28-letter words containing s, h, i
- the everglades national park — the Florida park established to preserve the flora and fauna of the Everglade swamps
- the last word/the final word — If someone has the last word or the final word in a discussion, argument, or disagreement, they are the one who wins it or who makes the final decision.
- the line of least resistance — If you take the line of least resistance in a situation, you do what is easiest, even though you think that it may not be the right thing to do. In American English, you usually talk about the path of least resistance.
- the long and the short of it — the essential points or facts
- the medical research council — a government body that uses public funds to finance research in medicine
- the obscene publications act — a group of obscenity laws that determines what can be published in Britain
- the world owes them a living — If you say that someone thinks that the world owes them a living, you are criticizing them because they think it is their right to have a comfortable life without having to make any effort at all.
- the wrong side of the tracks — the unfashionable or poor district or stratum of a community
- throw dust in someone's eyes — earth or other matter in fine, dry particles.
- to be in the interests of sb — to be to the advantage of somebody
- to be no let-up in something — if there is no let-up in something, usually something unpleasant, there is no reduction in the intensity of it
- to come to a screeching halt — (of a motor vehicle) to stop suddenly, causing the brakes or tyres to produce a high-pitched sound
- to cut something to the bone — If something such as costs are cut to the bone, they are reduced to the minimum possible.
- to give somebody a thick ear — to hit sb on the ear or head
- to handle sb with kid gloves — to treat someone with great tact or caution
- to know something for a fact — If you say that you know something for a fact, you are emphasizing that you are completely certain that it is true.
- to play into someone's hands — If you play into someone's hands, you do something which they want you to do and which places you in their power.
- to set your face against sth — You can say that someone has set their face against something to indicate that they are opposed to it, especially when you want to suggest that they are wrong.
- to slip through your fingers — If someone or something slips through your fingers, you just fail to catch them, get them, or keep them.
- to stand comparison with sth — If someone or something stands or bears comparison with another person or thing, they are as good, or almost as good.
- to take something lying down — If someone takes an insult or attack lying down, they accept it without protesting.
- until sb is blue in the face — If you say that someone can do something until they are blue in the face, you are emphasizing that however much they do it, it will not make any difference.
- walden, or life in the woods — a book of philosophical observations (1854) by Thoreau.
- what you see is what you get — (jargon) (WYSIWYG) /wiz'ee-wig/ Describes a user interface for a document preparation system under which changes are represented by displaying a more-or-less accurate image of the way the document will finally appear, e.g. when printed. This is in contrast to one that uses more-or-less obscure commands that do not result in immediate visual feedback. True WYSIWYG in environments supporting multiple fonts or graphics is rarely-attained; there are variants of this term to express real-world manifestations including WYSIAWYG (What You See Is *Almost* What You Get) and WYSIMOLWYG (What You See Is More or Less What You Get). All these can be mildly derogatory, as they are often used to refer to dumbed-down user-friendly interfaces targeted at non-programmers; a hacker has no fear of obscure commands (compare WYSIAYG). On the other hand, Emacs was one of the very first WYSIWYG editors, replacing (actually, at first overlaying) the extremely obscure, command-based TECO. See also WIMP.
- where someone is coming from — You can use expressions like I know where you're coming from or you can see where she's coming from to say that you understand someone's attitude or point of view.
- with/have sth to your credit — If you already have one or more achievements to your credit, you have achieved them.
- within an inch of one's life — almost to the point of death
- you can cut sth with a knife — If you have been in a place where there was a very tense atmosphere, you can say that you could have cut the atmosphere with a knife.
- zeroth law of thermodynamics — the principle that any two systems in thermal equilibrium with a third system are in thermal equilibrium with each other. Compare law of thermodynamics (def 2).