or a warning.
tear someone off a strip — to rebuke (someone) angrily
telephony user interface — (communications) (TUI) Either a software interface to telephony (e.g. a phone-capable PC) or a DTMF-based interface to software (e.g. voicemail).
telescope user interface — (hardware, interface) (TUI) A remote control interface for a telescope.
the birds and (the) bees — Some people refer to the birds and the bees when they are talking about sex, especially to children.
the netherlands antilles — two groups of islands in the Caribbean, in the Lesser Antilles: a former constituent country of the Netherlands (since 2010 each island has had a separate status), consisting of the S group of Curaçao, Aruba, and Bonaire, and the N group of Saint Eustatius, Saba, and the S part of Saint Martin; economy based on refining oil from Venezuela. Pop: 222 000 (2004 est). Area: 996 sq km (390 sq miles)
the official secrets act — an act of Parliament that covers the protection of information relating to state security
the ravages of something — the destructive effects of something
the realm of possibility — If you say that something is not beyond the realms of possibility, you mean that it is possible.
the second international — an international association of socialist parties and trade unions that began in Paris in 1889 and collapsed during World War I. The right-wing elements reassembled at Berne in 1919
the wars of the diadochi — a series of conflicts between 321 and 281 bc, fought by six Macedonian generals who, after the death of Alexander the Great, desired control of his empire
the way things are going — You can use the way things are going to indicate that you expect something to happen because of the way the present situation is developing.
thousand island dressing — a seasoned mayonnaise, often containing chopped pickles, pimientos, sweet peppers, hard-boiled eggs, etc.
three-quarter turn stair — a staircase requiring a three-quarter turn at each landing for continued ascent or descent.
three-spined stickleback — a small teleost fish, Gasterosteus aculeatus, of the family Gasterosteidae, of rivers and coastal regions, having three spines along the back and occurring in cold and temperate northern regions
throw one's weight about — to act in an authoritarian or aggressive manner
to go for the brass ring — to try to succeed in an area where there is a lot of competition
to lay something to rest — If you lay something such as fears or rumours to rest or if you put them to rest, you succeed in proving that they are not true.
to make up for lost time — If someone is making up for lost time, they are doing something actively and with enthusiasm because they have not had the opportunity to do it before or when they were younger.
to pick someone's brains — If you pick someone's brains, you ask them to help you with a problem because they know more about the subject than you.
to rise to the challenge — If someone rises to the challenge, they act in response to a difficult situation which is new to them and are successful.
to strike a blow for sth — If you strike a blow for a particular cause or principle, you do something that supports it or makes it more likely to succeed.
trading standards office — an office of the local authority department that deals with trading standards
transcendental aesthetic — (in Kantian epistemology) the study of space and time as the a priori forms of perception.
transcendental dialectic — (in transcendental logic) the study of the fallacious attribution of objective reality to the perceptions by the mind of external objects. Compare dialectic (def 8).
tricyclic antidepressant — pertaining to or embodying three cycles.

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