14-letter words containing t, a, k, e, s, r
- scratch monkey — (humour) As in "Before testing or reconfiguring, always mount a scratch monkey", a proverb used to advise caution when dealing with irreplaceable data or devices. Used to refer to any scratch volume hooked to a computer during any risky operation as a replacement for some precious resource or data that might otherwise get trashed. This term preserves the memory of Mabel, the Swimming Wonder Monkey, star of a biological research program at the University of Toronto. Mabel was not (so the legend goes) your ordinary monkey; the university had spent years teaching her how to swim, breathing through a regulator, in order to study the effects of different gas mixtures on her physiology. Mabel suffered an untimely demise one day when a DEC engineer troubleshooting a crash on the program's VAX inadvertently interfered with some custom hardware that was wired to Mabel. It is reported that, after calming down an understandably irate customer sufficiently to ascertain the facts of the matter, a DEC troubleshooter called up the field circus manager responsible and asked him sweetly, "Can you swim?" Not all the consequences to humans were so amusing; the sysop of the machine in question was nearly thrown in jail at the behest of certain clueless droids at the local "humane" society. The moral is clear: When in doubt, always mount a scratch monkey. A corespondent adds: The details you give are somewhat consistent with the version I recall from the Digital "War Stories" notesfile, but the name "Mabel" and the swimming bit were not mentioned, IIRC. Also, there's a very detailed account that claims that three monkies died in the incident, not just one. I believe Eric Postpischil wrote the original story at DEC, so his coming back with a different version leads me to wonder whether there ever was a real Scratch Monkey incident.
- sergeant baker — a large brightly-coloured fish of the genus Latropiscis, found in temperate reef waters of Australasia
- serrated wrack — the seaweed Fucus serratus
- shaker heights — a city in NE Ohio, near Cleveland.
- shark-infested — (of a body of water) known to contain large numbers of sharks, and therefore considered to be dangerous
- shooting brake — station wagon.
- sick and tired — afflicted with ill health or disease; ailing.
- sickle feather — one of the paired, elongated, sickle-shaped, middle feathers of the tail of the rooster.
- silky anteater — an arboreal, tropical American anteater, Cyclopes didactylus, about the size of a rat, having a prehensile tail, glossy, golden fur, and two toes on each forelimb.
- skeleton draft — a basic or minimum draft or outline
- skull practice — a meeting for the purpose of discussion, exchange of ideas, solving problems, etc.
- social network — a network of friends, colleagues, and other personal contacts: Strong social networks can encourage healthy behaviors.
- spark arrester — a device, consisting of wire netting or other material, used to stop or deflect sparks thrown from an open fireplace, a smokestack, or the like.
- spark spectrum — a spectrum formed from the light produced by an electric spark, characteristic of the gas or vapor through which the spark passes.
- speaking terms — if you are on speaking terms with someone, you are quite friendly with them and often talk to them
- square bracket — bracket (def 3).
- squeak through — to succeed, get through, survive, etc. by a narrow margin or with difficulty
- stalking horse — If you describe a person or thing as a stalking horse, you mean that it is being used to obtain a temporary advantage so that someone can get what they really want.
- stalking-horse — a horse, or a figure of a horse, behind which a hunter hides in stalking game.
- starch blocker — a substance ingested in the belief that it inhibits the body's ability to metabolize starch and thereby promotes weight loss: declared illegal in the U.S. by the FDA.
- stay-in strike — sit-down strike.
- steam cracking — Steam cracking is the main method of breaking down large molecules of hydrocarbons, in which a gaseous or liquid hydrocarbon is diluted with steam and then heated.
- steamer basket — a gift basket of fruit, sweets, and the like, often including champagne, sent to a person departing on a trip, especially by ship.
- stinking cedar — an evergreen tree, Torreya taxifolia, of the yew family, native to Florida, having rank-smelling foliage and dark-green, egg-shaped fruit.
- stock in trade — the requisites for carrying on a business, especially goods kept on hand for sale in a store.
- stock transfer — Stock transfer is the act of moving goods from one part of the distribution chain to another.
- stock watering — the creation of more new shares in a company than is justified by its assets
- stock-in-trade — items used in performing a job
- stockbrokerage — a stockbroker's work or business
- stocking frame — a type of knitting machine
- straddle truck — a self-propelled vehicle, having a chassis far above the ground, for carrying loads of lumber or the like beneath the chassis and between the wheels.
- straight poker — one of the original forms of poker in which players are dealt five cards face down, upon which they bet and then have the showdown without drawing any cards.
- straightjacket — to put in or as in a straitjacket: Her ambition was straitjacketed by her family.
- strike a light — to ignite something, esp a match, by friction
- strike-breaker — A strike-breaker is a person who continues to work during a strike, or someone who takes over the work of a person who is on strike.
- strikebreaking — action directed at breaking up a strike of workers.
- struck measure — a measure, especially of grain, level with the top of a receptacle.
- take in stride — to walk with long steps, as with vigor, haste, impatience, or arrogance.
- take liberties — If you take liberties or take a liberty with someone or something, you act in a way that is too free and does not show enough respect.
- take years off — to make (someone) feel or look much younger
- tank destroyer — a high-speed, self-propelled, armored combat vehicle with antitank cannon.
- test marketing — to offer (a new product) for sale, usually in a limited area, in order to ascertain and evaluate consumer response.
- the kama sutra — an ancient Hindu text on erotic pleasure and other topics
- ticket scalper — an unauthorized ticket speculator who buys tickets to a performance or sports event and resells them at inflated prices.
- to break ranks — If you say that a member of a group or organization breaks ranks, you mean that they disobey the instructions of their group or organization.
- to close ranks — If you say that the members of a group close ranks, you mean that they are supporting each other only because their group is being criticized.
- train sickness — nausea and dizziness, sometimes accompanied by vomiting, resulting from the motion of the train in which one is traveling.
- treasury stock — outstanding shares of stock reacquired and held by the issuing corporation.
- umbrella skirt — a full skirt with many gores that flare gradually from the waist to the hem.
- upper tunguska — any of three tributaries of the Yenisei River in the central Russian Federation in Asia: the (Lower Tunguska) 2000 miles (3220 km) long; the (Upper Tunguska) or the lower course of the Angara, 1151 miles (1855 km) long; and the (Stony Tunguska) about 975 miles (1570 km) long.