17-letter words containing t, e, l, o, s
- nord-ostsee kanal — German name of Kiel Canal.
- north lanarkshire — a council area of central Scotland: consists mainly of the NE part of the historical county of Lanarkshire; formerly (1974–96) part of Strathclyde Region: engineering and metalworking industries. Administrative centre: Motherwell. Pop: 321 820 (2003 est). Area: 1771 sq km (684 sq miles)
- not spare oneself — to exert oneself to the full
- nothing less than — You can use nothing less than to emphasize your next words, often indicating that something seems very surprising or important.
- nuclear threshold — the point in war at which a combatant brings nuclear weapons into use
- objectionableness — The quality of being objectionable.
- of the old school — If you approve of someone because they have good qualities that used to be more common in the past, you can describe them as one of the old school.
- off one's trolley — trolley car.
- off-site facility — An off-site facility is a facility which is not at the main industrial or commercial site.
- old contemptibles — the British expeditionary force to France in 1914
- old red sandstone — a thick sequence of sedimentary rock (generally, but not always, red) deposited in Britain and NW Europe during the Devonian period
- omphalomesenteric — (anatomy) Of or pertaining to the umbilicus and mesentery.
- on cruise control — If you say that someone is on cruise control in a contest, you mean that they are winning the contest easily and without needing to make a lot of effort.
- on someone's tail — following or shadowing someone closely
- on the half shell — served raw, with seasonings, on a half shell
- one size fits all — (of clothing) designed to fit people of a wide range of sizes.
- one-size-fits-all — (of clothing) designed to fit people of a wide range of sizes.
- operation sealion — the codename for Hitler's proposed invasion (1940) of Great Britain
- optical isomerism — stereoisomerism in which the isomers are identical in molecular weight and most chemical and physical properties but differ in their effect on the rotation of polarized light.
- osculating circle — circle of curvature.
- out at the elbows — the bend or joint of the human arm between upper arm and forearm.
- out of all reason — unreasonable
- oystershell scale — a scale insect, Lepidosaphes ulmi, having a scale shaped like the shell of an oyster, which infests various deciduous trees and shrubs.
- paleobiochemistry — the study of biochemical processes that occurred in fossil life forms.
- paleoconservative — a person advocating an older, traditional type of conservatism, especially in politics.
- papanicolaou test — Pap test.
- parts per million — the number of units (of a substance) present in a million units of another substance
- pastoral theology — the branch of theology dealing with the responsibilities of members of the clergy to the people under their care.
- penalty shoot-out — In football, a penalty shoot-out is a way of deciding the result of a game that has ended in a draw. Players from each team try to score a goal in turn until one player fails to score and their team loses the game.
- percussion bullet — a bullet that is exploded by percussion
- personal computer — a compact computer that uses a microprocessor and is designed for individual use, as by a person in an office or at home or school, for such applications as word processing, data management, financial analysis, or computer games. Abbreviation: PC.
- personal distance — personal space.
- personal equation — the tendency to personal bias that accounts for variation in interpretation or approach and for which allowance must be made.
- personal property — an estate or property consisting of movable articles both corporeal, as furniture or jewelry, or incorporeal, as stocks or bonds (distinguished from real property).
- personality clash — friction between two people who have different personalities or points of view
- peterloo massacre — an incident at St Peter's Fields, Manchester, in 1819 in which a radical meeting was broken up by a cavalry charge, resulting in about 500 injuries and 11 deaths
- phenyl isocyanate — a liquid reagent, C 7 H 5 NO, having an unpleasant, irritating odor: used chiefly for identifying alcohols and amines.
- phlebotomus fever — sandfly fever.
- photoluminescence — luminescence induced by the absorption of infrared radiation, visible light, or ultraviolet radiation.
- plastic explosive — a puttylike substance that contains an explosive charge, and is detonated by fuse or by remote control: used especially by terrorists and in guerrilla warfare.
- plateau's problem — the problem in the calculus of variations of finding the surface with the least area bounded by a given closed curve in space.
- play with oneself — a dramatic composition or piece; drama.
- pocket battleship — a small heavily armed and armored warship serving as a battleship because of limitations imposed by treaty.
- point reyes lilac — a prostrate shrub, Ceanothus gloriosus, of southern California, having leathery, roundish leaves and purplish or deep-blue flowers.
- pointer swizzling — swizzle
- poison-pen letter — A poison-pen letter is an unpleasant unsigned letter which is sent in order to upset someone or to cause trouble.
- polar coordinates — Usually, polar coordinates. one of two coordinates used to locate a point in a plane by the length of its radius vector and the angle this vector makes with the polar axis (polar angle)
- polioencephalitis — a disease characterized by inflammation of the gray matter of the brain.
- political science — a social science dealing with political institutions and with the principles and conduct of government.
- polystyrene chips — small pieces of polystyrene used for insulating or packing