23-letter words containing s, p
- dual sensory impairment — the condition of being affected by sight and hearing loss
- earthquake-proof design — Earthquake-proof design is design which will not be badly damaged by earthquakes or tsunamis.
- education correspondent — a journalist who reports news in the field of education or teaching
- electron spin resonance — a technique for investigating paramagnetic substances by subjecting them to high-frequency radiation in a strong magnetic field. Changes in the spin of unpaired electrons cause radiation to be absorbed at certain frequencies
- ellipsoid of revolution — a geometric surface produced by rotating an ellipse about one of its two axes and having circular plane surfaces perpendicular to the axis of revolution
- encapsulated postscript — (EPS) An extension of the PostScript graphics file format developed by Adobe Systems. EPS is used for PostScript graphics files that are to be incorporated into other documents. An EPS file includes pragmas (special PostScript comments) giving information such as the bounding box, page number and fonts used. On some computers, EPS files include a low resolution version of the PostScript image. On the Macintosh this is in PICT format, while on the IBM PC it is in TIFF or Microsoft Windows metafile format.
- encephalitis lethargica — a form of encephalitis, or sleeping sickness, epidemic in the period from 1915 to 1926
- experimental psychology — the scientific study of the individual behaviour of man and other animals, esp of perception, learning, memory, motor skills, and thinking
- expert judgement models — (programming) A method of software estimation that is based on consultation with one or more experts that have experience with similar projects. An expert-consensus mechanism such as the Delphi Technique may be used to produce the estimate.
- extended graphics array — (hardware) (XGA) An IBM display standard introduced in 1990. XGA supports a resolution of 1024 x 768 pixels with a palette of 256 colours, or 640 x 480 with high colour (16 bits per pixel). XGA-2 added 1024 x 768 support for high colour and higher refresh rates, improved performance, and supports 1360 x 1024 in 16 colours. XGA is probably not the same as 8514-A. See also VESA's EVGA released at a similar time.
- extracorporeal dialysis — the filtering of circulating blood through a semipermeable membrane in an apparatus
- extrasensory perception — Extrasensory perception means knowing without using your ordinary senses such as sight and hearing. Some people believe this is possible. The abbreviation ESP is also used.
- fendalton shopping cart — a four-wheel drive recreational vehicle
- fetal tissue transplant — a surgical procedure in which tissue from an aborted fetus is grafted into a patient to replace or improve defective tissue, especially to treat Parkinson's disease or other neurological disorders.
- finite impulse response — (electronics, DSP) (FIR) A type of digital signal filter, in which every sample of output is the weighted sum of past and current samples of input, using only some finite number of past samples.
- first strike capability — the ability to use nuclear missiles in an opening attack calculated to destroy the enemy's nuclear weapons
- fischer-tropsch process — a catalytic hydrogenation method to produce liquid hydrocarbon fuels from carbon monoxide.
- floating-point specrate — SPECrate_fp92
- forest tent caterpillar — any of the larvae of several moths of the genus Malacosoma, which feed on the leaves of orchard and shade trees and live colonially in a tentlike silken web.
- free-enterprise economy — an economy characterized by free enterprise
- function point analysis — (programming) (FPA) A standard metric for the relative size and complexity of a software system, originally developed by Alan Albrecht of IBM in the late 1970s. Functon points (FPs) can be used to estimate the relative size and complexity of software in the early stages of development - analysis and design. The size is determined by identifying the components of the system as seen by the end-user: the inputs, outputs, inquiries, interfaces to other systems, and logical internal files. The components are classified as simple, average, or complex. All of these values are then scored and the total is expressed in Unadjusted FPs (UFPs). Complexity factors described by 14 general systems characteristics, such as reusability, performance, and complexity of processing can be used to weight the UFP. Factors are also weighted on a scale of 0 - not present, 1 - minor influence, to 5 - strong influence. The result of these computations is a number that correlates to system size. Although the FP metric doesn't correspond to any actual physical attribute of a software system (such as lines of code or the number of subroutines) it is useful as a relative measure for comparing projects, measuring productivity, and estimating the amount a development effort and time needed for a project. See also International Function Point Users Group.
- gastroesophageal reflux — a chronic condition in which acid from the stomach flows back into the lower esophagus, causing pain or tissue damage.
- german baptist brethren — Church of the Brethren.
- get/build your hopes up — If you tell someone not to get their hopes up, or not to build their hopes up, you are warning them that they should not become too confident of progress or success.
- give something a rub-up — to smooth or polish something
- graphical kernel system — (graphics, standard) (GKS) The widely recognised standard ANSI X3.124 for graphical input/output. GKS is worked on by the ISO/IEC group JTC1/SC24. It provides applications programmers with standard methods of creating, manipulating, and displaying or printing computer graphics on different types of computer graphics output devices. It provides an abstraction to save programmers from dealing with the detailed capabilities and interfaces of specific hardware. GKS defines a basic two-dimensional graphics system with: uniform input and output primitives; a uniform interface to and from a GKS metafile for storing and transferring graphics information. It supports a wide range of graphics output devices including such as printers, plotters, vector graphics devices, storage tubes, refresh displays, raster displays, and microfilm recorders.
- greater spotted dogfish — a cat shark found in the Northeast Atlantic, Scyliorhinus stellaris
- guanosine monophosphate — GMP.
- have struck/hit paydirt — If you say that someone has struck paydirt or has hit paydirt, you mean that they have achieved sudden success or gained a lot of money very quickly.
- hire purchase agreement — an agreement between a seller and a buyer for the buyer to purchase something on hire purchase
- hold sb/sth in contempt — If you hold someone or something in contempt, you feel contempt for them.
- human rights campaigner — a person who campaigns for human rights
- in a manner of speaking — a way of doing, being done, or happening; mode of action, occurrence, etc.: I don't like the manner in which he complained.
- in dependent suspension — an automotive suspension system in which each wheel is attached to the frame independently, so that a road bump affecting one wheel has no effect on the others.
- in the arms of morpheus — sleeping
- in the employ of sb/sth — If you are in the employ of someone or something, you work for them.
- industrial psychologist — a person who studies human behaviour and cognitive processes in relation to the working environment
- informatics corporation — (company) Renamed to Sterling Software Corp.
- interference microscope — a microscope that utilizes light interference phenomena to create two superimposed images of an object, making possible the observation of transparent objects without using the staining technique.
- joint test action group —
- keep (a person) company — to stay with (a person) so as to provide companionship
- keep one's eyes skinned — to watch carefully
- keep one's options open — not to commit oneself
- keep oneself to oneself — to avoid the society of others
- keep sb at arm's length — If you keep someone at arm's length, you avoid becoming too friendly or involved with them.
- keep sth under your hat — If you tell someone to keep a piece of information under their hat, you are asking them not to tell anyone else about it.
- kick against the pricks — to hurt oneself by struggling against something in vain
- l'apres-midi d'un faune — L'Après-midi d'un Faune.
- lesser peach tree borer — the larva of a clearwing moth, Synanthedon pictipes, distributed throughout the eastern U.S. and Canada but most prevalent in the South, that burrows into the injured trunks and branches of stone fruit trees.
- life on the mississippi — an autobiographical narrative (1883) by Mark Twain.