18-letter words containing t, w, a
- presumption of law — a presumption based upon a policy of law or a general rule and not upon the facts or evidence in an individual case.
- quarter-wave plate — a crystal thin enough to cause a phase difference of 90° between the ordinary and extraordinary rays of polarized light, thereby converting circularly polarized light into plane polarized light.
- random walk theory — the theory that the future movement of share prices does not reflect past movements and therefore will not follow a discernible pattern
- resistance welding — welding utilizing pressure and heat that is generated in the pieces to be welded by resistance to an electric current.
- revolutionary wars — American Revolution.
- rhode island white — one of a dual-purpose American breed of chickens having white feathers and a rose comb.
- right-to-work laws — a state law making it illegal to refuse employment to a person for the sole reason that he or she is not a union member.
- row address strobe — (storage) (RAS) An input to a dynamic random-access memory (DRAM) to indicate that the row address lines are valid.
- salem witch trials — 17th-century witchcraft case
- saskatchewan party — (in Canada) a Saskatchewan political party formed by former members of the provincial Progressive Conservative and Liberal Parties
- schwarz inequality — Also called Cauchy's inequality. the theorem that the inner product of two vectors is less than or equal to the product of the magnitudes of the vectors.
- self-tapping screw — a screw designed to tap its corresponding female thread as it is driven.
- short-tailed shrew — a grayish-black shrew, Blarina brevicauda, common in eastern North America, that has a tail less than half the length of the body.
- skinny-rib sweater — a tight-fitting ribbed woollen jumper or pullover
- slow on the uptake — slow to understand or learn
- slow-motion replay — a showing again in slow motion of a sequence of action, esp of part of a sporting contest immediately after it happens
- software backplane — (programming, tool) A CASE framework from Atherton.
- solomon rabinowitz — Solomon, Aleichem, Sholom.
- south saskatchewan — a river in W Canada, flowing E from S Alberta and joining the North Saskatchewan River to form the Saskatchewan River. 865 miles (1392 km) long.
- sow dragon's teeth — to take some action that is intended to prevent strife or trouble but that actually brings it about
- spike-tooth harrow — a harrow equipped with straight teeth on horizontal bars, usually employed to smooth and level plowed soil or seedbeds for planting or sowing.
- st. andrew's cross — a low evergreen shrub, Ascyrum hypericoides, native to temperate and subtropical America, having flowers in clusters of three: often cultivated.
- st. lawrence river — a river in SE Canada, flowing NE from Lake Ontario, forming part of the boundary between New York and Ontario, and emptying into the Gulf of St. Lawrence. 760 miles (1225 km) long.
- stand/wait in line — When people stand in line or wait in line, they stand one behind the other in a line, waiting their turn for something.
- stomach sweetbread — sweetbread (def 1).
- swarm intelligence — the collective behaviour of a group of animals, esp social insects such as ants, bees, and termites, that are each following very basic rules
- swartkrans ape-man — the fossil remains of the extinct hominid Australopithecus robustus, found at Swartkrans, Republic of South Africa: formerly classified in the genus Paranthropus.
- swedish gymnastics — a system of passive and active exercising of muscles and joints
- sweet vernal grass — a Eurasian meadow grass, Anthoxanthum odoratum, found throughout North America, having clusters of brownish-green flowers.
- sweptwing aircraft — an aircraft which has wings that are swept (usually) backwards
- take a dim view of — not bright; obscure from lack of light or emitted light: a dim room; a dim flashlight.
- take the wraps off — to reveal
- tale of two cities — a historical novel (1859) by Dickens.
- talk between ships — TBS (def 1).
- telford and wrekin — a unitary authority in W Central England, in Shropshire. Pop: 160 300 (2003 est). Area: 289 sq km (112 sq miles)
- territorial waters — law: nation's boundaries
- the bird has flown — the person in question has fled or escaped
- the cat's whiskers — a person or thing that is excellent or superior
- the operative word — If you describe a word as the operative word, you want to draw attention to it because you think it is important or exactly true in a particular situation.
- the powers that be — You can refer to people in authority as the powers that be, especially when you want to say that you disagree with them or do not understand what they say or do.
- the weather bureau — the national agency responsible for collecting data about the weather and issuing forecasts
- the welsh assembly — the elected assembly for Wales, based in Cardiff, that has certain powers devolved from the UK government
- the worse for wear — If you say that someone is the worse for wear, you mean that they are tired, ill, or in a bad state because they have been very active, been through a difficult experience, or been drinking alcohol.
- to bear witness to — If a person or thing bears witness to something, they show or say that it exists or happened.
- to find fault with — If you find fault with something or someone, you look for mistakes and complain about them.
- to plough a furrow — If you say that someone ploughs a particular furrow or ploughs their own furrow, you mean that their activities or interests are different or isolated from those of other people.
- to sweep the board — If someone sweeps the board in a competition or election, they win nearly everything that it is possible to win.
- to take a dim view — If you take a dim view or a poor view of someone or something, you disapprove of them or have a low opinion of them.
- to watch your step — If someone tells you to watch your step, they are warning you to be careful about how you behave or what you say so that you do not get into trouble.
- townsend avalanche — avalanche (def 3).