16-letter words containing s, h, o, w
- public ownership — ownership by the state; nationalization
- purchasing power — Also called buying power. the ability to purchase goods and services.
- put to the sword — to kill with a sword or swords
- rainbow seaperch — an embiotocid fish, Hypsurus caryi, living off the Pacific coast of North America, having red, orange, and blue stripes on the body.
- rochelle powders — (not in technical use) Seidlitz powders.
- savannah sparrow — a North American sparrow, Passerculus sandwichensis, having brown and white plumage with a yellow stripe over each eye.
- 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.
- 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.
- shaft horsepower — the horsepower delivered to the driving shaft of an engine, as measured by a torsion meter. Abbreviation: shp, SHP.
- shakedown cruise — extortion, as by blackmail or threats of violence.
- shared ownership — (in Britain) a form of house purchase whereby the purchaser buys a proportion of the dwelling, usually from a local authority or housing association, and rents the rest
- short sweetening — sugar.
- shorthand writer — a person trained to write in shorthand
- show cause order — a court order issued to a party in a lawsuit, directing that party to appear to give reasons why a certain action should not be put into effect by the court.
- show one's heels — to run away
- show one's teeth — (in most vertebrates) one of the hard bodies or processes usually attached in a row to each jaw, serving for the prehension and mastication of food, as weapons of attack or defense, etc., and in mammals typically composed chiefly of dentin surrounding a sensitive pulp and covered on the crown with enamel.
- show-me attitude — a sceptical frame of mind
- showbiz reporter — a journalist who writes about the entertainment industry
- showcase project — a project designed to attract attention and show off the abilities of the people involved in it
- showy crab apple — a large Japanese bush or tree, Malus floribunda, of the rose family, having red fruit and rose-colored flowers that fade to white.
- somehow or other — in an undetermined way
- sooty shearwater — any of several long-winged seabirds, often used as food, especially Puffinus tenuirostris (short-tailed shearwater) of Australia and Puffinus griseus (sooty shearwater) which breeds in the Southern Hemisphere and winters in the Northern Hemisphere.
- the easy way out — least demanding solution
- the great powers — the states or nations of the world with the most economic, political and military strength
- the two sicilies — a former kingdom of S Italy, consisting of the kingdoms of Sicily and Naples (1061–1860)
- the welsh office — (formerly) a department of the British government with responsibility for Welsh policies. It was replaced by the Wales office in 1999.
- the west country — the southwest of England, esp Cornwall, Devon, and Somerset
- the yellow press — (formerly) popular newspapers publishing sensational stories
- theatre workshop — a theatre company that is noted for the unconventional theatrical performances it puts on, especially with reference to a company based in the East End of London from 1953 to 1973 that was founded in 1945 by Joan Littlewood
- this-worldliness — concern or preoccupation with worldly things and values.
- throw oneself at — to propel or cast in any way, especially to project or propel from the hand by a sudden forward motion or straightening of the arm and wrist: to throw a ball.
- throw oneself on — to rely entirely upon
- to cut both ways — If you say that something cuts both ways, you mean that it can have two opposite effects, or can have both good and bad effects.
- two-family house — a house designed for occupation by two families in contiguous apartments, as on separate floors.
- two-tailed pasha — a distinctive vanessid butterfly of S Europe, Charaxes jasius, having mottled brown wings with a yellow-orange margin and frilled hind edges
- twofold purchase — a purchase using a double standing block and a double running block so as to give a mechanical advantage of four or five, neglecting friction, depending on whether the hauling is on the standing block or the running block.
- unpublished work — a literary work that has not been reproduced for sale or publicly distributed.
- up to the elbows — deeply engaged (in work, etc.)
- walrus moustache — a long thick moustache drooping at the ends
- wash one's hands — to go to the lavatory
- washington state — the state of Washington, especially as distinguished from Washington, D.C.
- washington thorn — a dense tree, Crataegus phaenopyrum, of the rose family, native to the eastern coast of the U.S., having triangular leaves, small clusters of white flowers, and clusters of bright red fruit.
- washington, d. c — Booker T(aliaferro) [boo k-er tol-uh-ver] /ˈbʊk ər ˈtɒl ə vər/ (Show IPA), 1856–1915, U.S. reformer, educator, author, and lecturer.
- washington, d.c. — Booker T(aliaferro) [boo k-er tol-uh-ver] /ˈbʊk ər ˈtɒl ə vər/ (Show IPA), 1856–1915, U.S. reformer, educator, author, and lecturer.
- watch one's step — a movement made by lifting the foot and setting it down again in a new position, accompanied by a shifting of the weight of the body in the direction of the new position, as in walking, running, or dancing.
- watson-wentworth — Charles, 2nd Marquis of Rockingham [rok-ing-uh m] /ˈrɒk ɪŋ əm/ (Show IPA), 1730–82, British statesman: prime minister 1765–66, 1782.
- way of all flesh — a novel (1903) by Samuel Butler.
- way of the cross — stations of the cross.
- weather advisory — advisory (def 5).
- weather forecast — meteorological prediction