17-letter words containing s, w
- sandwich compound — any of a class of organometallic compounds whose molecules have a metal atom or ion bound between two plane parallel organic rings
- sanitation worker — a person employed to collect, haul away, and dispose of garbage.
- sawatch mountains — range of the Rocky Mountains, in central Colo.: highest peak, Elbert
- sawed-off shotgun — rifle with a short barrel
- sb could do worse — If you tell someone that they could do worse than do a particular thing, you are advising them that it would be quite a good thing to do.
- scattered showers — showers that are scattered across an area, or that occur at intervals throughout the day
- scentless mayweed — a similar and related plant, Matricaria maritima, with scentless leaves
- schwedler's maple — a variety of the Norway maple, Acer platanoides schwedleri, producing red leaves that subsequently turn green.
- seaweed marquetry — marquetry having the form of symmetrical, foliate scrolls, as on English cabinetwork of the late 17th and early 18th centuries.
- second balkan war — Balkan War (def 2).
- secondary rainbow — a faint rainbow formed by light rays that undergo two internal reflections in drops of rain, appearing above the primary rainbow and having its colors in the opposite order.
- secondary winding — A secondary winding is the winding of a transformer that receives its energy by electromagnetic induction from the primary winding.
- self-acknowledged — widely recognized; generally accepted: an acknowledged authority on Chinese art.
- september weather — weather characteristic of the month of September, esp in being unpredictable as summer is ending and autumn is beginning
- settlement worker — a person who works with underprivileged people in a settlement house.
- sheepswool sponge — wool sponge.
- show in (or out) — to usher into (or out of) a given place
- show sb the ropes — If you show someone the ropes, you show them how to do a particular job or task.
- shower attachment — a device fixed to taps to make a shower
- sidesaddle flower — a pitcher plant, Sarracenia purpurea.
- sidewall sampling — Sidewall sampling is the process of taking a sample from the wall of the borehole.
- singer-songwriter — A singer-songwriter is someone who writes and performs their own songs, especially popular songs.
- sino-japanese war — the war (1894–95) between China and Japan over the control of Korea that resulted in the nominal independence of Korea and the Chinese cession to Japan of Formosa and the Pescadores.
- six o'clock swill — a period of heavy drinking, esp during the years when hotels had to close their bars at 6.00 p.m.
- slap on the wrist — a sharp blow or smack, especially with the open hand or with something flat.
- slings and arrows — Slings and arrows are unpleasant things that happen to you and that are not your fault.
- slowly but surely — If you say that something is happening slowly but surely, you mean that it is happening gradually but it is definitely happening.
- small waved umber — a brownish geometrid moth, Horisme vitalbata, that is cryptically marked to merge with tree bark
- snowmass mountain — a mountain in W central Colorado, in the Elk Mountains, in the S Rocky Mountains: ski resorts. 14,092 feet (4295 meters).
- social networking — the development of social and professional contacts; the sharing of information and services among people with a common interest.
- social notworking — the practice of spending time unproductively on social networking websites, esp when one should be working
- software engineer — a person who writes computer programs
- software platform — a major piece of software, as an operating system, an operating environment, or a database, under which various smaller application programs can be designed to run.
- south west africa — a former name of Namibia.
- south-west africa — a former name of Namibia.
- southampton water — an inlet of the English Channel in S England
- southwest by west — a point on the compass 11°15′ west of southwest. Abbreviation: SWbW.
- spaghetti western — a low-budget western movie shot in Italy or Spain, usually with Italian actors and an American star.
- spanish civil war — the civil war in Spain 1936–39.
- spin one's wheels — a circular frame or disk arranged to revolve on an axis, as on or in vehicles or machinery.
- spiny-headed worm — any of a small group of endoparasites of the phylum Acanthocephala, as larvae parasitic in insects and crustaceans and as adults in various vertebrates.
- 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
- spring cankerworm — the striped, green caterpillar of any of several geometrid moths: a foliage pest of various fruit and shade trees, as Paleacrita vernata (spring cankerworm) and Alsophila pometaria (fall cankerworm)
- squaw huckleberry — deerberry.
- st. swithin's day — July 15, superstitiously regarded as a day that, should it rain or be fair, will be followed by 40 consecutive days of like weather.
- stonewall jackson — Andrew ("Old Hickory") 1767–1845, U.S. general: 7th president of the U.S. 1829–37.
- store and forward — to store (information) in a computer for later forward transmission through a telecommunication network
- straw in the wind — If you say that an incident or piece of news is a straw in the wind, you mean that it gives an indication of what might happen in the future.
- strawberry blonde — woman: with reddish fair hair
- strawberry tomato — the small, edible, tomato-like fruit of the plant Physalis pruinosa, of the nightshade family.