19-letter words containing s, o, t, h
- photoreconnaissance — reconnaissance using aerial photography.
- pistachio ice cream — ice cream flavoured with pistachios
- pistol-handle knife — a table knife, especially of the 18th century, having a slightly curved handle resembling the grip of a flintlock pistol.
- play footsie (with) — to touch feet or rub knees (with) in a caressing way, as under the table
- police headquarters — building where police are stationed
- polytene chromosome — a giant, cross-banded chromosome that results from multiple replication of its genetic material with the duplicated chromatin strands remaining closely associated.
- portobello mushroom — a dark mushroom, strong in flavor, having a broad, flat cap that is often grilled and eaten
- postsynchronization — the process of adding sound, such as dubbing, to a film or video after shooting or videotaping is completed
- potassium hydroxide — a white, deliquescent, water-soluble solid, KOH, usually in the form of lumps, sticks, or pellets, that upon solution in water generates heat: used chiefly in the manufacture of soap, as a laboratory reagent, and as a caustic.
- potassium phosphate — any of the three orthophosphates of potassium ((potassium monophosphate) (K 2 HPO 4), (potassium diphosphate) (KH 2 PO 4), and (tripotassium phosphate) (K 3 PO 4) )
- prescription charge — a charge, set by the government, to be paid by a patient for medicines
- primitive methodist — a member of a Protestant denomination (Primitive Methodist Church) founded in England in 1812 and later established in the U.S., characterized by its adherence to the basic doctrines, principles, and practices taught by John Wesley.
- priority scheduling — (operating system) Processes scheduling in which the scheduler selects tasks to run based on their priority as opposed to, say, a simple round-robin. Priorities may be static or dynamic. Static priorities are assigned at the time of creation, while dynamic priorities are based on the processes' behaviour while in the system. For example, the scheduler may favour I/O-intensive tasks so that expensive requests can be issued as early as possible. A danger of priority scheduling is starvation, in which processes with lower priorities are not given the opportunity to run. In order to avoid starvation, in preemptive scheduling, the priority of a process is gradually reduced while it is running. Eventually, the priority of the running process will no longer be the highest, and the next process will start running. This method is called aging.
- programmer's switch — (hardware) A button on the front of some Apple Macintosh computers which, when pressed, causes a command line prompt to appear. This gives access to the built-in mini-debugger, which has commands to dump memory, return to the application that was broken out, and others. A more sophisticated debugger must be installed in order to inspect breakpoints, etc.
- protease inhibitors — a drug that inhibits the action of protease, especially any of a class of antiviral drugs that prevent the cleavage and replication of HIV proteins.
- pseudohermaphrodite — an individual having internal reproductive organs of one sex and external sexual characteristics resembling those of the other sex or being ambiguous in nature. Compare hermaphrodite (def 1).
- psychotechnological — of or relating to psychotechnology
- psychrometric chart — a chart for calculating values of relative humidity, absolute humidity, and dew point from psychrometer readings.
- push comes to shove — matters become serious or reach a critical point where some action or decision is required
- put a figure on sth — When you put a figure on an amount, you say exactly how much it is.
- put sth into action — If you put an idea or policy into action, you begin to use it or cause it to operate.
- put sth to the test — If you put something to the test, you find out how useful or effective it is by using it.
- pythagoras' theorem — (spelling) It's Pythagoras's Theorem.
- rake over the coals — a black or dark-brown combustible mineral substance consisting of carbonized vegetable matter, used as a fuel. Compare anthracite, bituminous coal, lignite.
- rap on the knuckles — a mild reprimand or light sentence
- reflux oesophagitis — inflammation of the gullet caused by regurgitation of stomach acids, producing heartburn: may be associated with a hiatus hernia
- research laboratory — place for scientific experimentation
- resorcinolphthalein — fluorescein.
- rhetorical question — a question asked solely to produce an effect or to make an assertion and not to elicit a reply, as “What is so rare as a day in June?”.
- saber-toothed tiger — any of several extinct members of the cat family Felidae from the Oligocene to Pleistocene Epochs, having greatly elongated, saberlike upper canine teeth.
- sabre-toothed tiger — any of various extinct Tertiary felines of the genus Smilodon and related genera, with long curved upper canine teeth
- saccharolactic acid — mucic acid.
- sackcloth and ashes — a public display of extreme grief, remorse, or repentance
- sandwich generation — the generation of people still raising their children while having to care for their aging parents.
- satellite telephone — a type of mobile phone that connects to orbiting artificial satellites rather than terrestrial cell sites
- sb's spiritual home — your spiritual home is the place where you feel that you belong, usually because your ideas or attitudes are the same as those of the people who live there
- scare the pants off — to scare extremely
- scattersite housing — public housing, especially for low-income families, built throughout an urban area rather than being concentrated in a single neighborhood.
- school of the squad — an institution where instruction is given, especially to persons under college age: The children are at school.
- seleucia tracheotis — an ancient city in SE Asia Minor, on the River Calycadnus (modern Goksu Nehri): captured by the Turks in the 13th century; site of present-day Silifke (Turkey)
- sell down the river — a natural stream of water of fairly large size flowing in a definite course or channel or series of diverging and converging channels.
- sell like hot cakes — a pancake or griddlecake.
- sermon on the mount — a discourse delivered by Jesus to the disciples and others, containing the Beatitudes and important fundamentals of Christian teaching. Matt. 5–7; Luke 6:20–49.
- set one's sights on — to have (a specified goal) in mind; aim for
- set/put the seal on — If something sets or puts the seal on something, it makes it definite or confirms how it is going to be.
- seventh commandment — “Thou shalt not commit adultery”: seventh of the Ten Commandments.
- sharp-tailed grouse — a grouse, Pedioecetes phasianellus, of prairies and open forests of western North America, similar in size to the prairie chicken but with a more pointed tail.
- sheet flood erosion — Geology. erosion by sheets of running water, rather than by streams.
- ship-to-shore radio — a radio that carries communications between land and sea
- shoestring potatoes — potatoes cut into long, very narrow strips and fried crisp in deep fat