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24-letter words containing s, o, t, h

  • fight-or-flight response — the response of the sympathetic nervous system to a stressful event, preparing the body to fight or flee, associated with the adrenal secretion of epinephrine and characterized by increased heart rate, increased blood flow to the brain and muscles, raised sugar levels, sweaty palms and soles, dilated pupils, and erect hairs.
  • fish protein concentrate — an odorless and tasteless high-protein food additive made from ground fish and suitable for human consumption. Abbreviation: FPC.
  • fray at/around the edges — If you say that something is fraying at the edges or is fraying around the edges, you mean that it has an uncertain or unsteady quality, for example because it is gradually being spoiled or destroyed.
  • frequent shopper program — A frequent shopper program is one that rewards customers for purchases made on multiple visits, and builds up points entitling them to reduced prices and free items.
  • geographical determinism — the theory that human activity is determined by geographical conditions
  • get on the wrong side of — to come into disfavour with
  • get one's teeth into sth — If you describe a task or activity as something you can get your teeth into, you mean that you like it because it is interesting, complex, and makes you think hard.
  • get to the bottom of sth — If you want to get to the bottom of a problem, you want to solve it by finding out its real cause.
  • give hostages to fortune — to place oneself in a position in which misfortune may strike through the loss of what one values most
  • give something houseroom — to have or keep something in one's house
  • go all out for/to do sth — If you go all out to do something or go all out for something, you make the greatest possible effort to do it or get it.
  • graduated pension scheme — (between 1961 and 1975) an earnings-related pension scheme which was based on the amount of an employee's National Insurance contributions
  • grandfather, father, son — (operating system)   (GFS) A backup rotation scheme in which a "grandfather" backup is performed on the first Monday of each month, a "father" backup is performed on every other Monday and a "son" backup is performed on every other day of the week. Grandfather tapes are kept for a year, father tapes for a month and son tapes for a week. The exact schedule (and thus the number of tapes required) may vary, as may the choice of full backup or incremental backup, but the idea is that it should be possible to restore versions of any file of different ages: e.g. yesterday's, last week's or last year's version.
  • hairdressing appointment — an appointment to have your hair cut, styled, coloured, etc, at a hairdresser
  • have (got) sth on the go — If you have something on the go, you have started it and are busy doing it.
  • have ants in one's pants — any of numerous black, red, brown, or yellow social insects of the family Formicidae, of worldwide distribution especially in warm climates, having a large head with inner jaws for chewing and outer jaws for carrying and digging, and living in highly organized colonies containing wingless female workers, a winged queen, and, during breeding seasons, winged males, some species being noted for engaging in warfare, slavemaking, or the cultivation of food sources.
  • have at one's fingertips — to have available for instant use
  • have one's head straight — the upper part of the body in humans, joined to the trunk by the neck, containing the brain, eyes, ears, nose, and mouth.
  • have sth up one's sleeve — If you have something up your sleeve, you have an idea or plan which you have not told anyone about. You can also say that someone has an ace, card, or trick up their sleeve.
  • have the drop on someone — to have the advantage over someone
  • heart is a lonely hunter — a novel (1940) by Carson McCullers.
  • hexaethyl tetraphosphate — a yellow, very poisonous liquid, (C 2 H 5 O) 6 P 4 O 7 , soluble in water, used as an insecticide.
  • high bypass ratio engine — a type of by-pass engine in which a large fan driven by a turbine and housed in a short duct forces air rearwards around the exhaust gases in order to increase the propulsive thrust
  • high court of justiciary — the senior criminal court in Scotland, to which all cases of murder and rape and all cases involving heavy penalties are referred
  • high-density lipoprotein — a blood constituent involved in the transport of cholesterol and associated with a decreased risk of atherosclerosis and heart attack. Abbreviation: HDL .
  • high-fructose corn syrup — corn syrup to which enzymes have been added to change some of the glucose to fructose, making the product sweeter than regular corn syrup. Abbreviation: HFCS.
  • hoop-petticoat narcissus — petticoat narcissus.
  • house of representatives — the lower legislative branch in many national and state bicameral governing bodies, as in the United States, Mexico, and Japan.
  • ichthyophthirius-disease — ich.
  • in one's heart of hearts — Anatomy. a hollow, pumplike organ of blood circulation, composed mainly of rhythmically contractile smooth muscle, located in the chest between the lungs and slightly to the left and consisting of four chambers: a right atrium that receives blood returning from the body via the superior and inferior vena cavae, a right ventricle that pumps the blood through the pulmonary artery to the lungs for oxygenation, a left atrium that receives the oxygenated blood via the pulmonary veins and passes it through the mitral valve, and a left ventricle that pumps the oxygenated blood, via the aorta, throughout the body.
  • incomplete metamorphosis — insect development, as in the grasshopper and cricket, in which the change is gradual and characterized by the absence of a pupal stage. Compare complete metamorphosis.
  • information superhighway — internet
  • instructional technology — (education)   Design, development, use, management and evaluation of process and resources for learning. Instructional technology aims to promote the application of validated, practical procedures in the design and delivery of instruction. It is often defined either in terms of media and other technology used (e.g. audiovisual media and equipment and computers), or in terms of a systematic process which encompasses instructional design, development, delivery and evaluation.
  • involuntary manslaughter — the unlawful but unintentional killing of a human being
  • jewish autonomous region — an autonomous region in the Khabarovsk territory of the Russian Federation in E Siberia. 13,900 sq. mi. (36,000 sq. km). Capital: Birobidzhan.
  • keep up with the joneses — If you say that someone is keeping up with the Joneses, you mean that they are doing something in order to show that they have as much money as other people, rather than because they really want to do it.
  • knight in shining armour — If you refer to someone as a knight in shining armour, you mean that they are kind and brave, and likely to rescue you from a difficult situation.
  • knock one's head against — to have a violent or unpleasant encounter with (adverse facts or circumstances)
  • know what sb is on about — If you say that someone knows what they are on about, you are confident that what they are saying is true or makes sense, for example because they are an expert.
  • knowledge sharing effort — (project)   An ARPA project developing techniques and methods for building large-scale knowledge bases which are sharable and reusable.
  • lady washington geranium — show geranium.
  • land of the midnight sun — any of those countries containing land within the Arctic Circle where there is a midnight sun in midsummer, especially Norway, Sweden, or Finland.
  • laryngotracheobronchitis — A respiratory disease, a form of croup.
  • lay something on someone — to tell something to someone
  • lead someone by the nose — to make someone do unquestioningly all one wishes; dominate someone
  • lease with option to buy — A lease with option to buy is a lease that states that the person leasing the property has the right to purchase it at the end of the lease period.
  • leave much to be desired — be inadequate
  • leave someone to himself — not to control or direct someone
  • like a fish out of water — out of place, out of one's element
  • look someone in the face — to look directly at a person without fear or shame
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