20-letter words containing t, h, e
- audio-lingual method — a technique of foreign-language instruction that emphasizes audio-lingual skills over reading and writing and is characterized by extensive use of pattern practice.
- axiomatic set theory — (theory) One of several approaches to set theory, consisting of a formal language for talking about sets and a collection of axioms describing how they behave. There are many different axiomatisations for set theory. Each takes a slightly different approach to the problem of finding a theory that captures as much as possible of the intuitive idea of what a set is, while avoiding the paradoxes that result from accepting all of it, the most famous being Russell's paradox. The main source of trouble in naive set theory is the idea that you can specify a set by saying whether each object in the universe is in the "set" or not. Accordingly, the most important differences between different axiomatisations of set theory concern the restrictions they place on this idea (known as "comprehension"). NBG (von Neumann-Bernays-Goedel) set theory sort of allows comprehension for all formulae without restriction, but distinguishes between two kinds of set, so that the sets produced by applying comprehension are only second-class sets. NBG is exactly as powerful as ZF, in the sense that any statement that can be formalised in both theories is a theorem of ZF if and only if it is a theorem of ZFC. MK (Morse-Kelley) set theory is a strengthened version of NBG, with a simpler axiom system. It is strictly stronger than NBG, and it is possible that NBG might be consistent but MK inconsistent. ML ("Modern Logic") is to NF as NBG is to ZF. (Its name derives from the title of the book in which Quine introduced an early, defective, form of it). It is stronger than ZF (it can prove things that ZF can't), but if NF is consistent then ML is too.
- back the wrong horse — to bet on a horse that loses the race
- back-of-the-envelope — (of a plan, calculation, etc) composed or performed quickly and without detailed analysis or research
- bacteriochlorophylls — Plural form of bacteriochlorophyll.
- balanced three-phase — A balanced three-phase voltage or current is one in which the size of each phase is the same, and the phase angles of the three phases differ from each other by 120 degrees.
- baptism for the dead — the baptism of a living person in the place of and for the sake of one who has died unbaptized: now practiced chiefly by Mormons.
- barothermohygrograph — an automatic instrument for recording pressure, temperature, and humidity.
- be called to the bar — to become a barrister
- be for the high jump — to be liable to receive a severe reprimand or punishment
- be getting somewhere — If you say that you are getting somewhere, you mean that you are making progress towards achieving something.
- be hard pushed to do — If you are hard pushed to do something, you find it very difficult to do it.
- be in the market for — to wish to buy or acquire
- be shot through with — If something is shot through with an element or feature, it contains a lot of that element or feature.
- be there for someone — If someone is there for you, they help and support you, especially when you have problems.
- be tops, be the tops — If you say that something is tops or is the tops, you mean that it is better or more successful than anything else.
- beat around the bush — to talk around a subject without getting to the point
- beat the shit out of — to give a severe beating to
- beaverhead mountains — a mountain range on the border of E Idaho and SW Montana, in the Bitterroot Range. 10,961 feet (3343 meters).
- been-there done-that — an exclamation expressing familiarity and boredom with a situation, experience, etc
- benefit of the doubt — a favorable opinion or judgment adopted despite uncertainty.
- benzyl isoamyl ether — a colorless liquid, C 12 H 18 O, used in soap perfumes.
- black-throated diver — a diving bird, Gavia arctica, found in Europe and Asia, and a rare summer visitor to the UK
- blending inheritance — the blending of characteristics of the parents in the offspring, as in a pink flower that results from the mating of a red flower with a white one
- blue screen of death — (humour) (BSOD) The infamous white-on-blue text screen which appears when Microsoft Windows crashes. BSOD is mostly seen on the 16-bit systems such as Windows 3.1, but also on Windows 95 and apparently even under Windows NT 4. It is most likely to be caused by a GPF, although Windows 95 can do it if you've removed a required CD-ROM from the drive. It is often impossible to recover cleanly from a BSOD. The acronym BSOD is sometimes used as a verb, e.g. "Windoze just keeps BSODing on me today".
- bottle-nosed dolphin — any of several dolphins of the genus Tursiops, common in North Atlantic and Mediterranean waters, having a rounded forehead and well-defined beak.
- bottom hole pressure — Bottom hole pressure is the pressure at the bottom of the hole, usually measured in pounds per square inch.
- bottom of the barrel — poor quality
- bowling on the green — lawn bowling.
- bowling-on-the-green — a game played with wooden balls on a level, closely mowed green having a slight bias, the object being to roll one's ball as near as possible to a smaller white ball at the other end of the green. Also called bowls, bowling on the green. Compare bowl2 (def 2), bowling green, jack1 (def 7), rink (def 5).
- branch target buffer — (processor) (BTB) A register used to store the predicted destination of a branch in a processor using branch prediction?
- breadth-first search — (algorithm) A graph search algorithm which tries all one-step extensions of current paths before trying larger extensions. This requires all current paths to be kept in memory simultaneously, or at least their end points. Opposite of depth-first search. See also best first search.
- break the glass plan — a plan that is put into operation in an emergency when all other options have been exhausted
- bring down the house — to receive enthusiastic applause from the audience
- bring home the bacon — If you bring home the bacon, you achieve what you needed to achieve.
- bring into the world — (of a midwife, doctor, etc) to deliver (a baby)
- bring the house down — to win great applause
- british north borneo — former name of Sabah.
- british thermal unit — a unit of heat in the fps system equal to the quantity of heat required to raise the temperature of 1 pound of water by 1°F. 1 British thermal unit is equivalent to 1055.06 joules or 251.997 calories
- broaden o's/the mind — If an experience broadens your mind, it makes you more willing to accept other people's beliefs and customs.
- bureau of the census — the division of the Department of Commerce that gathers, tabulates, and correlates census statistics.
- bust someone's chops — Usually, chops. the jaw.
- butterfly-shell clam — coquina.
- by their own account — If you say that something concerning a particular person is true by his or her own account, you mean that you believe it because that person has said it is true.
- calcium hypochlorite — a white, crystalline compound, Ca(OCl) 2 , used as a disinfectant and bleaching agent.
- carbohydrate loading — the practice of eating high amounts of carbohydrates, sometimes after a period of low carbohydrate intake, for several days immediately before competing in an athletic event, especially a marathon, in order to store glycogen in the body, thereby providing greater reserves of energy.
- carbon tetrachloride — a colourless volatile nonflammable sparingly soluble liquid made from chlorine and carbon disulphide; tetrachloromethane. It is used as a solvent, cleaning fluid, and insecticide. Formula: CCl4
- cast a pall over sth — If something unpleasant casts a pall over an event or occasion, it makes it less enjoyable than it should be.
- cast the first stone — the hard substance, formed of mineral matter, of which rocks consist.
- catastrophic failure — Catastrophic failure is sudden and complete failure which cannot be put right.