21-letter words containing s, o, b, r, i
- gobject introspection — (programming) A GNOME project that defines a syntax for introspection annotation pragmas to be used in the GObject library source code. Rather than actual introspection, these are intended to allow automatic generation of bindings (APIs) to expose the library to higher-level languages. The sort of information provided is the type and direction (in, out, inout) of function parameters and the responsibility for freeing memory used by data structures.
- gold bullion standard — a gold standard in which gold is not coined but may be purchased at a fixed price for foreign exchange.
- greenwich observatory — the national astronomical observatory of Great Britain, housed in a castle in E Sussex; formerly located at Greenwich.
- harriet beecher stowe — Harriet (Elizabeth) Beecher, 1811–96, U.S. abolitionist and novelist.
- horizontal stabilizer — the horizontal surface, usually fixed, of an aircraft empennage, to which the elevator is hinged.
- ibm customer engineer — (job) (CE) A hardware guy from IBM.
- illinois bundleflower — a warm-season perennial, Desmanthus illinoensis, having small brown legumes and fernlike leaves, native to North American prairies, glades, and pastures.
- imprecise probability — (probability) A probability that is represented as an interval (as opposed to a single number) included in [0,1].
- integer specbaseratio — SPECbase_int92
- keyboard send receive — (hardware) (KSR) Part of a designation for a hard-copy terminal, manufactured by Teletype Corporation. The KSR range were lower cost versions of the ASR models.
- language-based editor — language-sensitive editor
- long-term liabilities — Long-term liabilities are debts that a company does not have to pay back for a year or more.
- mayor of casterbridge — a novel (1886) by Thomas Hardy.
- mistress of the robes — (in Britain) a lady of high rank in charge of the Queen's wardrobe
- negotiable instrument — order or promise to pay money
- negotiable securities — securities that are legally transferable in title from one party to another
- nellis air force base — the largest air base in the U.S. Air Force's Tactical Air Command, located near Las Vegas, Nev., and developed from what began in 1941 as a U.S. Army Air Corps field.
- night-blooming cereus — any of various cacti of the genera Hylocereus, Peniocereus, Nyctocereus, or Selenicereus, having large, usually white flowers that open at night.
- northumberland strait — the part of the Gulf of St. Lawrence that separates Prince Edward Island from New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, in SE Canada. About 200 miles (320 km) long; 9–30 miles (15–48 km) wide.
- observation satellite — an unmanned satellite that observes the earth and gathers data
- on o's best behaviour — If someone is on their best behaviour, they are trying very hard to behave well.
- open graphics library — (graphics, library) (OpenGL) A multi-platform software interface to graphics hardware, supporting rendering and imaging operations. The OpenGL interface was developed by Silicon Graphics, who license it to other vendors. The OpenGL graphics interface consists of several hundred functions operating on 2D and 3D objects, supporting basic techniques, such as modelling and smooth shading, and advanced techniques, such as texture mapping and motion blur. Many operations require a frame buffer. OpenGL is network-transparent, and a common extension to the X Window System allows an OpenGL client to communicate across a network with a different vendor's OpenGL server. OpenGL is based on Silicon Graphics' proprietary IRIS GL.
- optical double (star) — double star (sense 2)
- pick someone's brains — to obtain information or ideas from someone
- poor robin's plantain — the rattlesnake weed, Hieracium venosum.
- posterior probability — the probability assigned to some parameter or to an event on the basis of its observed frequency in a sample, and calculated from a prior probability by Bayes' theorem
- potassium bicarbonate — a white, crystalline, slightly alkaline, salty-tasting, water-soluble powder, KHCO 3 , produced by the passage of carbon dioxide through an aqueous potassium carbonate solution: used in cookery as a leavening agent and in medicine as an antacid.
- premium savings bonds — (in Britain) bonds issued by the Treasury since 1956 for purchase by the public. No interest is paid but there is a monthly draw for cash prizes of various sums
- probable maximum loss — Probable maximum loss is the maximum amount of loss that can be expected under normal circumstances.
- public administration — the implementation of public policy, largely by the executive branch.
- public transportation — means of fare-paying travel
- rayleigh distribution — (mathematics) A curve that yields a good approximation to the actual labour curves on software projects.
- recompression chamber — hyperbaric chamber.
- roodepoort-maraisburg — a city in S Transvaal, in the NE Republic of South Africa.
- rub someone's nose in — to keep reminding someone of something unpleasant, as a mistake made
- salam-weinberg theory — the electroweak theory.
- sampling distribution — the distribution of a statistic based on all possible random samples that can be drawn from a given population.
- san gabriel mountains — a mountain range in S California, N of Los Angeles. Highest peak, San Antonio Peak, 10,080 feet (3072 meters).
- saponification number — the number of milligrams of potassium hydroxide required to saponify one gram of a given ester, especially a glyceride.
- satisficing behaviour — the form of behaviour demonstrated by firms who seek satisfactory profits and satisfactory growth rather than maximum profits
- serbia and montenegro — a former country in SE Europe, consisting of the republics of Serbia and Montenegro; replaced the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia in 2003, and dissolved in 2006 following Montenegro’s decision to secede
- single spanish burton — a tackle having a runner as well as the fall supporting the load, giving a mechanical advantage of three, neglecting friction.
- snr bandwidth product — (communications) The integral of the SNR over frequency. The SNR bandwidth product is an important limit in the capacity of a communication channel.
- socialist labor party — a U.S. political party, organized in 1874, advocating the peaceful introduction of socialism.
- space shuttle orbiter — orbiter (def 1).
- stabilization-process — the act or process of stabilizing or the state of being stabilized.
- subliminal perception — perception of or reaction to a stimulus that occurs without awareness or consciousness
- substitution reaction — the replacement of an atom or group of atoms in a compound by another atom or group.
- sympathetic vibration — a vibration induced by resonance.
- 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.