21-letter words containing s, i, r, e, t

sweet spirit of nitre — ethyl nitrite spirit.
sympathetic vibration — a vibration induced by resonance.
synchronized shifting — gear shifting in which the gears to be meshed are made to rotate at the same speed.
systeme international — Système International d'Unités
take one's finger out — stop delaying or procrastinating
take sb at their word — If you take someone at their word, you believe what they say, when they did not really mean it or when they meant something slightly different.
take sb/sth seriously — If you take someone or something seriously, you believe that they are important and deserve attention.
take someone prisoner — to capture and hold someone as a prisoner, esp as a prisoner of war
take under advisement — to consider carefully
tape operating system — (operating system) (TOS) An IBM operating system for System 360, used in the early days around 1965 to support the IBM 360 model 30 et al. TOS was a predecessor to IBM's Disk Operating System. TOS died out really early as disks such as the 2311 and 2314 became common with the IBM 360 whereas thet had been a real luxury on the IBM 7090.
tartarian honeysuckle — an Asian honeysuckle, Lonicera tatarica, having fragrant, white to pink flowers.
temperature inversion — inversion (def 12).
tenure track position — a position or office that carries with it the opportunity to eventually obtain tenure or the right to permanent employment
terrestrial radiation — long-wave electromagnetic radiation in the form of heat emitted from the earth's surface and atmosphere.
terrestrial telescope — a refracting telescope having inverting lenses or an eyepiece that presents an erect image.
tetrabromofluorescein — eosin (def 1).
the acting profession — actors considered as a group
the barber of seville — Italian Il barbiere di Siviglia. a comic opera (1816) by Gioacchino Rossini based on a comedy (1775) by Beaumarchais.
the central provinces — the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec
the early renaissance — the period from about 1400 to 1500 in European, esp Italian, painting, sculpture, and architecture, when naturalistic styles and humanist theories were evolved from the study of classical sources, notably by Donatello, Masaccio, and Alberti
the flickertail state — a name for the state of North Dakota
the jury is still out — it has not yet been decided or agreed on
the maastricht treaty — a treaty on European economic and monetary union agreed by government leaders of the 12 EC states at a meeting in Maastricht in December 1991
the man in the street — If you talk about the man in the street or the man or woman in the street, you mean ordinary people in general.
the microsoft network — (networking) (MSN) Microsoft's ISP and online content service, launched in October 1996. Not to be confused with Microsoft Networking. MSN was originally based on custom software and protocols, however Microsoft saw the error of their ways and adopted Internet standards. MSN now provides standard WWW and email facilities, albeit with Microsoft's Internet Explorer web-browser and the Outlook Express email software. The service also provides "Community Services" including newsgroups, forums, and chat.
the oldest profession — prostitution
the origin of species — (On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, or the Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life) a treatise (1859) by Charles Darwin setting forth his theory of evolution.
the press association — the national news agency for the United Kingdom and Ireland
the probation service — a criminal justice service that is mainly responsible for dealing with offenders by placing them under the supervision of a probation officer
the shipping forecast — a radio broadcast made by the BBC of weather reports and forecasts for the seas around the British Isles
the stars and stripes — the national flag of the United States of America, consisting of 50 white stars representing the present states on a blue field and seven red and six white horizontal stripes representing the original states
the stationery office — (in the UK) the company that supplies the civil service with all its office supplies, machinery, printing and binding, etc
the supreme sacrifice — the sacrifice of one's life
the throwaway society — a society full of excessive consumption and waste of food, products, etc
theater of operations — the part of the theater of war, including a combat zone and a communications zone, that is engaged in military operations and their support.
theoretical physicist — a scientist who studies theoretical physics
there's nothing to it — If you say 'There's nothing to it', 'There's not much to it', or 'That's all there is to it', you are emphasizing how simple you think something is.
thermal decomposition — Thermal decomposition is the process in which a chemical species breaks down when its temperature is increased.
thermal power station — a power station in which heat is converted into electricity
third-party insurance — insurance that compensates for a loss to a party other than the insured for which the insured is liable.
threshold wage policy — a policy whereby wages are increased in accordance with inflation
throw one's hat at it — to give up all hope of getting or achieving something
to be arrayed against — to be opposed to
to be in dire straits — to be in a position of acute difficulty
to cross your fingers — If you cross your fingers, you put one finger on top of another and hope for good luck. If you say that someone is keeping their fingers crossed, you mean they are hoping for good luck.
to have green fingers — If someone has green fingers, they are very good at gardening and their plants grow well.
to lay something bare — If you lay something bare, you uncover it completely so that it can then be seen.
to mix your metaphors — If you mix your metaphors, you use two conflicting metaphors. People do this accidentally, or sometimes deliberately as a joke.
to rear its ugly head — If something unpleasant rears its head or rears its ugly head, it becomes visible or noticeable.
to risk life and limb — If someone risks life and limb, they do something very dangerous that may cause them to die or be seriously injured.

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