19-letter words containing t, a, u, p
- resplendent quetzal — See under quetzal (def 1).
- ring up the curtain — to begin a theatrical performance
- room-temperature iq — (abuse) (IBM) 80 or below. Used in describing the expected intelligence range of the luser. "Well, but how's this interface going to play with the room-temperature IQ crowd?" This is a much more insulting phrase in countries that use Celsius thermometers. See drool-proof paper.
- safety-squeeze-play — Baseball. Also called suicide squeeze, suicide squeeze play. a play executed when there is a runner on third base and usually not more than one out, in which the runner starts for home as soon as the pitcher makes a motion to pitch, and the batter bunts. Also called safety squeeze, safety squeeze play. a similar play in which the runner on third base waits until the batter has successfully bunted before trying to score.
- san juan capistrano — a city in SW California: site of old Spanish mission; known for annual return of swallows, said to occur on March 19.
- sb's spiritual home — your spiritual home is the place where you feel that you belong, usually because your ideas or attitudes are the same as those of the people who live there
- set/put the seal on — If something sets or puts the seal on something, it makes it definite or confirms how it is going to be.
- sexual reproduction — reproduction involving the union of gametes.
- sexual stereotyping — the formation or promotion of a fixed general idea or image of how men and women will behave
- sharp-tailed grouse — a grouse, Pedioecetes phasianellus, of prairies and open forests of western North America, similar in size to the prairie chicken but with a more pointed tail.
- slugging percentage — a number expressing a player's average effectiveness in making extra-base hits, calculated by dividing the total number of bases (from all singles, doubles, triples, and home runs) by the number of official at bats
- sodium thiosulphate — a white soluble substance used, in the pentahydrate form, in photography as a fixer to dissolve unchanged silver halides and also to remove excess chlorine from chlorinated water. Formula: Na2S2O3
- south pacific ocean — the part of the Pacific Ocean extending S from the Equator to the Antarctic continent.
- southern crab apple — a tree, Malus angustifolia, of the eastern U.S., having oblong leaves, fragrant, pink or rose-colored flowers, and small, round, yellow-green fruit.
- spanish inquisition — the Inquisition in Spain, under state control from 1480 to 1834, marked by the extreme severity and cruelty of its proceedings in the 16th century.
- spare a thought for — If you spare a thought for an unfortunate person, you make an effort to think sympathetically about them and their bad luck.
- speaking in tongues — a form of glossolalia in which a person experiencing religious ecstasy utters incomprehensible sounds that the speaker believes are a language spoken through him or her by a deity.
- specialized subject — a school or university subject that concentrates on a particular field of knowledge
- specular reflection — Specular reflection is reflection of heat or light in which the angles of different parts of the surface are important.
- speculative fiction — a broad literary genre encompassing any fiction with supernatural, fantastical, or futuristic elements
- spider-hunting wasp — any solitary wasp of the superfamily Pompiloidea, having a slender elongated body: the fast-running female hunts spiders as a food store for her larvae
- spin quantum number — the quantum number that designates the total angular momentum associated with electron spin and has a value of ½ in units of h /2π.
- squamous epithelium — epithelium consisting of one or more layers of scalelike cells.
- standing broad jump — a jump for distance from a standing position.
- stationery cupboard — a cupboard where things like paper, pens and paper clips are kept
- step-up transformer — a device that transfers an alternating current from one circuit to one or more other circuits with an increase of voltage
- stratford-upon-avon — town in S Warwickshire, England, on the Avon: birthplace & burial place of Shakespeare: pop. of county district (called Stratford-on-Avon) 106,000
- subnuclear particle — any of the elementary particles, including those that do not exist in stable matter but appear as a result of high-energy collisions of other particles or nuclei.
- subtractive process — a process of color photography in which the colors are formed by combination of cyan, yellow, and magenta lights.
- sun-and-planet gear — a planetary epicyclic gear train.
- superannuation fund — a fund used for paying pensions
- supercritical fluid — A supercritical fluid is a fluid at a temperature and pressure at which there is no difference between liquid and gas.
- supernatural virtue — one of the three graces: faith, hope, or charity, infused into the human intellect and will by a special grace of God.
- supplementary angle — either of two angles that added together produce an angle of 180°.
- supplementary story — follow-up (def 3b).
- surface effect ship — a large, ship-size air cushion vehicle operated over water.
- suspended animation — a state of temporary cessation of the vital functions.
- suspensory ligament — any of several tissues that suspend certain organs or parts of the body, especially the transparent, delicate web of fibrous tissue that supports the crystalline lens.
- take a running jump — a contemptuous expression of dismissal
- take up the cudgels — If you take up the cudgels for someone or something, you speak or fight in support of them.
- tarnished plant bug — a bug, Lygus lineolaris, of the family Miridae, that is a common and widely distributed pest of alfalfa and other legumes and of peach and other fruit trees.
- teacher-pupil ratio — the number of teachers relative to the number of pupils in a particular school
- tehachapi mountains — a transverse (E–W) mountain range in S central California. Highest peak, Double Mountain, 7982 feet (2433 meters).
- telescopic umbrella — an umbrella having parts that telescope
- the compassion club — (in Canada) a nonprofit organization that provides uncontaminated cannabis for medical purposes and natural therapies in a safe environment
- theatrical producer — a person who is responsible for all aspects of a theatrical production
- therapeutic cloning — the permitted creation of cloned human tissues for surgical transplant
- to give sb a leg up — to help with climbing
- trisodium phosphate — sodium phosphate (def 3).
- tuamotu archipelago — a group of about 80 coral islands in the S Pacific, in French Polynesia. Pop: 15 973 (2002; including the Gambier Islands). Area: 860 sq km (332 sq miles)