16-letter words containing s, h, o, a
- poisoned chalice — If you refer to a job or an opportunity as a poisoned chalice, you mean that it seems to be very attractive but you believe it will lead to failure.
- poitou-charentes — a region of W central France, on the Bay of Biscay: mainly low-lying
- poor white trash — white trash.
- pork scratchings — small pieces of crisply cooked pork crackling, eaten cold as an appetizer with drinks
- port authorities — the body with overall responsibility for a port
- post-boost phase — the part of a multistage missile flight when the warheads are released.
- post-elizabethan — of or relating to the reign of Elizabeth I, queen of England, or to her times: Elizabethan diplomacy; Elizabethan music.
- postencephalitic — inflammation of the substance of the brain.
- prairie schooner — a type of covered wagon, similar to but smaller than the Conestoga wagon, used by pioneers in crossing the prairies and plains of North America.
- prognostic chart — a chart showing the predicted state of the atmosphere for a given time in the future.
- protestant ethic — work ethic.
- pseudohemophilia — a clotting disorder caused by abnormal factor VIII activity, and characterized by a prolonged bleeding time but without the delayed coagulation time of hemophilia.
- pseudohistorical — of, pertaining to, treating, or characteristic of history or past events: historical records; historical research.
- pseudoparenchyma — (in certain fungi and red algae) a compact mass of tissue, made up of interwoven hyphae or filaments, that superficially resembles plant tissue.
- psychoanalytical — a systematic structure of theories concerning the relation of conscious and unconscious psychological processes.
- psychobiological — the use of biological methods to study normal and abnormal emotional and cognitive processes, as the anatomical basis of memory or neurochemical abnormalities in schizophrenia.
- psychogeriatrics — the psychology of old age.
- purchasing power — Also called buying power. the ability to purchase goods and services.
- put in mothballs — to postpone work on (a project, activity, etc)
- quasi-historical — of, pertaining to, treating, or characteristic of history or past events: historical records; historical research.
- queen's champion — a hereditary official at British coronations, representing the king (King's Champion) or the queen (Queen's Champion) who is being crowned, and having originally the function of challenging to mortal combat any person disputing the right of the new sovereign to rule.
- rainbow seaperch — an embiotocid fish, Hypsurus caryi, living off the Pacific coast of North America, having red, orange, and blue stripes on the body.
- residential home — a home with social-work supervision for people who need more than just housing accommodation, such as esp the elderly, and also children in care or mentally handicapped adults
- rhabdomyosarcoma — a malignant tumor made up of striated muscle tissue.
- rhinopharyngitis — inflammation of the mucous membranes of the nose and pharynx.
- rhode island red — one of an American breed of chickens having dark reddish-brown feathers and producing brown eggs.
- russian orthodox — of or relating to the Russian Orthodox Church
- saccharification — to convert (starch) into sugar.
- sado-masochistic — Something that is sado-masochistic is connected with the practice of sado-masochism.
- saint-john perse — (Alexis Saint-Léger Léger) 1887–1975, French diplomat and poet: Nobel Prize in literature 1960.
- saint-john-night — Midsummer Eve.
- saint-ulmo-light — St. Elmo's fire.
- savannah sparrow — a North American sparrow, Passerculus sandwichensis, having brown and white plumage with a yellow stripe over each eye.
- savonarola chair — a chair of the Renaissance having a number of transverse pairs of curved legs, crossing beneath the seat and rising to support the arms and back.
- sawn-off shotgun — A sawn-off shotgun is a shotgun on which the barrel has been cut short. Guns like this are often used by criminals because they can be easily hidden.
- scarborough lily — a plant, Vallota speciosa, of the amaryllis family, native to southern Africa, having clusters of funnel-shaped, scarlet flowers.
- school librarian — a librarian who works in or is in charge of a school library
- school-age child — a child who is old enough to go to school
- schoolteacherish — showing characteristics thought to be typical of a schoolteacher, as strictness and primness.
- schouten islands — a group of islands belonging to Papua New Guinea, in the Pacific Oceans, off the N coast of New Guinea.
- sclerenchymatous — supporting or protective tissue composed of thickened, dry, and hardened cells.
- scotch blackface — one of a Scottish breed of mountain sheep having a black face and growing long, coarse wool.
- scratch together — to assemble with difficulty
- scrovegni chapel — Arena Chapel.
- secondary growth — an increase in the thickness of the shoots and roots of a vascular plant as a result of the formation of new cells in the cambium.
- secondary phloem — phloem derived from the cambium during secondary growth.
- secondary school — a high school or a school of corresponding grade, ranking between a primary school and a college or university.
- secondhand smoke — smoke from a cigarette, cigar, or pipe that is involuntarily inhaled, especially by nonsmokers.
- self-humiliation — an act or instance of humiliating or being humiliated.
- semi-hibernation — Zoology. to spend the winter in close quarters in a dormant condition, as bears and certain other animals. Compare estivate.