17-letter words containing s, h, o, t, n, e
- scientific method — a method of research in which a problem is identified, relevant data are gathered, a hypothesis is formulated from these data, and the hypothesis is empirically tested.
- scientific theory — a coherent group of propositions formulated to explain a group of facts or phenomena in the natural world and repeatedly confirmed through experiment or observation: the scientific theory of evolution.
- seat-of-the-pants — using or based on experience, instinct, or guesswork: a seat-of-the-pants management style.
- see someone right — to ensure fair treatment of (someone)
- self-annihilation — self-destruction; suicide.
- set one's hand to — to sign (a document)
- settlement houses — the act or state of settling or the state of being settled.
- shake one's booty — to dance
- sheltered housing — accommodation designed esp for the elderly or infirm consisting of a group of individual premises, often with some shared facilities and a caretaker
- shetland pullover — a thick woollen sweater made from Shetland wool
- shetland sheepdog — one of a breed of small sheepdogs resembling a miniature collie, raised originally in the Shetland Islands.
- shit on a shingle — creamed chipped beef or ground beef in a sauce, served on toast.
- shoestring tackle — a tackle made around the ankles of the ball carrier.
- shoot one's cuffs — to expose one's shirt cuffs beyond the coat sleeves
- shooting incident — an incident involving guns
- shooting practice — practice in shooting for soldiers or other people who shoot guns
- shopping precinct — pedestrian area with shops
- shorten the reins — to take up the reins so that the distance between hand and bit is lessened, in order that the horse may be more collected
- shorthold tenancy — letting of a dwelling for between one and five years at a fair rent
- shouting distance — hailing distance.
- shower attachment — a device fixed to taps to make a shower
- sign of the cross — a movement of the hand to indicate a cross, as from forehead to breast and left shoulder to right or, in the Eastern Orthodox Church, from right shoulder to left.
- significant other — Sociology. a person, as a parent or peer, who has great influence on one's behavior and self-esteem.
- sinbad the sailor — a merchant in The Arabian Nights who makes seven adventurous voyages
- sixth commandment — “Thou shalt not kill”: sixth of the Ten Commandments.
- sixty-fourth note — a note having one sixty-fourth of the time value of a whole note; hemidemisemiquaver.
- skate on thin ice — to place oneself in a dangerous or delicate situation
- skin of our teeth — a play (1942) by Thornton Wilder.
- slap on the wrist — a sharp blow or smack, especially with the open hand or with something flat.
- snatch one's time — to leave a job, taking whatever pay is due
- socratic elenchus — the drawing out of the consequences of a position in order to show them to be contrary to some accepted position
- south farmingdale — a town on central Long Island, in SE New York.
- south frigid zone — the part of the earth's surface between the Antarctic Circle and the South Pole.
- south lanarkshire — a council area of S Scotland, comprising the S part of the historical county of Lanarkshire: included within Strathclyde Region from 1975 to 1996: has uplands in the S and part of the Glasgow conurbation in the N: mainly agricultural. Administrative centre: Hamilton. Pop: 303 010 (2003 est). Area: 1771 sq km (684 sq miles)
- south sea company — a British joint stock company that traded in South America in the 18th century. The South Sea Company took over the national debt in return for a monopoly of trade with the South Seas, causing feverish speculation in their stocks, and a financial crash in 1720 (the South Sea Bubble)
- south sea islands — the islands in the S Pacific that constitute Oceania
- southampton water — an inlet of the English Channel in S England
- southern rhodesia — a former name (until 1964) of Zimbabwe (def 1).
- southern sporades — a group of Greek islands in the Aegean, including the Dodecanese, lying off the SW coast of Turkey
- southern studfish — See under studfish.
- southern triangle — the constellation Triangulum Australe.
- spaghettification — the theoretical stretching of an object as it encounters extreme differences in gravitational forces, especially those associated with a black hole.
- speech correction — the reeducation of speech habits that deviate from accepted speech standards.
- spit in the ocean — a variety of poker in which four cards are dealt face down to each player and one card, forming the fifth for all hands, is dealt face up in the center of the table, the exposed card and others of its denomination being wild cards.
- spondylolisthesis — the forward displacement of a vertebra.
- stage-door johnny — a man who often goes to a theater or waits at a stage door to court an actress.
- stannous chloride — a white, crystalline, water-soluble solid, SnCl 2 ⋅2H 2 O, used chiefly as a reducing and tinning agent, and as a mordant in dyeing with cochineal.
- steamship company — a company which has a fleet of steamships
- stenothermophilic — growing best within a narrow temperature range.
- stretch limousine — a limousine that has been lengthened to provide extra seating accommodation and more legroom