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20-letter words containing t, a, b, u

  • obfuscated c contest — (programming)   The International Obfuscated C Code Contest (IOCCC) is an annual contest run since 1984 over Usenet by Landon Curt Noll and friends. The overall winner is whoever produces the most unreadable, creative, and bizarre (but working) C program. Various other prizes are awarded at the judges' whim. C's terse syntax and macro-preprocessor facilities give contestants a lot of maneuvering room. The winning programs often manage to be simultaneously funny, breathtaking works of art and horrible examples of how *not* to code in C. This relatively short and sweet hello, world program demonstrates obfuscated C: /* HELLO WORLD program * by Jack Applin and Robert Heckendorn, 1985 */ main(v,c)char**c;{for(v[c++]="Hello, world!\n)"; (!!c)[*c]&&(v--||--c&&execlp(*c,*c,c[!!c]+!!c,!c)); **c=!c)write(!!*c,*c,!!**c);} Here's another good one: /* Program to compute an approximation of pi * by Brian Westley, 1988 */ #define _ -F<00||--F-OO--; int F=00,OO=00; main(){F_OO();printf("%1.3f\n",4.*-F/OO/OO);}F_OO() { _-_-_-_ _-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_ _-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_ _-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_ _-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_ _-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_ _-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_ _-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_ _-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_ _-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_ _-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_ _-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_ _-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_ _-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_ _-_-_-_-_-_-_-_ _-_-_-_ } Note that this program works by computing its own area. For more digits, write a bigger program.
  • particulate scrubber — A particulate scrubber is a scrubber in which a liquid is mixed with the gas to collect solids.
  • pentobarbital sodium — a barbiturate drug used in medicine as a sedative and hypnotic. Formula: C11H17N2O3Na
  • physical double star — two stars that appear as one if not viewed through a telescope with adequate magnification, such as two stars that are separated by a great distance but are nearly in line with each other and an observer (optical double star) or those that are relatively close together and comprise a single physical system (physical double star)
  • pipeline burst cache — (hardware, storage)   (PB Cache) A synchronous cache built from pipelined SRAM. A cache in which reading or writing a new location takes multiple cycles but subsequent locations can be accessed in a single cycle. On Pentium systems in 1996, pipeline burst caches are frequently used as secondary caches. The first 8 bytes of data are transferred in 3 CPU cycles, and the next 3 8-byte pieces of data are transferred in one cycle each.
  • play catch-up (ball) — to try to equal or surpass one's opponent in competition, as a ballgame, in which one is behind
  • potassium bichromate — an orange-red, crystalline, water-soluble, poisonous powder, K 2 Cr 2 O 7 , used chiefly in dyeing, photography, and as a laboratory reagent.
  • potassium binoxalate — a white, crystalline, hygroscopic, poisonous solid, KHC 2 O 4 , that is usually hydrated: used chiefly for removing ink stains, cleaning metal and wood, and in photography.
  • potassium bitartrate — cream of tartar.
  • potassium-bitartrate — a white, crystalline, water-soluble powder, C 4 H 5 KO 6 , used chiefly as an ingredient in baking powders and in galvanic tinning of metals. Also called potassium bitartrate, potassium acid tartrate. Compare tartar (def 3).
  • prepatellar bursitis — inflammation and swelling of the bursa in front of the kneecap, caused esp by constant kneeling on a hard surface
  • probability function — the function the values of which are probabilities of the distinct outcomes of a discrete random variable
  • prohibited substance — a substance, such as a drug, etc, that is banned or forbidden by law or other authority
  • public administrator — an official of a city, county, or state government.
  • quantum bogodynamics — /kwon'tm boh"goh-di:-nam"iks/ A theory that characterises the universe in terms of bogon sources (such as politicians, used-car salesmen, TV evangelists, and suits in general), bogon sinks (such as taxpayers and computers), and bogosity potential fields. Bogon absorption causes human beings to behave mindlessly and machines to fail (and may also cause both to emit secondary bogons); however, the precise mechanics of bogon-computron interaction are not yet understood. Quantum bogodynamics is most often invoked to explain the sharp increase in hardware and software failures in the presence of suits; the latter emit bogons, which the former absorb.
