13-letter words containing t, a, b, l, e
- black panther — (in the US) a member of a militant Black political party (1965–82) founded to end the political dominance of White people
- black quarter — blackleg (def 1).
- black section — (in Britain in the 1980s) an unofficial group within the Labour Party in any constituency that represented the interests of local Black people
- black studies — a program of studies in black history and culture offered by a school or college, often including Afro-American history and black literature.
- black tracker — an Aboriginal tracker working for the police
- black treacle — molasses
- black vulture — the Eurasian vulture, Aegypius monachus, of the family Accipitridae
- black-hearted — evil, malicious, or wicked
- blaenau gwent — a county borough of SE Wales, created in 1996 from NW Gwent. Administrative centre: Ebbw Vale. Pop: 68 900 (2003 est). Area: 109 sq km (42 sq miles)
- blame culture — the tendency to look for one person or organization that can be held responsible for a bad state of affairs, an accident, etc
- blamestorming — a discussion or meeting for the purpose of assigning blame.
- blandishments — Blandishments are pleasant things that someone says to another person in order to persuade them to do something.
- blanket chest — a chest, with or without drawers, having a rectangular space under a lifting lid or top, used for storing blankets, bedding, or clothing.
- blanket sheet — a newspaper of larger than average size, common in the mid 19th century.
- blanketflower — a hardy flowering plant, Gaillardia aristata, that grows in the US
- blarney stone — a stone in Blarney Castle, in the SW Republic of Ireland, said to endow whoever kisses it with the gift of the gab and skill in flattery
- blast furnace — A blast furnace is a large structure in which iron ore is heated under pressure so that it melts and the pure iron metal separates out and can be collected.
- blastogenesis — the theory that inherited characteristics are transmitted only by germ plasm
- blaze a trail — to explore new territories, areas of knowledge, etc, in such a way that others can follow
- blepharoplast — a cylindrical cytoplasmic body in protozoa
- blood-stained — stained with blood: a bloodstained knife.
- blow a gasket — to burst out in anger
- blow the gaff — to divulge a secret
- blue asbestos — a common name for the mineral crocidolite, a variety of asbestos found in Africa and Australia
- boat neckline — a wide, high neckline that follows the curve of the collarbone and ends in points on the shoulder seams.
- booster cable — either of a pair of electric cables having clamps at each end and used for starting the engine of a vehicle whose battery is dead.
- bootlace worm — a nemertean worm, Lineus longissimus, that inhabits shingly shores and attains lengths of over 6 m (20 ft)
- border patrol — a government agency in charge of preventing terrorists, weapons, and illegal immigrants entering the country
- borlotti bean — variety of kidney bean
- bottle-washer — a menial or factotum
- bottled water — water sold in bottles
- bouncy castle — A bouncy castle is a large object filled with air, often in the shape of a castle, which children play on at a fairground or other outdoor event.
- boycott apple — (legal) Some time before 1989, Apple Computer, Inc. started a lawsuit against Hewlett-Packard and Microsoft, claiming they had breeched Apple's copyright on the look and feel of the Macintosh user interface. In December 1989, Xerox failed to sue Apple Computer, claiming that the software for Apple's Lisa computer and Macintosh Finder, both copyrighted in 1987, were derived from two Xerox programs: Smalltalk, developed in the mid-1970s and Star, copyrighted in 1981. Apple wanted to stop people from writing any program that worked even vaguely like a Macintosh. If such look and feel lawsuits succeed they could put an end to free software that could substitute for commercial software. In the weeks after the suit was filed, Usenet reverberated with condemnation for Apple. GNU supporters Richard Stallman, John Gilmore and Paul Rubin decided to take action against Apple. Apple's reputation as a force for progress came from having made better computers; but The League for Programming Freedom believed that Apple wanted to make all non-Apple computers worse. They therefore campaigned to discourage people from using Apple products or working for Apple or any other company threatening similar obstructionist tactics (e.g. Lotus and Xerox). Because of this boycott the Free Software Foundation for a long time didn't support Macintosh Unix in their software. In 1995, the LPF and the FSF decided to end the boycott.
- bracket clock — a small clock designed to be placed on a bracket or shelf.
- braillewriter — a machine, similar to a typewriter, for writing texts in Braille.
- brazing metal — a nonferrous metal, as copper, zinc, or nickel, or an alloy, as hard solder, used for brazing together pieces of metal.
- breathability — fitness to be breathed
- bridal wreath — any of several N temperate rosaceous shrubs of the genus Spiraea, esp S. prunifolia, cultivated for their sprays of small white flowers
- brilliantined — treated with brilliantine
- bristle-grass — any of various grasses of the genus Setaria, such as S. viridis, having a bristly inflorescence
- brittany blue — a medium greenish blue.
- bucket ladder — a series of buckets that move in a continuous chain, used to dredge riverbeds, etc, or to excavate land
- bulbourethral — of or relating to the rounded mass of tissue surrounding the urethra at the root of the penis.
- bull elephant — an adult male elephant
- bullet-headed — with a head shaped like a bullet
- bundle sheath — a layer of cells in plant leaves and stems that surrounds a vascular bundle.
- buster collar — a round collar, similar to a lampshade in shape, that is fitted round the neck of an animal or bird, for example to prevent it removing or interfering with a dressing or other treatment
- butler's tray — a tray resting on or attached to an X-shaped, often folding stand, on which are kept drink bottles and glasses
- butterfly pea — any of several leguminous plants of the genus Clitoria, as C. mariana, of North America, having pale-blue flowers.
- butyl acetate — a colourless liquid with a fruity odour, existing in four isomeric forms. Three of the isomers are important solvents for cellulose lacquers. Formula: CH3COOC4H9