21-letter words containing t, h, e, s
- the maastricht treaty — a treaty on European economic and monetary union agreed by government leaders of the 12 EC states at a meeting in Maastricht in December 1991
- the man in the street — If you talk about the man in the street or the man or woman in the street, you mean ordinary people in general.
- the microsoft network — (networking) (MSN) Microsoft's ISP and online content service, launched in October 1996. Not to be confused with Microsoft Networking. MSN was originally based on custom software and protocols, however Microsoft saw the error of their ways and adopted Internet standards. MSN now provides standard WWW and email facilities, albeit with Microsoft's Internet Explorer web-browser and the Outlook Express email software. The service also provides "Community Services" including newsgroups, forums, and chat.
- the oldest profession — prostitution
- the origin of species — (On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, or the Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life) a treatise (1859) by Charles Darwin setting forth his theory of evolution.
- the press association — the national news agency for the United Kingdom and Ireland
- the probation service — a criminal justice service that is mainly responsible for dealing with offenders by placing them under the supervision of a probation officer
- the royal scots greys — (formerly) a British cavalry regiment, the Second Dragoons
- the san andreas fault — a geological fault in California
- the scout association — a worldwide movement for boys or (in some countries) girls, founded as the Boy Scouts in England in 1908 by Lord Baden-Powell with the aim of developing character and responsibility
- the shipping forecast — a radio broadcast made by the BBC of weather reports and forecasts for the seas around the British Isles
- the shit hits the fan — the real trouble begins
- the slough of despond — a state of extreme despondency, depression or degradation
- the sooner the better — You say the sooner the better when you think something should be done as soon as possible.
- the stars and stripes — the national flag of the United States of America, consisting of 50 white stars representing the present states on a blue field and seven red and six white horizontal stripes representing the original states
- the stationery office — (in the UK) the company that supplies the civil service with all its office supplies, machinery, printing and binding, etc
- the student community — the body of students in further and higher education, considered as a whole
- the supreme sacrifice — the sacrifice of one's life
- the throwaway society — a society full of excessive consumption and waste of food, products, etc
- the women's land army — a unit of women recruited to do agricultural work in the United Kingdom during World War I and World War II
- theater of operations — the part of the theater of war, including a combat zone and a communications zone, that is engaged in military operations and their support.
- theater of the absurd — theater in which standard or naturalistic conventions of plot, characterization, and thematic structure are ignored or distorted in order to convey the irrational or fictive nature of reality and the essential isolation of humanity in a meaningless world.
- theatre of the absurd — drama in which normal conventions and dramatic structure are ignored or modified in order to present life as irrational or meaningless
- theoretical physicist — a scientist who studies theoretical physics
- there's nothing to it — If you say 'There's nothing to it', 'There's not much to it', or 'That's all there is to it', you are emphasizing how simple you think something is.
- thermal decomposition — Thermal decomposition is the process in which a chemical species breaks down when its temperature is increased.
- thermal power station — a power station in which heat is converted into electricity
- thermophosphorescence — thermoluminescence.
- think outside the box — to think in a different, innovative, or original manner, esp with regard to business practices, products, systems, etc
- third-party insurance — insurance that compensates for a loss to a party other than the insured for which the insured is liable.
- threshold wage policy — a policy whereby wages are increased in accordance with inflation
- throw one's hat at it — to give up all hope of getting or achieving something
- throw sb a curve ball — If someone throws you a curve or throws you a curve ball, they surprise you by doing something that you do not expect.
- throw someone a curve — a continuously bending line, without angles.
- to be a hospital case — if you say that someone or something is a hospital case, you mean that they need urgent help because they are doing very badly
- to be hard luck on sb — to be unfortunate or unlucky for someone
- to be mixed up in sth — if you are mixed up in something, usually something bad, you are involved in it
- to blow sth wide open — to expose something
- to change the subject — When someone involved in a conversation changes the subject, they start talking about something else, often because the previous subject was embarrassing.
- to dig one's heels in — If you dig your heels in or dig in your heels, you refuse to do something such as change your opinions or plans, especially when someone is trying very hard to make you do so.
- to feather one's nest — If you say that someone is feathering their nest, you mean that they are getting a lot of money out of something, so that they can lead a comfortable life.
- to have green fingers — If someone has green fingers, they are very good at gardening and their plants grow well.
- to hit the bookstands — (of a book) to be published
- to lay something bare — If you lay something bare, you uncover it completely so that it can then be seen.
- to mix your metaphors — If you mix your metaphors, you use two conflicting metaphors. People do this accidentally, or sometimes deliberately as a joke.
- to move the goalposts — If you accuse someone of moving the goalposts, you mean that they have changed the rules in a situation or an activity, in order to gain an advantage for themselves and to make things difficult for other people.
- to put the wind up sb — If something or someone puts the wind up you, they frighten or worry you.
- to rear its ugly head — If something unpleasant rears its head or rears its ugly head, it becomes visible or noticeable.
- to rub shoulders with — If you rub shoulders with famous people, you meet them and talk to them. You can also say that you rub elbows with someone, especially in American English.
- to set foot somewhere — If you say that someone sets foot in a place, you mean that they enter it or reach it, and you are emphasizing the significance of their action. If you say that someone never sets foot in a place, you are emphasizing that they never go there.