15-letter words containing s, p, i, l, r
- ship's articles — a type of contract by which sailors agree to the conditions, payment, etc, for the ship in which they are going to work
- shrimp cocktail — prawns and lettuce in Mary Rose sauce
- sidereal period — the period of revolution of a body about another with respect to one or more distant stars
- simple fraction — a ratio of two integers.
- simple fracture — a fracture in which the bone does not pierce the skin.
- simple interest — interest payable only on the principal; interest that is not compounded.
- simple interval — an interval of an octave or less.
- simple majority — less than half of the total votes cast but more than the minimum required to win, as when there are more than two candidates or choices.
- singapore sling — a cocktail of gin, cherry brandy, sugar, and water.
- slab plastering — coarse plastering, as between the studs in a half-timbered wall.
- slide projector — device for showing slides
- slumpflationary — of or relating to slumpflation
- snafu principle — /sna'foo prin'si-pl/ [WWII Army acronym for "Situation Normal: All Fucked Up"] "True communication is possible only between equals, because inferiors are more consistently rewarded for telling their superiors pleasant lies than for telling the truth." - a central tenet of Discordianism, often invoked by hackers to explain why authoritarian hierarchies screw up so reliably and systematically. The effect of the SNAFU principle is a progressive disconnection of decision-makers from reality. This lightly adapted version of a fable dating back to the early 1960s illustrates the phenomenon perfectly: In the beginning was the plan, and then the specification; And the plan was without form, and the specification was void. And darkness was on the faces of the implementors thereof; And they spake unto their leader, saying: "It is a crock of shit, and smells as of a sewer." And the leader took pity on them, and spoke to the project leader: "It is a crock of excrement, and none may abide the odor thereof." And the project leader spake unto his section head, saying: "It is a container of excrement, and it is very strong, such that none may abide it." The section head then hurried to his department manager, and informed him thus: "It is a vessel of fertilizer, and none may abide its strength." The department manager carried these words to his general manager, and spoke unto him saying: "It containeth that which aideth the growth of plants, and it is very strong." And so it was that the general manager rejoiced and delivered the good news unto the Vice President. "It promoteth growth, and it is very powerful." The Vice President rushed to the President's side, and joyously exclaimed: "This powerful new software product will promote the growth of the company!" And the President looked upon the product, and saw that it was very good. After the subsequent disaster, the suits protect themselves by saying "I was misinformed!", and the implementors are demoted or fired.
- snapping turtle — either of two large, edible, freshwater turtles of the family Chelydridae, of North and Central America, having a large head and powerful hooked jaws, especially the common snapping turtle, Chelydra serpentina.
- socialist party — a U.S. political party advocating socialism, formed about 1900 chiefly by former members of the Social Democratic Party and the Socialist Labor Party.
- sole proprietor — only owner
- spanish trefoil — alfalfa.
- sparkling water — soda water (def 1).
- special feature — an article differing from the normal format and focusing on a particular topic
- special library — a library maintained by an organization, as a business, association, or government agency, to collect materials and provide information of special relevance to the work of the organization.
- special partner — a partner whose liability for the firm's debts is limited to the amount that partner has invested in the firm.
- spectral series — a series of lines in the spectrum of light emitted by excited atoms of an element, each line being related to the others in the series by a simple numerical equation and identified with a particular energy level of an atom of the element.
- spectrochemical — of, relating to, or utilizing the techniques of spectrochemistry.
- speller-divider — a reference book that lists words in alphabetical order to show spelling and syllabification.
- spelling reform — an attempt to change the spelling of English words to make it conform more closely to pronunciation.
- spermatoblastic — relating to a spermatoblast
- spherical angle — an angle formed by arcs of great circles of a sphere.
- spill your guts — If someone spills their guts, they tell you everything about something secret or private.
- spiny cocklebur — a cocklebur, Xanthium spinosum, introduced into North America from Europe.
- spiral notebook — a notebook held together by a coil of wire passed through small holes punched at the back edge of the covers and individual pages
- spirit leveling — leveling according to the indications of a spirit level.
- spirit wrestler — a Doukhobor.
- spirits of salt — a solution of hydrochloric acid in water
- spratly islands — a widely-scattered group of uninhabited islets and reefs in the S South China Sea, the subject of territorial claims wholly or in part by six neighbouring nations
- spread sampling — the selection of a corpus for statistical analysis by selecting a number of short passages at random throughout the work and considering their aggregation
- spread-eagleism — boastfulness or bombast, especially in the display of patriotic or nationalistic pride in the U.S.; flag-waving.
- spring-cleaning — a complete cleaning of a place, as a home, done traditionally in the spring of the year.
- sprinkler dance — a celebratory dance in which participants extend one arm and shake it to imitate the action of a rotating water sprinkler
- starting pistol — a pistol used to give the signal to start a race
- stereotypically — in a stereotypical manner
- stiff upper lip — stoicism
- stilpnosiderite — a resinous variety of limonite with a black-brown colour
- stirrup leather — the strap that holds the stirrup of a saddle.
- strephosymbolia — a condition of perceiving objects as their mirror image and, specifically, having difficulty in distinguishing letters in words
- streptobacillus — any of various bacilli that form in chains.
- styloid process — a long, spinelike process of a bone, especially the projection from the base of the temporal bone.
- sublapsarianism — infralapsarianism.
- subperiosteally — the normal investment of bone, consisting of a dense, fibrous outer layer, to which muscles attach, and a more delicate, inner layer capable of forming bone.
- subprofessional — being below professional standards: subprofessional health care.
- subreptitiously — in a subreptitious manner