13-letter words containing s, w, a
- outwash plain — Geology. a broad, sloping landform built of coalesced deposits of outwash.
- packet switch — packet switching
- paisley shawl — a shawl made from paisley fabric
- parker bowles — Camilla (née Shand). born 1947, became the second wife of Prince Charles in 2005; created Duchess of Cornwall and Duchess of Rothesay
- pass the word — If you pass the word, you tell someone something that another person has told you.
- passager hawk — young hawk or falcon caught while on migration
- passionflower — any chiefly American climbing vine or shrub of the genus Passiflora, having showy flowers and a pulpy berry or fruit that in some species is edible.
- pay one's way — to settle (a debt, obligation, etc.), as by transferring money or goods, or by doing something: Please pay your bill.
- pearly whites — white and lustrous as a pearl.
- peninsula war — a war (1808–14) in Spain and Portugal, with British, Spanish, and Portuguese troops opposing the French.
- piers plowman — (The Vision Concerning Piers Plowman) an alliterative poem written in three versions (1360–99), ascribed to William Langland.
- play on words — a pun or the act of punning.
- power station — a generating station.
- power-sharing — Power-sharing is a political arrangement in which different or opposing groups all take part in government together.
- prison warder — an officer in charge of prisoners in a jail
- queen's award — either of two awards instituted by royal warrant (1976) for a sustained increase in export earnings by a British firm (Queen's Award for Export Achievement) or for an advance in technology (Queen's Award for Technological Achievement)
- rainbow snake — a burrowing snake, Farancia erytrogramma, of the southeastern U.S., having red and black stripes along the body, a red and yellow underside, and a sharp-tipped tail used in maneuvering prey.
- raw materials — Raw materials are materials that are in their natural state, before they are processed or used in manufacturing.
- real soon now — (jargon, humour) (RSN) A phrase used ironically when you believe an event will take a long or unknown time to occur. The term originated in SF's fanzine community, popularised by Jerry Pournelle's column in BYTE. The phrase can be used, for example, when a manager asks how long it will take you to debug some software and you have no idea. "I'll have it working Real Soon Now."
- research work — work concerning research into or investigation into a subject, topic, etc, particularly in the sciences
- sachet-powder — a small bag, case, or pad containing perfuming powder or the like, placed among handkerchiefs, lingerie, etc., to impart a pleasant scent.
- sadie hawkins — Also called Sadie, Sadies. a party, dance, or other social event, especially one held annually among high school or college students, to which each girl escorts the boy of her choice, or invites him to escort her.
- safflower oil — an oil expressed or extracted fromsafflower seeds, used in cooking, as a salad oil, and as a vehicle for medicines, paints, varnishes, etc.
- saint andrews — a seaport in the Fife region, in E Scotland: resort; golf courses.
- saint matthew — a tax collector of Capernaum called by Christ to be one of the 12 apostles (Matthew 9:9–13; 10:3). Feast day: Sept 21 or Nov 16
- salary review — the, often annual, assessment or review of the salary or paid to an employee, where decisions are taken on whether the employee's pay should be increased, etc
- salwar kameez — long tunic worn over a pair of baggy trousers
- sandwich beam — flitch beam.
- sandwich cake — a cake that is made up of two or more layers with a jam or other filling
- sandwich coin — a coin having a layer of one metal between outside layers of another, as a quarter with a layer of copper between layers of silver.
- sandwich loaf — a loaf of the type of soft white sliced bread often used to make sandwiches
- sandwich tern — a European tern, Sterna sandvicensis, that has a yellow-tipped bill, whitish plumage, and white forked tail, and nests in colonies on beaches, etc
- sanitary ware — plumbing fixtures, as sinks or toilet bowls, made of ceramic material or enameled metal.
- sawbuck table — a table that has X -shaped legs.
- sawdust trail — the road to conversion or rehabilitation, as for a sinner or criminal.
- sawtooth roof — a roof composed of a series of small parallel roofs of triangular cross section, usually asymmetrical with the shorter slope glazed.
- scale drawing — illustration made in proportion
- scarlet woman — a sexually promiscuous woman, especially a prostitute or a woman who commits adultery.
- school of law — (in Chinese philosophy) a Neo-Confucian school asserting the existence of transcendent universals, which form individual objects from a primal matter otherwise formless.
- schwärmerisch — excessively or extremely enthusiastic
- secret weapon — Someone's secret weapon is a thing or person which they believe will help them achieve something and which other people do not know about.
- sedge warbler — a European songbird, Acrocephalus schoenobaenus, of reed beds and swampy areas, having a streaked brownish plumage with white eye stripes: family Muscicapidae (Old World flycatchers, etc)
- see one's way — to find it possible and be willing (to do something)
- seismic waves — a wave of energy that is generated by an earthquake or other earth vibration and that travels within the earth or along its surface.
- seminole wars — a series of conflicts in 1818–19 between American forces under Andrew Jackson and the Seminole Indians in Spanish-controlled eastern Florida.
- semiwater gas — a mixed gas formed by passing steam and air over a carbon source
- send away for — order by post
- sepia drawing — a drawing with a brownish tone, produced by first bleaching it (after fixing) and then immersing it for a short time in a solution of sodium sulphide or of alkaline thiourea
- serial writer — someone who writes novels, dramas, etc, presented in separate instalments at regular intervals
- sewing basket — box for sewing accessories