17-letter words containing s, h, e, l
- british israelite — a member of a religious movement claiming that the British people are descended from the lost tribes of Israel
- bull of the woods — the foreman of a logging operation.
- bushman's singlet — a sleeveless heavy black woollen singlet, used as working clothing by timber fellers
- buttonhole stitch — a reinforcing looped stitch for the edge of material, such as around a buttonhole
- calcium phosphate — the insoluble nonacid calcium salt of orthophosphoric acid (phosphoric(V) acid): it occurs in bones and is the main constituent of bone ash. Formula: Ca3(PO4)2
- carbon disulphide — a colourless slightly soluble volatile flammable poisonous liquid commonly having a disagreeable odour due to the presence of impurities: used as an organic solvent and in the manufacture of rayon and carbon tetrachloride. Formula: CS2
- castle in the air — a hope or desire unlikely to be realized; daydream
- catholic epistles — the epistles of James, I and II Peter, I John, and Jude, which were addressed to the universal Church rather than to an individual or a particular church
- caudal anesthesia — anesthesia below the pelvis, induced by injecting an anesthetic into the sacral portion of the spinal canal.
- celestial horizon — the line or circle that forms the apparent boundary between earth and sky.
- cellulose varnish — a varnish made from cellulose nitrate, used as a protective sealing film
- ch'eng-chu school — School of Law.
- chadless keypunch — (hardware) A card punch which cut little U-shapes in punched cards, rather than punching out a circle or rectangle. The U's made a hole when folded back. One of the Jargon File's correspondents believed that the term "chad" derived from the Chadless keypunch. Obviously, if the Chadless keypunch didn't make them, then the stuff that other keypunches made had to be "chad". The assertion that the keypunch was named after its inventor is not supported by any record in US or UK patents or surname references.
- châlons-sur-marne — city in NE France, on the Marne River: scene of defeat ( a.d. 451) of Attila by the Romans: pop. 50,000
- chanson de roland — English The Song of Roland. a chanson de geste (c1100) relating Roland's brave deeds and death at Roncesvalles and Charlemagne's revenge.
- characterlessness — The state or condition of being characterless; lack of character.
- charles de gaulle — Charles André Joseph Marie [chahrlz ahn-drey joh-zuh f muh-ree;; French sharl ahn-drey zhoh-zef ma-ree] /tʃɑrlz ˈɑn dreɪ ˈdʒoʊ zəf məˈri;; French ʃarl ɑ̃ˈdreɪ ʒoʊˈzɛf maˈri/ (Show IPA), 1890–1970, French general and statesman: president 1959–69.
- charles henry dow — Charles Henry, 1851–1902, U.S. journalist and publisher: a founder of Dow Jones company.
- charles lindbergh — Anne (Spencer) Morrow, 1906–2001, U.S. writer (wife of Charles Augustus Lindbergh).
- charles the great — ("Charles the Great") a.d. 742–814, king of the Franks 768–814; as Charles I, emperor of the Holy Roman Empire 800–814.
- charles townshend — Charles, 1725–67, English politician, chancellor of the exchequer for whom the Townshend Acts are named.
- checkable deposit — a checking account
- chelsea pensioner — an old ex-soldier resident in the Chelsea Royal Hospital
- chemiluminescence — the phenomenon in which a chemical reaction leads to the emission of light without incandescence
- chemoluminescence — (chemistry) The emission of light as the result of a chemical reaction.
- chiltern hundreds — (in Britain) short for Stewardship of the Chiltern Hundreds; a nominal office that an MP applies for in order to resign his seat
- chinese vermilion — pimento (def 3).
- choanoflagellates — Plural form of choanoflagellate.
- chocolate biscuit — a biscuit covered with chocolate
- chocolate soldier — a person who mistakenly believes that he or she is very powerful, important, or impressive
- cholecystectomies — Plural form of cholecystectomy.
- chukchi peninsula — a peninsula in the extreme NE of Russia, in NE Siberia: mainly tundra
- circle the wagons — to take defensive action; prepare for an attack: from arranging a wagon train in a circular formation
- civil partnership — A civil partnership is a legal relationship between two people of the same sex that is similar to marriage.
- classical chinese — a written form of Chinese used from about the 5th century b.c. to 220 a.d.
- cleveland heights — city in NE Ohio: suburb of Cleveland: pop. 50,000
- close parenthesis — right parenthesis
- close the book on — to bring to a definite end
- close the door on — rule out, exclude
- close to the bone — If something is too close to the bone, it makes you feel uncomfortable because it is very close to the truth or to the real nature of something.
- close to the wind — sailing as nearly as possible towards the direction from which the wind is blowing
- cohesionless soil — any free-running type of soil, such as sand or gravel, whose strength depends on friction between particles
- colloid chemistry — the study of colloids.
- comprehensibility — capable of being comprehended or understood; intelligible.
- continental shelf — The continental shelf is the area which forms the edge of a continent, ending in a steep slope to the depths of the ocean.
- coral honeysuckle — trumpet honeysuckle.
- corporal of horse — a noncommissioned rank in the British Household Cavalry above that of sergeant and below that of staff sergeant
- counterchallenges — Plural form of counterchallenge.
- cytotechnologists — the study of human cells to detect signs of cancer or other abnormalities.
- d-shell connector — (hardware) One of the family of connectors: DA-15, DB-25, DC-37, DD-50, DE-9, and DEH-15 [VGA]. The "D" is the shape of the shell, the next letter determines connector size, and the number is the maximum pin count.