16-letter words containing s, p, h
- phytosuccivorous — feeding on sap, as certain sucking insects.
- pitch inspection — in inclement weather, a pre-match inspection of the playing surface in order to determine whether it is in good enough condition for the match to go ahead
- pitching pennies — a gambling game in which pennies are tossed to a mark or against a wall, the winner being the person whose penny lands closest to the mark or wall.
- place in the sun — (often initial capital letter) the star that is the central body of the solar system, around which the planets revolve and from which they receive light and heat: its mean distance from the earth is about 93 million miles (150 million km), its diameter about 864,000 miles (1.4 million km), and its mass about 330,000 times that of the earth; its period of surface rotation is about 26 days at its equator but longer at higher latitudes.
- place of worship — religious house: church, temple
- plainclothes man — a detective or police officer who wears civilian clothes while on duty
- pleased as punch — the chief male character in a Punch-and-Judy show.
- plumber's helper — plunger (def 3).
- plutarch's lives — (Parallel Lives) a collection (a.d. 105–15) by Plutarch of short biographies of the leading political figures of ancient Greece and Rome.
- poisoned chalice — If you refer to a job or an opportunity as a poisoned chalice, you mean that it seems to be very attractive but you believe it will lead to failure.
- poitou-charentes — a region of W central France, on the Bay of Biscay: mainly low-lying
- polyphonic prose — prose characterized by the use of poetic devices, as alliteration, assonance, rhyme, etc., and especially by an emphasis on rhythm not strictly metered.
- poor white trash — white trash.
- pop the question — to make a short, quick, explosive sound: The cork popped.
- pork scratchings — small pieces of crisply cooked pork crackling, eaten cold as an appetizer with drinks
- port authorities — the body with overall responsibility for a port
- post-boost phase — the part of a multistage missile flight when the warheads are released.
- post-elizabethan — of or relating to the reign of Elizabeth I, queen of England, or to her times: Elizabethan diplomacy; Elizabethan music.
- postencephalitic — inflammation of the substance of the brain.
- prairie schooner — a type of covered wagon, similar to but smaller than the Conestoga wagon, used by pioneers in crossing the prairies and plains of North America.
- preference share — a share of preferred stock.
- presence chamber — the special room in which a great personage, as a sovereign, receives guests, holds audiences, etc.
- presumptive heir — heir presumptive.
- price leadership — the setting of the price of a product or service by a dominant firm at a level that competitors can match, in order to avoid a price war
- primary syphilis — the first stage of syphilis, characterized by the formation of a chancre at the site of infection.
- prince's feather — a tall, showy plant, Amaranthus hybridus erythrostachys, of the amaranth family, having reddish foliage and thick spikes of small, red flowers.
- prince's-feather — a tall, showy plant, Amaranthus hybridus erythrostachys, of the amaranth family, having reddish foliage and thick spikes of small, red flowers.
- prison psychosis — a state of mental confusion, transitory or permanent, brought on by incarceration or by the anticipation of imprisonment.
- process theology — a form of theology that emphasizes the close relation of human beings, nature, and God.
- processed cheese — a mass-produced product made of one or more types of cheeses that have been heated and mixed with emulsifiers, colorings, flavorings, etc., primarily to retard spoilage and enhance spreadability at reduced cost.
- prognostic chart — a chart showing the predicted state of the atmosphere for a given time in the future.
- prometheus bound — a tragedy (c457 b.c.) by Aeschylus.
- prospect heights — a town in N Illinois.
- prosthetic group — the nonprotein acid constituent of a conjugate protein, as the heme group of hemoglobin.
- protestant ethic — work ethic.
- pseudohemophilia — a clotting disorder caused by abnormal factor VIII activity, and characterized by a prolonged bleeding time but without the delayed coagulation time of hemophilia.
- pseudohistorical — of, pertaining to, treating, or characteristic of history or past events: historical records; historical research.
- pseudoparenchyma — (in certain fungi and red algae) a compact mass of tissue, made up of interwoven hyphae or filaments, that superficially resembles plant tissue.
- psychic distance — the degree of emotional detachment maintained toward a person, group of people, event, etc.
- psychoanalytical — a systematic structure of theories concerning the relation of conscious and unconscious psychological processes.
- psychobiological — the use of biological methods to study normal and abnormal emotional and cognitive processes, as the anatomical basis of memory or neurochemical abnormalities in schizophrenia.
- psychogeriatrics — the psychology of old age.
- psychoimmunology — the branch of medicine studying the effects of psychological phenomena on the immune system; the intersection of psychology and immunology.
- psychophysiology — the branch of physiology that deals with the interrelation of mental and physical phenomena.
- psychotechnology — the body of knowledge, theories, and techniques developed for understanding and influencing individual, group, and societal behavior in specified situations.
- public ownership — ownership by the state; nationalization
- public schoolboy — a boy attending a public school, or a man who attended one
- publishing house — a company that publishes books, pamphlets, engravings, or the like: a venerable publishing house in Boston.
- pull the strings — be in control
- purchase request — A purchase request is a document detailing required items, the number required and when they will be required. Once approved it becomes a purchase order.