20-letter words containing s, e, t, i, f, r
- olfactory anesthesia — absence or loss of the sense of smell.
- order of the thistle — an ancient Scottish order of knighthood revived by James VII of Scotland in 1687. It consists of the sovereign, 16 knights brethren, and extra members created by statute. It is the equivalent of the Order of the Garter, and is usually conferred on Scots
- paper qualifications — qualifications gained through official examinations, etc, rather than through experience
- pest control officer — a person who gets rid of pests such as rats and mice
- post office protocol — (messaging, protocol) (POP) A protocol designed to allow single-user computers to retrieve electronic mail from a POP server via TCP/IP. The default port is 110. The POP server might be a computer with a permanent Internet connection whereas its clients might only connect to it occasionally, e.g. by modem. There are (in 1994) three versions: POP, POP2, and POP3. Later versions are NOT compatible with earlier ones.
- prefecture apostolic — a territory in the early stage of missionary development.
- recursive definition — a definition consisting of a set of rules such that by repeated application of the rules the meaning of the definiendum is uniquely determined in terms of ideas that are already familiar.
- reflecting telescope — an optical instrument for making distant objects appear larger and therefore nearer. One of the two principal forms (refracting telescope) consists essentially of an objective lens set into one end of a tube and an adjustable eyepiece or combination of lenses set into the other end of a tube that slides into the first and through which the enlarged object is viewed directly; the other form (reflecting telescope) has a concave mirror that gathers light from the object and focuses it into an adjustable eyepiece or combination of lenses through which the reflection of the object is enlarged and viewed. Compare radio telescope.
- refracting telescope — an optical instrument for making distant objects appear larger and therefore nearer. One of the two principal forms (refracting telescope) consists essentially of an objective lens set into one end of a tube and an adjustable eyepiece or combination of lenses set into the other end of a tube that slides into the first and through which the enlarged object is viewed directly; the other form (reflecting telescope) has a concave mirror that gathers light from the object and focuses it into an adjustable eyepiece or combination of lenses through which the reflection of the object is enlarged and viewed. Compare radio telescope.
- refuse disposal unit — a unit or part of a sink that disposes of waste food, etc, by grinding
- restriction fragment — a length of DNA cut from the strand by a restriction enzyme.
- royal air force list — an official list of all serving commissioned officers of the RAF and reserve officers liable for recall
- saint anthony's fire — any of certain skin conditions that are of an inflammatory or gangrenous nature, as erysipelas, hospital gangrene, or ergotism.
- sarcastic fringehead — any fish of the genus Neoclinus, characterized by a row of fleshy processes on the head, as N. blanchardi (sarcastic fringehead) of California coastal waters.
- sb's future lies swh — If you say that someone's future lies in a particular place or activity, you think they will be most successful or happy in that place or doing that activity.
- self-differentiating — to form or mark differently from other such things; distinguish.
- senior aircraftwoman — a rank in the Royal Air Force comparable to that of a private in the army, though not the lowest rank in the Royal Air Force
- separation of powers — the principle or system of vesting in separate branches the executive, legislative, and judicial powers of a government.
- sergeant first class — a noncommissioned officer ranking next above a staff sergeant and below a first or master sergeant.
- shear transformation — a map of a coordinate space in which one coordinate is held fixed and the other coordinate or coordinates are shifted.
- sinfonia concertante — a type of concerto for two or more solo instruments accompanied by an orchestra
- snowflake generation — the generation of people who became adults in the 2010s, viewed as being less resilient and more prone to taking offence than previous generations
- sodium fluoroacetate — a white, amorphous, water-soluble, poisonous powder, C 2 H 2 FO 2 Na, used as a rodenticide.
- software engineering — the process of writing computer programs
- solitary confinement — the confinement of a prisoner in a cell or other place in which he or she is completely isolated from others.
- spanish west african — of or relating to the former Spanish overseas territory of Spanish West Africa (now the overseas provinces of Ifni and Spanish Sahara) or its inhabitants
- spirit of enterprise — the motivation to set up and succeed in business or commerce
- split the difference — the state or relation of being different; dissimilarity: There is a great difference between the two.
- square of opposition — a diagrammatic representation of the opposition of categorical propositions.
- squirrel's-foot fern — ball fern.
- stare sb in the face — If a situation or the answer to a problem is staring you in the face, it is very obvious, although you may not be immediately aware of it.
- strike off the rolls — to expel from membership
- surface-active agent — any substance that when dissolved in water or an aqueous solution reduces its surface tension or the interfacial tension between it and another liquid.
- symmetric difference — the union of the relative complements of two sets.
- the founding fathers — any of the men who were members of the U.S. Constituional Convention of 1787
- the gnomes of zurich — Swiss bankers and financiers
- the legal profession — the profession of law
- the price of someone — what someone deserves, esp a fitting punishment
- there is no call for — If you say that there is no call for someone to behave in a particular way, you are criticizing their behaviour, usually because you think it is rude.
- theresa of avila, st — Saint. Also, Teresa. Also called Theresa of Avila [ah-vee-lah] /ˈɑ viˌlɑ/ (Show IPA), 1515–82, Spanish Carmelite nun, mystic, and writer.
- third-party software — software created by programmers or publishers independent of the manufacturer of the hardware for which it is intended.
- this time, for sure! — (exclamation) Ritual affirmation frequently uttered during protracted debugging sessions involving numerous small obstacles (e.g. attempts to bring up a UUCP connection). For the proper effect, this must be uttered in a fruity imitation of Bullwinkle J. Moose. Also heard: "Hey, Rocky! Watch me pull a rabbit out of my hat!" The canonical response is, of course, "But that trick *never* works!" See hacker humour.
- thorn in one's flesh — a sharp excrescence on a plant, especially a sharp-pointed aborted branch; spine; prickle.
- to burst into flames — If something bursts into flames or bursts into flame, it suddenly starts burning strongly.
- to have it in for sb — If someone has it in for you, they do not like you and they want to make life difficult for you.
- transfer of training — transfer (def 19).
- transformation range — the temperature range within which austenite forms when a ferrous metal is heated, or within which it disappears when the metal is cooled.
- treasury certificate — an obligation of the U.S. government represented by certificates in denominations ranging from $1000 to $1,000,000, maturing in one year or less with interest periodically payable by the redemption of coupons.
- treaty of versailles — the treaty of 1919 imposed upon Germany by the Allies (except for the US and the Soviet Union): the most important of the five peace treaties that concluded World War I
- uncertificated share — a share of a mutual fund credited to the account of a shareholder without the physical issuance of a certificate evidencing ownership.