16-letter words containing s, i, p, n
- band-pass filter — a filter that transmits only those currents having a frequency lying within specified limits
- bargaining scope — the range of topics within the scope of a particular set of negotiations leading to a collective agreement
- basque provinces — an autonomous region of N Spain, comprising the provinces of Álava, Guipúzcoa, and Vizcaya: inhabited mainly by Basques, who retained virtual autonomy from the 9th to the 19th century. Pop: 1 840 700 (2003 est). Area: about 7250 sq km (2800 sq miles)
- bastard pointing — an imitation of tuck pointing, having a fillet made from the mortar of the joint.
- batch processing — manufacturing products or treating materials in batches, by passing the output of one process to subsequent processes
- be in one's cups — If someone is in their cups, they are drunk.
- bearing pedestal — an independent support for a bearing, usually incorporating a bearing housing
- belgian sheepdog — any of a Belgian breed of large herding dog with a black coat, sometimes used as a guide dog
- beside the point — If you say that something is beside the point, you mean that it is not relevant to the subject that you are discussing.
- bicapitalisation — The act said to have been performed on trademarks (such as PostScript, NeXT, NeWS, VisiCalc, FrameMaker, TK!solver, EasyWriter) that have been raised above the ruck of common coinage by nonstandard capitalisation. Too many marketroid types think this sort of thing is really cute, even the 2,317th time they do it. Compare studlycaps.
- bird's-nest soup — a rich spicy Chinese soup made from the outer part of the nests of SE Asian swifts of the genus Collocalia
- birthday present — a gift given to someone on their birthday
- blenheim spaniel — a variety of toy spaniel that is white with reddish-brown spots
- boatswain's pipe — a whistle used formerly to give orders on board ship
- boston cream pie — a cake of two layers with icing and a creamy filling
- boundary dispute — dispute between neighbours about the boundary between their properties
- branchiopneustic — breathing by means of gills, as certain aquatic insect larvae.
- bristlecone pine — a coniferous tree, Pinus aristata, of the western US, bearing cones with bristle-like prickles: one of the longest-lived trees, useful in radiocarbon dating
- brittany spaniel — a short-tailed French bird dog that typically has a smooth orange- or liver-and-white coat
- business expense — an amount of money spent in order to carry out one's work and which can be reclaimed and borne by the business
- button one's lip — to stop talking: often imperative
- bypass operation — an operation involving redirection of blood flow, either to avoid a diseased blood vessel or in order to perform heart surgery
- canine distemper — distemper1 (def 1a).
- capital sentence — the punishment of death for a crime
- capsizing moment — the moment of an upsetting couple.
- castor-oil plant — a tall euphorbiaceous Indian plant, Ricinus communis, cultivated in tropical regions for ornament and for its poisonous seeds, from which castor oil is extracted
- catch sb napping — If someone is caught napping, something happens when they are not prepared for it, although they should have been.
- checking deposit — a deposit on which cheques may be drawn
- chemical weapons — toxic chemicals used as weapons
- children's panel — (in Scotland) a group of representatives of relevant agencies, with the power to deal with a child under sixteen who is in criminal or family trouble. Its hearings are private and replace most of the functions of juvenile courts
- chinese fan palm — a fan palm, Livistona chinensis, of southern Japan, having very large, deeply cleft leaves and bluish-green, ovalish fruit.
- chinese pavilion — crescent (def 6).
- chinese primrose — any plant of the genus Primula, as P. vulgaris (English primrose) of Europe, having yellow flowers, or P. sinensis (Chinese primrose) of China, having flowers in a variety of colors. Compare primrose family.
- chinese shar-pei — Shar-Pei.
- chinese whispers — a game in which a message is passed on, in a whisper, by each of a number of people, so that the final version of the message is often radically changed from the original
- chinese-pavilion — a shape resembling a segment of a ring tapering to points at the ends.
- chipping sparrow — a common North American sparrow, Spizella passerina, having brown-and-grey plumage and a white eye stripe
- chondrodysplasia — (medicine) A genetic disorder characterized by short-limbed dwarfism.
- chryselephantine — (of ancient Greek statues) made of or overlaid with gold and ivory
- chymotrypsinogen — the inactive precursor of chymotrypsin
- circumscriptions — Plural form of circumscription.
- closed-captioned — (of a video recording) having subtitles which appear on screen only if the cassette is played through a special decoder
- colorado springs — a city and resort in central Colorado. Pop: 370 448 (2003 est)
- commissionership — The role or office of commissioner.
- common spoonbill — a wading bird of warm regions, Platalea leucorodia, having a long horizontally flattened bill: family Threskiornithidae, order Ciconiiformes
- community spirit — willingness and desire to participate in activities that promote a community
- compartmentalise — to divide into categories or compartments.
- complex analysis — the branch of mathematics dealing with analytic functions of a complex variable.
- complicitousness — (rare, possibly nonstandard) Complicity.
- compliments slip — a slip of paper sent with a parcel that identifies the sender and expresses compliments