19-letter words containing t, h, i, s
- priority scheduling — (operating system) Processes scheduling in which the scheduler selects tasks to run based on their priority as opposed to, say, a simple round-robin. Priorities may be static or dynamic. Static priorities are assigned at the time of creation, while dynamic priorities are based on the processes' behaviour while in the system. For example, the scheduler may favour I/O-intensive tasks so that expensive requests can be issued as early as possible. A danger of priority scheduling is starvation, in which processes with lower priorities are not given the opportunity to run. In order to avoid starvation, in preemptive scheduling, the priority of a process is gradually reduced while it is running. Eventually, the priority of the running process will no longer be the highest, and the next process will start running. This method is called aging.
- programmer's switch — (hardware) A button on the front of some Apple Macintosh computers which, when pressed, causes a command line prompt to appear. This gives access to the built-in mini-debugger, which has commands to dump memory, return to the application that was broken out, and others. A more sophisticated debugger must be installed in order to inspect breakpoints, etc.
- protease inhibitors — a drug that inhibits the action of protease, especially any of a class of antiviral drugs that prevent the cleavage and replication of HIV proteins.
- pseudohermaphrodite — an individual having internal reproductive organs of one sex and external sexual characteristics resembling those of the other sex or being ambiguous in nature. Compare hermaphrodite (def 1).
- psychic determinism — the theory that all aspects of a person's psychological makeup arise from specific causes or forces, as previous experiences or instinctual drives, which may be conscious or unconscious.
- psychotechnological — of or relating to psychotechnology
- psychrometric chart — a chart for calculating values of relative humidity, absolute humidity, and dew point from psychrometer readings.
- put a figure on sth — When you put a figure on an amount, you say exactly how much it is.
- put sth into action — If you put an idea or policy into action, you begin to use it or cause it to operate.
- put the skids under — a plank, bar, log, or the like, especially one of a pair, on which something heavy may be slid or rolled along.
- quick-change artist — a person adept at changing from one thing to another, as an entertainer who changes costumes quickly during a performance.
- rayleigh scattering — the scattering of light by particles that are very small in relation to the wavelength of the light, and in which the intensity of the scattered light varies inversely with the fourth power of the wavelength.
- reef whitetip shark — whitetip shark (def 1).
- reflux oesophagitis — inflammation of the gullet caused by regurgitation of stomach acids, producing heartburn: may be associated with a hiatus hernia
- resorcinolphthalein — fluorescein.
- rhetorical question — a question asked solely to produce an effect or to make an assertion and not to elicit a reply, as “What is so rare as a day in June?”.
- rhythmic gymnastics — a form of gymnastics involving movements using hand apparatus such as balls, hoops, and ribbons
- saber-toothed tiger — any of several extinct members of the cat family Felidae from the Oligocene to Pleistocene Epochs, having greatly elongated, saberlike upper canine teeth.
- sabre-toothed tiger — any of various extinct Tertiary felines of the genus Smilodon and related genera, with long curved upper canine teeth
- saccharolactic acid — mucic acid.
- saint swithin's day — July 15, superstitiously regarded as a day that, should it rain or be fair, will be followed by 40 consecutive days of like weather.
- sandwich generation — the generation of people still raising their children while having to care for their aging parents.
- satellite telephone — a type of mobile phone that connects to orbiting artificial satellites rather than terrestrial cell sites
- 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
- scattersite housing — public housing, especially for low-income families, built throughout an urban area rather than being concentrated in a single neighborhood.
- seleucia tracheotis — an ancient city in SE Asia Minor, on the River Calycadnus (modern Goksu Nehri): captured by the Turks in the 13th century; site of present-day Silifke (Turkey)
- sell down the river — a natural stream of water of fairly large size flowing in a definite course or channel or series of diverging and converging channels.
- sell like hot cakes — a pancake or griddlecake.
- semidetached binary — a pair of stars that are so close together that mass transfer occurs from one to the other
- set one's sights on — to have (a specified goal) in mind; aim for
- 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.
- sheet flood erosion — Geology. erosion by sheets of running water, rather than by streams.
- shield-tailed snake — any of several burrowing snakes of the family Uropeltidae, of the Indian peninsula and Sri Lanka, having a tail that ends in a flat disk.
- ship-to-shore radio — a radio that carries communications between land and sea
- shipping department — a department in a company responsible for arranging, receiving, recording, and sending shipments of goods
- shoestring potatoes — potatoes cut into long, very narrow strips and fried crisp in deep fat
- shoestring root rot — oak-root rot.
- shopping facilities — shops or other retail services
- short-tail business — Short-tail business is insurance business where it is known that claims will be made and settled quickly.
- simple carbohydrate — a carbohydrate, as glucose, that consists of a single monosaccharide unit.
- sissinghurst castle — a restored Elizabethan mansion near Cranbrook in Kent: noted for the gardens laid out in the 1930s by Victoria Sackville-West and Harold Nicolson
- sixteenth amendment — an amendment to the U.S. Constitution, ratified in 1913, authorizing Congress to levy a tax on incomes.
- smite hip and thigh — to attack unsparingly; overwhelm with or as with blows
- so what else is new — not surprised
- so what, what of it — You say so what? or what of it? to indicate that the previous remark seems unimportant, uninteresting, or irrelevant to you.
- social anthropology — study of human culture
- sodium hydrosulfite — a white, crystalline, water-soluble powder, Na 2 S 2 O 4 , used as a reducing agent, especially in dyeing, and as a bleach.
- sodium hypochlorite — a pale-green, crystalline compound, NaOCl, unstable in air, soluble in cold water, decomposes in hot water: used as a bleaching agent for paper and textiles, in water purification, in household use, and as a fungicide.
- 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
- solid-state physics — the branch of physics that deals with the macroscopic physical properties of matter, especially solids; the study of the electromagnetic, structural, and thermodynamic properties of solids.