20-letter words containing s, p, e

spontaneous recovery — the reappearance of a response after its extinction has been followed by a period of rest
spontaneous-abortion — Also called voluntary abortion. the removal of an embryo or fetus from the uterus in order to end a pregnancy.
spotted crane's-bill — the American wild geranium, Geranium maculatum.
spotted joe-pye weed — joe-pye weed (def 2).
spread like wildfire — If something, especially news or a rumour, spreads like wildfire, it spreads extremely quickly.
spuyten duyvil creek — a channel in New York City at the north end of Manhattan Island, connecting the Hudson and Harlem rivers.
square of opposition — a diagrammatic representation of the opposition of categorical propositions.
st.-germain-des-pres — an area in Paris, on the Left Bank.
staff of aesculapius — a representation of a forked staff with an entwining serpent, used as a symbol of the medical profession and as the insignia of the American Medical Association and other medical organizations. Compare caduceus (def 2).
star spangled banner — Stars and Stripes.
star-spangled banner — Stars and Stripes.
state highway patrol — a state's road traffic police
state representative — a person elected by a state to be a member of the House of Representatives
ste. anne de beaupre — a village in S Quebec, in SE Canada, on the St. Lawrence, NE of Quebec: Roman Catholic shrine.
steak and kidney pie — meat pastry
step into the breach — If you step into the breach, you do a job or task which someone else was supposed to do or has done in the past, because they are suddenly unable to do it.
step up to the plate — to move into batting position
strawberry-raspberry — an arching, prickly, Japanese plant, Rubus illecebrosus, of the rose family, having an herbaceous stem, white, fragrant flowers, and large, edible, scarlet fruit.
string correspondent — stringer (def 6).
subpoena duces tecum — a writ directing a person to appear in court and to bring some document described in the writ.
subscription edition — an edition of one or more volumes for which a number of prospective purchasers place orders, usually in advance of publication.
superior conjunction — the alignment of an inferior planet and the sun in which the planet is at the far side of the sun from the earth.
supersonic transport — a commercial jet airplane that can fly faster than the speed of sound. Abbreviation: SST.
supplemental plumage — the third plumage assumed by certain birds having three different plumages in their annual cycle of molts.
supplementary angles — either of two angles that added together produce an angle of 180°.
swan's neck pediment — a broken pediment, the outline of which consists of a pair of S -curves tangent to the cornice level at the ends of the pediment, rising to a pair of scrolls on either side of the center, where a finial often rises between the scrolls.
switchboard operator — a person who operates an installation in a telephone exchange, office, hotel, etc, at which the interconnection of telephone lines is manually controlled
synoptic meteorology — a branch of meteorology analyzing data collected simultaneously over a wide region, for the purpose of weather forecasting.
synthetic philosophy — the philosophy of Herbert Spencer, intended as a synthesis of all the sciences.
take pity on someone — If you take pity on someone, you feel sorry for them and help them.
telephone subscriber — a person who subscribes to a telephone service
telesales department — the department of a company that deals with telesales
television programme — a programme broadcast on television
the (great) pyramids — the three large pyramids at Gîza, Egypt: the largest is the Pyramid of Khufu
the legal profession — the profession of law
the price of someone — what someone deserves, esp a fitting punishment
the thinking process — thought; the activity of thinking
theosophical society — a society founded by Madame Blavatsky and others, in New York in 1875, advocating a worldwide eclectic religion based largely on Brahmanic and Buddhistic teachings.
third-party software — software created by programmers or publishers independent of the manufacturer of the hardware for which it is intended.
throw up one's hands — the terminal, prehensile part of the upper limb in humans and other primates, consisting of the wrist, metacarpal area, fingers, and thumb.
to disturb the peace — If someone is accused of disturbing the peace, they are accused of behaving in a noisy and offensive way in public.
to give up the ghost — If someone gives up the ghost, they stop trying to do something because they no longer believe they can do it successfully. If a machine gives up the ghost, it stops working.
to hope for the best — If you are in a difficult situation and do something and hope for the best, you hope that everything will happen in the way you want, although you know that it may not.
to line your pockets — If you say that someone is lining their own or someone else's pockets, you disapprove of them because they are making money dishonestly or unfairly.
to overstep the mark — If someone oversteps the mark, they behave in a way that is considered unacceptable.
to pull your punches — If you say that someone does not pull their punches when they are criticizing a person or thing, you mean that they say exactly what they think, even though this might upset or offend people.
to push the boat out — If you push the boat out, you spend a lot of money on something, especially in order to celebrate.
to put an end to sth — To put an end to something means to cause it to stop.
to scrape the barrel — If you say that someone is scraping the barrel, or scraping the bottom of the barrel, you disapprove of the fact that they are using or doing something of extremely poor quality.
to show sb the ropes — to show someone how to do a particular job or task

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