0%

14-letter words containing s, k, a, t, o

  • saratoga trunk — a type of large traveling trunk used mainly by women during the 19th century.
  • scratch monkey — (humour)   As in "Before testing or reconfiguring, always mount a scratch monkey", a proverb used to advise caution when dealing with irreplaceable data or devices. Used to refer to any scratch volume hooked to a computer during any risky operation as a replacement for some precious resource or data that might otherwise get trashed. This term preserves the memory of Mabel, the Swimming Wonder Monkey, star of a biological research program at the University of Toronto. Mabel was not (so the legend goes) your ordinary monkey; the university had spent years teaching her how to swim, breathing through a regulator, in order to study the effects of different gas mixtures on her physiology. Mabel suffered an untimely demise one day when a DEC engineer troubleshooting a crash on the program's VAX inadvertently interfered with some custom hardware that was wired to Mabel. It is reported that, after calming down an understandably irate customer sufficiently to ascertain the facts of the matter, a DEC troubleshooter called up the field circus manager responsible and asked him sweetly, "Can you swim?" Not all the consequences to humans were so amusing; the sysop of the machine in question was nearly thrown in jail at the behest of certain clueless droids at the local "humane" society. The moral is clear: When in doubt, always mount a scratch monkey. A corespondent adds: The details you give are somewhat consistent with the version I recall from the Digital "War Stories" notesfile, but the name "Mabel" and the swimming bit were not mentioned, IIRC. Also, there's a very detailed account that claims that three monkies died in the incident, not just one. I believe Eric Postpischil wrote the original story at DEC, so his coming back with a different version leads me to wonder whether there ever was a real Scratch Monkey incident.
  • sea of okhotsk — part of the NW Pacific, surrounded by the Kamchatka Peninsula, the Kurile Islands, Sakhalin Island, and the E coast of Siberia. Area: 1 589 840 sq km (613 838 sq miles)
  • shooting brake — station wagon.
  • skeleton draft — a basic or minimum draft or outline
  • skeleton staff — the minimum staff needed by a company during a time where most staff do not normally work, such as a holiday, weekend, etc
  • skip-tooth saw — a saw with alternate teeth absent
  • skirting board — fabric for making skirts.
  • smoking jacket — a loose-fitting jacket for men, often of a heavy fabric and trimmed with braid, worn indoors, especially as a lounging jacket.
  • smooth-talking — A smooth-talking man talks very confidently in a way that is likely to persuade people, but may not be sincere or honest.
  • social network — a network of friends, colleagues, and other personal contacts: Strong social networks can encourage healthy behaviors.
  • sorting tracks — the part of a railroad yard used for the final sorting of cars from a classification yard.
  • squeak through — to succeed, get through, survive, etc. by a narrow margin or with difficulty
  • st. louis park — a city in E Minnesota, near Minneapolis.
  • stalking horse — If you describe a person or thing as a stalking horse, you mean that it is being used to obtain a temporary advantage so that someone can get what they really want.
  • stalking-horse — a horse, or a figure of a horse, behind which a hunter hides in stalking game.
  • starch blocker — a substance ingested in the belief that it inhibits the body's ability to metabolize starch and thereby promotes weight loss: declared illegal in the U.S. by the FDA.
  • starting block — a device used by runners, especially sprinters, for increasing their speed off the mark, consisting of a metal or wooden frame, usually secured to the ground at both ends, with adjustable, triangular-shaped blocks on each side for bracing the feet.
  • stock exchange — a building or place where stocks and other securities are bought and sold.
  • stock in trade — the requisites for carrying on a business, especially goods kept on hand for sale in a store.
  • stock transfer — Stock transfer is the act of moving goods from one part of the distribution chain to another.
  • stock watering — the creation of more new shares in a company than is justified by its assets
  • stock-in-trade — items used in performing a job
  • stockade fence — a fence of closely fitted vertical boards with pointed tops.
  • stockbrokerage — a stockbroker's work or business
  • stocking frame — a type of knitting machine
  • stony tunguska — one of three rivers in Russia, in central Siberia, that is a tributary of the Yenisei and is 1550 km (960 miles) long
  • stop-and-frisk — a policy that permits a police officer to momentarily detain and pat down or search a person suspected of criminal activity, especially when suspected of concealing a weapon.
  • straight poker — one of the original forms of poker in which players are dealt five cards face down, upon which they bet and then have the showdown without drawing any cards.
  • tailor's chalk — hardened chalk or soapstone used to make temporary guide marks on a garment that is being altered.
  • take a shot at — a discharge of a firearm, bow, etc.
  • take one's way — to go on a journey; travel
  • take soundings — to try to find out people's opinions on a subject
  • take years off — to make (someone) feel or look much younger
  • talk about sth — You can say talk about before mentioning a particular expression or situation, when you mean that something is a very striking or clear example of that expression or situation.
  • tank destroyer — a high-speed, self-propelled, armored combat vehicle with antitank cannon.
  • telescope peak — a mountain in SE California: highest peak in the Panamint Range, above Death Valley. 11,049 feet (3368 meters).
  • the joe blakes — the DT's
  • to blow a kiss — If you blow someone a kiss or blow a kiss, you touch the palm of your hand lightly with your lips, and then blow across your hand towards the person, in order to show them your affection.
  • to break ranks — If you say that a member of a group or organization breaks ranks, you mean that they disobey the instructions of their group or organization.
  • to close ranks — If you say that the members of a group close ranks, you mean that they are supporting each other only because their group is being criticized.
  • to make a fuss — If you make a fuss or kick up a fuss about something, you become angry or excited about it and complain.
  • to shake hands — If you shake hands with someone, you take their right hand in your own for a few moments, often moving it up and down slightly, when you are saying hello or goodbye to them, congratulating them, or agreeing on something. You can also say that two people shake hands.
  • tokara islands — a group of Japanese islands in the W Pacific Ocean, in the N Ryukyu Islands.
  • treasury stock — outstanding shares of stock reacquired and held by the issuing corporation.
  • turkish angora — a long-haired breed of cat, similar to the Persian
  • virginia stock — a plant, Malcolmia maritima, of the mustard family, native to the Mediterranean region, having oblong leaves on a weak, often reclining stem and reddish or white flowers.
  • vote of thanks — A vote of thanks is an official speech in which the speaker formally thanks a person for doing something.
  • walk-in closet — a closet that is large enough to walk around in.
  • walking shorts — medium to long shorts, often cut fuller than Bermuda shorts and used for walking or leisure activity.
Was this page helpful?
Yes No
Thank you for your feedback! Tell your friends about this page
Tell us why?