20-letter words containing s, y, n, u

squatter sovereignty — (used contemptuously by its opponents) popular sovereignty (def 2).
subscription library — a commercial lending library
summary jurisdiction — the right a court has to adjudicate immediately upon some matter arising during its proceedings
sunday-go-to-meeting — most presentable; best: Sunday-go-to-meeting clothes.
supplementary angles — either of two angles that added together produce an angle of 180°.
surveillance society — a society where surveillance technology is widely used to monitor people's everyday activities
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.
the canterbury tales — an uncompleted sequence of tales by Chaucer, written for the most part after 1387.
the garment industry — the manufacturing of items of clothing
the leisure industry — businesses such as cinemas, restaurants, sports facilities etc
the naughty nineties — (in Britain) the 1890s, considered to be a period of fun-loving and laxity, esp in sexual morals
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 get your bearings — to find out where one is or to find out what one should do next
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 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.
try conclusions with — to engage in an argument or contest with
turn an honest penny — to earn money fairly and honestly
uncharacteristically — Also, characteristical. pertaining to, constituting, or indicating the character or peculiar quality of a person or thing; typical; distinctive: Red and gold are the characteristic colors of autumn.
unemployment figures — statistics relating to the number of people who are out of work
university education — a course of study undertaken and completed at a university
university extension — a system by which an institution provides educational programs, as evening classes, for students otherwise unable to attend.
university of durham — (body, education) A busy research and teaching community in the historic cathedral city of Durham, UK (population 61000). Its work covers key branches of science and technology and traditional areas of scholarship. Durham graduates are in great demand among employers and the University helps to attract investment into the region. It provides training, short courses, and expertise for industry. Through its cultural events, conferences, tourist business and as a major employer, the University contributes in a wide social and economic sense to the community. Founded in 1832, the University developed in Durham and Newcastle until 1963 when the independent University of Newcastle upon Tyne came into being. Durham is a collegiate body, with 14 Colleges or Societies which are a social and domestic focus for students. In 1992, the Universities of Durham and Teesside launched University College, Stockton-on-Tees, which has 190 students in the first year.
university of hawaii — (body, education) A University spread over 10 campuses on 4 islands throughout the state. See also Aloha, Aloha Net.
university of twente — (body, education) A university in the east of The Netherlands for technical and social sciences. It was founded in 1961, making it one of the youngest universities in The Netherlands. It has 7000 students studying Applied Educational Science; Applied Mathematics; Applied Physics; Chemical Technology; Computer Science; Electrical Engineering; Mechanical Engineering; Philosophy of science, Technology and Society; Educational Technology.
university professor — a professor entitled to teach courses in more than one field or discipline at a university.
visually handicapped — unable to carry out normal activities because of defects of vision, including blindness
voluntary euthanasia — the act of killing someone painlessly, esp to relieve suffering from an incurable illness, with their consent
with one's eyes shut — with great ease, esp as a result of thorough familiarity
woman of easy virtue — a sexually available woman, esp a prostitute
your marching orders — If you give someone their marching orders, you tell them that you no longer want or need them, for example as your employee or as your lover.
yu-shiang whole fish — /yoo-shyang hohl fish/ An obsolete name for the Greek character gamma (extended SAIL ASCII code 9, Unicode glyph 0x0263) which with a loop in its tail looks like a little fish swimming down the page. The term is actually the name of a Chinese dish in which a fish is cooked whole (not parsed) and covered with Yu-Shiang (or Yu-Hsiang) sauce. Used primarily by people on the MIT LISP Machine, which could display this character on the screen. Tends to elicit incredulity from people who hear about it second-hand.

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