20-letter words containing s, u

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°.
surface-active agent — any substance that when dissolved in water or an aqueous solution reduces its surface tension or the interfacial tension between it and another liquid.
surveillance society — a society where surveillance technology is widely used to monitor people's everyday activities
sweat one's guts out — to work very hard
synchronous rotation — rotation of a satellite in which the period of rotation is equal to the period of orbit around its primary, leaving the same face always pointing toward the primary: The moon is in synchronous rotation about the earth.
systemic circulation — the circulatory system in general.
systemic linguistics — a school of linguistics of British origin that emphasizes the social functions of language and describes grammar in terms of hierarchically organized structures and of systems of mutually exclusive choices available to the speaker under specified conditions.
telephone subscriber — a person who subscribes to a telephone service
terrestrial guidance — a method of missile or rocket guidance in which the flight path is controlled by reference to the strength and direction of the earth's gravitational or magnetic field
that makes two of us — the same applies to me
the (great) unwashed — The unwashed or the great unwashed is a way of referring to poor or ordinary people.
the canterbury tales — an uncompleted sequence of tales by Chaucer, written for the most part after 1387.
the course of nature — the ordinary course of events
the founding fathers — any of the men who were members of the U.S. Constituional Convention of 1787
the garment industry — the manufacturing of items of clothing
the gnomes of zurich — Swiss bankers and financiers
the leisure industry — businesses such as cinemas, restaurants, sports facilities etc
the methodist church — a group of people within the Christian religion who follow a system of faith and practice initiated by the English preacher John Wesley (1703–91) and his followers
the naughty nineties — (in Britain) the 1890s, considered to be a period of fun-loving and laxity, esp in sexual morals
the sum total of sth — all of something
the thousand guineas — an annual horse race, restricted to fillies, run at Newmarket since 1814
the three musketeers — French Les Trois Mousquetaires. a historical novel (1844) by Alexandre Dumas père.
thioantimonious acid — any of a group of hypothetical acids, H3SbS3, HSbS2, and H4Sb2S5, known only in the forms of their salts in solution
this time, for sure! — (exclamation) Ritual affirmation frequently uttered during protracted debugging sessions involving numerous small obstacles (e.g. attempts to bring up a UUCP connection). For the proper effect, this must be uttered in a fruity imitation of Bullwinkle J. Moose. Also heard: "Hey, Rocky! Watch me pull a rabbit out of my hat!" The canonical response is, of course, "But that trick *never* works!" See hacker humour.
thomas of erceldoune — Thomas of, Thomas of Erceldoune.
thought transference — transference of thought by extrasensory means from the mind of one individual to another; telepathy.
three-quarter nelson — a hold in which a wrestler, from a kneeling position behind a prone opponent, applies a half nelson with one arm, passes the other arm under the opponent's body on the near side, and locks the arms at the fingers or wrist on the back of the opponent's neck.
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 burst into flames — If something bursts into flames or bursts into flame, it suddenly starts burning strongly.
to cross the rubicon — If you say that someone has crossed the Rubicon, you mean that they have reached a point where they cannot change a decision or course of action.
to cry your eyes out — If you cry your eyes out, you cry very hard.
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 do your damnedest — If you say that you will do your damnedest to achieve something, you mean that you will try as hard as you can to do it, even though you think that it will take a lot of effort.
to flex your muscles — If a group, organization, or country flexes its muscles, it does something to impress or frighten people, in order to show them that it has power and is considering using it.
to get your bearings — to find out where one is or to find out what one should do next
to give sb their due — You can say 'to give him his due', or 'giving him his due' when you are admitting that there are some good things about someone, even though there are things that you do not like about them.
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 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 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 put it to sb that — If you put it to someone that something is true, you suggest that it is true, especially when you think that they will be unwilling to admit this.
to put sth to rights — to make something consistent with justice, correctness, or orderly arrangement
to spread your wings — If you spread your wings, you do something new and rather difficult or move to a new place, because you feel more confident in your abilities than you used to and you want to gain wider experience.
to stand your ground — If you stand your ground or hold your ground, you continue to support a particular argument or to have a particular opinion when other people are opposing you or trying to make you change your mind.
to use shock tactics — to attempt to influence people by shocking them
to waste your breath — If someone says you are wasting your breath, they mean that the person you are talking to will not take any notice and so there is no point saying anything to them.
to wear the trousers — If one person in a couple, especially the woman, wears the pants, or in British English wears the trousers, they are the one who makes all the decisions.

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