17-letter words containing s, w, o
- switching station — A switching station is equipment used to tie together two or more electric circuits through switches.
- sword and sorcery — a genre of literature and film, usually set in days of old with magic as well as sword fighting
- sword of damocles — Damocles (def 2).
- teaching software — computer software for use in providing online education
- tell its own tale — to be self-evident
- the lower animals — relatively simple or primitive animals and not mammals or vertebrates
- the lower mammals — relatively simple or primitive mammals
- the lower regions — hell
- the outside world — You can use the outside world to refer to all the people who do not live in a particular place or who are not involved in a particular situation.
- the show-me state — the nickname of the US state of Missouri, which comes from its inhabitants' reputation for scepticism
- the whole shebang — The whole shebang is the whole situation or business that you are describing.
- the winter season — the season of the year that covers the winter months
- throat sweetbread — sweetbread (def 2).
- tiger swallowtail — a yellow swallowtail butterfly, Papilio glaucus, of eastern North America, having the forewings striped with black.
- to do one's worst — If someone does their worst, they do everything unpleasant that they can possibly do. You can say 'do your worst' to show someone that you are not frightened of what they may do.
- to get to know sb — If you get to know someone, you find out what they are like by spending time with them.
- to know no bounds — If you say that a feeling or quality knows no bounds, you are emphasizing that it is very strong or intense.
- to know the ropes — If you know the ropes, you know how a particular job or task should be done.
- to oil the wheels — If someone or something oils the wheels of a process or system, they help things to run smoothly and successfully.
- to show your face — If you show your face somewhere, you go there and see people, although you are not welcome, are rather unwilling to go, or have not been there for some time.
- to steal the show — If you say that someone steals the show, you mean that they get a lot of attention or praise because they perform better than anyone else in a show or other event.
- to test the water — If you test the water or test the waters, you try to find out what reaction an action or idea will get before you do it or tell it to people.
- to win hands down — If you win hands down, you win very easily.
- top-security wing — a wing of a prison, mental hospital, etc that has a very high level of precautions against escape
- tower of strength — a building or structure high in proportion to its lateral dimensions, either isolated or forming part of a building.
- turkish towelling — woven cloth which is used to make towels, wash cloths, etc
- turn of the screw — a short novel (1898) by Henry James.
- turn-down service — In a hotel, a turn-down service is the preparation of a room for a guest to sleep in by slightly turning back the comforter on the bed, turning down the lights, and so on.
- twenty four seven — continually; constantly: They're together 24/7.
- twenty-four hours — the time taken by the Earth to make a complete rotation on its axis; a whole day
- twenty-four seven — continually; constantly: They're together 24/7.
- twenty-four-seven — continually; constantly: They're together 24/7.
- utagawa kuniyoshi — original name Igusa Magosabwo. 1797–1861, Japanese painter and printmaker of the ukiyo-e school, best known for his prints of warriors and landscapes
- wage negotiations — talks between workers and employers over rates of pay
- waianae mountains — a mountain range in W Oahu, Hawaii. Highest peak, Mount Kaala, 4025 feet (1228 meters).
- walk on eggshells — to be very cautious or diplomatic for fear of upsetting someone
- wallowa mountains — a mountain range in NE Oregon. Highest peak, Sacajawea Peak, 9838 feet (2999 meters).
- wang laboratories — (body) Computer manufacturer, known for their office automation products and the Wang PC. Quarterly sales $208M, profits $3M (Aug 1994).
- war correspondent — a reporter or commentator assigned to send news or opinions directly from battle areas.
- wardrobe mistress — a woman in charge of keeping theatrical costumes cleaned, pressed, and in wearable condition.
- warehouse receipt — a receipt for goods placed in a warehouse.
- warehousing costs — the costs involved in storing goods in a warehouse
- wars of the roses — the civil struggle between the royal house of Lancaster, whose emblem was a red rose, and the royal house of York, whose emblem was a white rose, beginning in 1455 and ending with the accession of Henry VII in 1485 and the union of the two houses.
- warsaw convention — a multilateral treaty on aviation set up chiefly to limit air carriers' liability to passengers and shippers on international flights in the event of an accident.
- washington island — an island off the Door Peninsula, NE Wisconsin, in NW Lake Michigan. 20 sq. mi. (50 sq. km).
- washington square — a short novel (1881) by Henry James.
- weapons inspector — a person who inspects a country's weapons
- wear the trousers — to have control, esp in a marriage
- weeping lovegrass — any grass of the genus Eragrostis, as E. curvula (weeping lovegrass) and E. trichodes (sand lovegrass) cultivated as forage and ground cover.
- weigh one's words — a unit of language, consisting of one or more spoken sounds or their written representation, that functions as a principal carrier of meaning. Words are composed of one or more morphemes and are either the smallest units susceptible of independent use or consist of two or three such units combined under certain linking conditions, as with the loss of primary accent that distinguishes black·bird· from black· bird·. Words are usually separated by spaces in writing, and are distinguished phonologically, as by accent, in many languages.