21-letter words containing s, o, u, t, h, a
- pull sth out of a hat — To pull something out of the hat means to do something unexpected which helps you to succeed, often when you are failing.
- push the panic button — an alarm button for use in an emergency, as to summon help.
- rap over the knuckles — to reprimand
- rayleigh distribution — (mathematics) A curve that yields a good approximation to the actual labour curves on software projects.
- ring-around-the-rosey — a children's game in which the players sing while going around in a circle and squat when the lyrics “all fall down” are sung.
- rutherford scattering — the scattering of an alpha particle through a large angle with respect to the original direction of motion of the particle, caused by an atom (Rutherford atom) with most of the mass and all of the positive electric charge concentrated at a center or nucleus.
- s-k reduction machine — An abstract machine defined by Professor David Turner to evaluate combinator expressions represented as binary graphs. Named after the two basic combinators, S and K.
- satisficing behaviour — the form of behaviour demonstrated by firms who seek satisfactory profits and satisfactory growth rather than maximum profits
- secure hash algorithm —
- 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.
- sodium metabisulphite — an inorganic compound with the chemical formula Na2S2O5 that is used as a preservative, antioxidant and disinfectant
- south pacific current — an ocean current that flows E in the South Pacific Ocean parallel to the Antarctic Circumpolar Current.
- sovereign wealth fund — an investment fund created using the financial assets of a national government
- space shuttle orbiter — orbiter (def 1).
- spicebush swallowtail — a swallowtail butterfly, Papilio troilus, having a dark body with yellow spots on the forewings and greenish hind wings.
- structural psychology — psychology centering on the analysis of the structure or content of conscious mental states by introspective methods.
- sunday school teacher — someone who teaches at a Sunday school
- symphonie fantastique — a programmatic symphony (1830–31) in five movements by Hector Berlioz.
- take sb/sth seriously — If you take someone or something seriously, you believe that they are important and deserve attention.
- take the consequences — to accept the results of one's actions
- tartarian honeysuckle — an Asian honeysuckle, Lonicera tatarica, having fragrant, white to pink flowers.
- the (norman) conquest — the conquering of England by the Normans under William the Conqueror in 1066
- the executive mansion — the White House
- the household cavalry — a group of British soldiers on horseback who have the job of protecting the king or queen and their family
- the scout association — a worldwide movement for boys or (in some countries) girls, founded as the Boy Scouts in England in 1908 by Lord Baden-Powell with the aim of developing character and responsibility
- theater of the absurd — theater in which standard or naturalistic conventions of plot, characterization, and thematic structure are ignored or distorted in order to convey the irrational or fictive nature of reality and the essential isolation of humanity in a meaningless world.
- theatre of the absurd — drama in which normal conventions and dramatic structure are ignored or modified in order to present life as irrational or meaningless
- throw sb a curve ball — If someone throws you a curve or throws you a curve ball, they surprise you by doing something that you do not expect.
- throw someone a curve — a continuously bending line, without angles.
- to be hard luck on sb — to be unfortunate or unlucky for someone
- to change the subject — When someone involved in a conversation changes the subject, they start talking about something else, often because the previous subject was embarrassing.
- 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 sink without trace — If you say that someone or something sinks without trace or sinks without a trace, you mean that they stop existing or stop being successful very suddenly and completely.
- triple superphosphate — superphosphate (def 2).
- triple-superphosphate — Also called acid phosphate. a mixture of calcium acid phosphate and calcium sulfate prepared by treating phosphate rock with sulfuric acid: used chiefly as a fertilizer.
- union of south africa — former name for South Africa, Republic of.
- west lothian question — the apparent inconsistency that members of parliament who represent Scottish constituencies are eligible to vote at Westminster on matters that relate only to England, whereas members of parliament from English constituencies are not eligible to vote on Scottish matters
- what the future holds — If you wonder what the future holds, you wonder what will happen in the future.
- writ of habeas corpus — law: petition for hearing
- youth training scheme — (formerly, in Britain) a scheme, run by the Training Agency, to provide vocational training for unemployed 16–17-year-olds