  • quasi-stellar object — quasar. Abbreviation: QSO.
  • queen elizabeth land — an area of British Antarctic Territory, situated south of Weddell Sea and between longitudes 20°W and 80°W, stretching from Filchner-Ronne Ice Shelf to the South Pole. Area: 437 000 sq km (169 000 sq miles)
  • receivables turnover — A receivables turnover is a measure of cash flow that is calculated by dividing net credit sales by average accounts receivable.
  • reductio ad absurdum — a reduction to an absurdity; the refutation of a proposition by demonstrating the inevitably absurd conclusion to which it would logically lead.
  • rocky mountain basic — (language)   The BASIC language used by Hewlett Packard on their 680x0-based computers. Rocky Mountain Basic is good for interfaces to IEEE 488 controls and contains many mathematical and matrix functions. It has about 600 commands. Typical applications include automatic test stations.
  • rub up the wrong way — to arouse anger (in); annoy
  • saint john ambulance — an organization that provides first aid and first-aid training
  • semiautobiographical — pertaining to or being a fictionalized account of an author's own life.
  • shibah asar betammuz — Shivah Asar Betammuz.
  • shivah asar betammuz — a Jewish fast day observed on the 17th day of Tammuz in memory of the breach of the walls of Jerusalem by the Romans in a.d. 70.
  • sodium metabisulfite — Sodium metabisulfite is a crystalline compound used as an antioxidant.
  • spontaneous abortion — miscarriage (def 1).
  • spontaneous-abortion — Also called voluntary abortion. the removal of an embryo or fetus from the uterus in order to end a pregnancy.
  • standard book number — International Standard Book Number. Abbreviation: SBN.
  • ste. anne de beaupre — a village in S Quebec, in SE Canada, on the St. Lawrence, NE of Quebec: Roman Catholic shrine.
  • straight-cut tobacco — tobacco that is cut in such a way that it will lie flat.
  • subjective idea-list — a doctrine that the world has no existence independent of sensations or ideas.
  • subpoena duces tecum — a writ directing a person to appear in court and to bring some document described in the writ.
  • subscription library — a commercial lending library
  • tchebycheff equation — a differential equation of the form (1 − x 2) d 2 y/dx 2 − x dy/dx + n 2 y = 0, where n is any nonnegative integer.
  • the beautiful people — rich, fashionable people in international high society
  • the butterfat cheque — the total annual cash return for operations on a dairy farm
  • the canterbury tales — an uncompleted sequence of tales by Chaucer, written for the most part after 1387.
  • therapeutic abortion — abortion performed when a woman's pregnancy endangers her health.
  • to bear the brunt of — To bear the brunt or take the brunt of something unpleasant means to suffer the main part or force of it.
  • to bring up the rear — If a person or vehicle is bringing up the rear, they are the last person or vehicle in a moving line of them.
  • to burst into flames — If something bursts into flames or bursts into flame, it suddenly starts burning strongly.
  • to catch your breath — If something makes you catch your breath, it makes you take a short breath of air, usually because it shocks you.
  • to disturb the peace — If someone is accused of disturbing the peace, they are accused of behaving in a noisy and offensive way in public.
  • to get your bearings — to find out where one is or to find out what one should do next
  • to get your own back — If you get your own back on someone, you have your revenge on them because of something bad that they have done to you.
  • to keep your balance — If you keep your balance, for example, when standing in a moving vehicle, you remain steady and do not fall over. If you lose your balance, you become unsteady and fall over.
  • to push the boat out — If you push the boat out, you spend a lot of money on something, especially in order to celebrate.
  • to put it to sb that — If you put it to someone that something is true, you suggest that it is true, especially when you think that they will be unwilling to admit this.
  • to waste your breath — If someone says you are wasting your breath, they mean that the person you are talking to will not take any notice and so there is no point saying anything to them.
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