14-letter words containing s, e, w, l
- street railway — a company that operates streetcars or buses.
- sturgeon's law — "Ninety percent of everything is crap". Derived from a quote by science fiction author Theodore Sturgeon, who once said, "Sure, 90% of science fiction is crud. That's because 90% of everything is crud." Oddly, when Sturgeon's Law is cited, the final word is almost invariably changed to "crap". Compare Ninety-Ninety Rule. Though this maxim originated in SF fandom, most hackers recognise it and are all too aware of its truth.
- sulphur-flower — a plant, Eriogonum umbellatum, of the buckwheat family, native to the western coast of the U.S., having leaves with white, woolly hairs on the underside and golden-yellow flowers.
- swallow-tailed — having a deeply forked tail like that of a swallow, as various birds.
- swamp milkweed — a coarse milkweed, Asclepias incarnata, growing in swampy places from eastern North America to Colorado, having ball-like clusters of rose-purple flowers.
- sweated labour — workers forced to work in poor conditions for low pay
- swelled-headed — an inordinately grand opinion of oneself; conceit.
- swing the lead — to malinger or make up excuses
- switch selling — a system of selling, now illegal in Britain, whereby potential customers are attracted by a special offer on some goods but the salesman's real aim is to sell other more expensive goods instead
- swivel weaving — the process of weaving on a loom equipped with a swivel.
- swollen-headed — conceited
- the all whites — the former name for the international soccer team of New Zealand
- the last straw — If an event is the last straw or the straw that broke the camel's back, it is the latest in a series of unpleasant or undesirable events, and makes you feel that you cannot tolerate a situation any longer.
- the waste land — a poem (1922) by T. S. Eliot.
- the wild geese — the Irish expatriates who served as professional soldiers with the Catholic powers of Europe, esp France, from the late 17th to the early 20th centuries
- the wilderness — the barren regions to the south and east of Palestine, esp those in which the Israelites wandered before entering the Promised Land and in which Christ fasted for 40 days and nights
- to sweat blood — If you say that someone sweats blood trying to do something, you are emphasizing that they try very hard to do it.
- tumbler switch — electrical control
- twilight sleep — a state of semiconsciousness, usually produced by hypodermic injections of scopolamine and morphine, used chiefly to effect relatively painless childbirth.
- two-time loser — a person who has been sentenced to prison twice, especially for a major crime in a state where a third sentence is mandatory life imprisonment.
- two-toed sloth — either of two sloths of the genus Choloepus, having two claws on the forelimbs and three on the hind limbs, including C. didactylus and C. hoffmanni.
- unwatchfulness — the quality or state of being unwatchful
- walk-in closet — a closet that is large enough to walk around in.
- walking papers — notice of dismissal
- wallace's line — an imaginary line that separates the Oriental and Australian zoogeographical regions and passes between Bali and Lombok, west of Celebes, and east of the Philippines.
- waltham forest — a borough of Greater London, England.
- warehouse club — A warehouse club is a large shop which sells goods at reduced prices to people who pay each year to become members of the organization that runs the shop.
- waste disposal — A waste disposal or a waste disposal unit is a small machine in a kitchen sink that chops up vegetable waste.
- waste material — a useless by-product of an industrial process
- water purslane — a creeping, Eurasian annual plant, Lythrum portula, of marshes and wetlands, having small flowers and rounded leaves.
- watercolourist — An artist who paints watercolours.
- weather signal — a visual signal, as a light or flag, indicating a weather forecast.
- weatherglasses — Plural form of weatherglass.
- web-publishing — a person or company that uploads, creates, or edits content on Web pages; one who maintains or manages a website.
- webliographies — Plural form of webliography.
- weightlessness — being without apparent weight, as a freely falling body or a body acted upon by a force that neutralizes gravitation.
- weil's disease — a type of leptospirosis in humans, characterized by fever and jaundice, caused by the spirochete Leptospira icterohaemorrhagiae.
- welfare island — a former name of Roosevelt Island.
- welfare rights — legal entitlements to financial and other benefits
- well described — to tell or depict in written or spoken words; give an account of: He described the accident very carefully.
- well preserved — having been maintained in good condition; preserving a good or healthy appearance: a well-preserved manuscript; a well-preserved elderly couple.
- well-addressed — a speech or written statement, usually formal, directed to a particular group of persons: the president's address on the state of the economy.
- well-conserved — to prevent injury, decay, waste, or loss of: Conserve your strength for the race.
- well-described — to tell or depict in written or spoken words; give an account of: He described the accident very carefully.
- well-dispersed — to drive or send off in various directions; scatter: to disperse a crowd.
- well-fashioned — a prevailing custom or style of dress, etiquette, socializing, etc.: the latest fashion in dresses.
- well-furnished — to supply (a house, room, etc.) with necessary furniture, carpets, appliances, etc.
- well-justified — to show (an act, claim, statement, etc.) to be just or right: The end does not always justify the means.
- well-nourished — having been provided with plenty of the material necessary for life and growth
- well-practised — having or having been habitually or frequently practised in order to improve skill or quality