15-letter words containing u, a, p, e, s
- sleeping beauty — a beautiful princess, the heroine of a popular fairy tale, awakened from a charmed sleep by the kiss of the prince who is her true love.
- snafu principle — /sna'foo prin'si-pl/ [WWII Army acronym for "Situation Normal: All Fucked Up"] "True communication is possible only between equals, because inferiors are more consistently rewarded for telling their superiors pleasant lies than for telling the truth." - a central tenet of Discordianism, often invoked by hackers to explain why authoritarian hierarchies screw up so reliably and systematically. The effect of the SNAFU principle is a progressive disconnection of decision-makers from reality. This lightly adapted version of a fable dating back to the early 1960s illustrates the phenomenon perfectly: In the beginning was the plan, and then the specification; And the plan was without form, and the specification was void. And darkness was on the faces of the implementors thereof; And they spake unto their leader, saying: "It is a crock of shit, and smells as of a sewer." And the leader took pity on them, and spoke to the project leader: "It is a crock of excrement, and none may abide the odor thereof." And the project leader spake unto his section head, saying: "It is a container of excrement, and it is very strong, such that none may abide it." The section head then hurried to his department manager, and informed him thus: "It is a vessel of fertilizer, and none may abide its strength." The department manager carried these words to his general manager, and spoke unto him saying: "It containeth that which aideth the growth of plants, and it is very strong." And so it was that the general manager rejoiced and delivered the good news unto the Vice President. "It promoteth growth, and it is very powerful." The Vice President rushed to the President's side, and joyously exclaimed: "This powerful new software product will promote the growth of the company!" And the President looked upon the product, and saw that it was very good. After the subsequent disaster, the suits protect themselves by saying "I was misinformed!", and the implementors are demoted or fired.
- snapping turtle — either of two large, edible, freshwater turtles of the family Chelydridae, of North and Central America, having a large head and powerful hooked jaws, especially the common snapping turtle, Chelydra serpentina.
- sodium sulphate — a solid white substance that occurs naturally as thenardite and is usually used as the white anhydrous compound (salt cake) or the white crystalline decahydrate (Glauber's salt) in making glass, detergents, and pulp. Formula: Na2SO4
- sostenuto pedal — a pedal on a grand piano that raises the dampers, allowing the tone to be sustained for those strings struck at the time the pedal is depressed.
- southern paiute — See under Paiute (def 2).
- special feature — an article differing from the normal format and focusing on a particular topic
- special student — a student who is not seeking a degree but enrols in a course, esp to gain academic credits
- special subject — an area of knowledge in which someone specializes
- splanchnopleure — the double layer formed by the association of the lower layer of the lateral plate of mesoderm with the underlying entoderm, which develops into the embryonic viscera.
- spontaneousness — coming or resulting from a natural impulse or tendency; without effort or premeditation; natural and unconstrained; unplanned: a spontaneous burst of applause.
- stand-up comedy — telling jokes to an audience
- static pressure — the pressure exerted by a fluid that is not moving or flowing.
- steak au poivre — pepper steak (def 2).
- steamed pudding — a traditional pudding containing fat, sugar, eggs, flour, and other ingredients, which is steamed
- stirrup leather — the strap that holds the stirrup of a saddle.
- streptobacillus — any of various bacilli that form in chains.
- subperiosteally — the normal investment of bone, consisting of a dense, fibrous outer layer, to which muscles attach, and a more delicate, inner layer capable of forming bone.
- subprofessional — being below professional standards: subprofessional health care.
- substratosphere — the upper troposphere.
- suicide attempt — bid to kill oneself
- sulphinpyrazone — a uricosuric drug with molecular formula C23H20N2O3S, used in the treatment of chronic gout
- super-sexuality — sexual character; possession of the structural and functional traits of sex.
- superabundantly — very or too abundantly
- superbureaucrat — an important or highly powerful bureaucrat
- superexaltation — extreme or supreme exaltation; the act of superexalting; the process or condition of being superexalted
- superexcitation — the act of exciting.
- superficialness — being at, on, or near the surface: a superficial wound.
- supergiant star — Astronomy. an exceptionally luminous star whose diameter is more than 100 times that of the sun, as Betelgeuse or Antares.
- superindividual — greater than the individual
- superior planet — any of the five planets whose orbits are outside the orbit of the earth, namely, the planets Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune.
- supernaturalism — supernatural character or agency.
- supernaturalist — supernatural character or agency.
- supernaturality — the quality or state of being supernatural; supernaturalism.
- supernaturalize — to make supernatural; give supernatural character or qualities to.
- superordination — Logic. the relation between a universal proposition and a particular proposition of the same quality containing the same terms in the same order.
- superparasitism — the parasitic deposit of eggs on a host already parasitized by a different member of the same species
- superpatriotism — the quality of being superpatriotic
- superplasticity — the phenomenon, exhibited by certain metals and alloys usually at high temperatures, of stretching to extreme lengths without breaking
- superspecialist — a highly skilled specialist
- supplementation — the act or process of supplementing.
- surface-ripened — (of cheese) ripened on the surface by molds or other microorganisms.
- tetrasporangium — a sporangium containing four asexual spores.
- the black stump — an imaginary marker of the extent of civilization (esp in the phrase beyond the black stump)
- the jos plateau — a plateau in Nigeria with an average altitude of 1280 metres
- the last supper — the supper of Jesus and His disciples on the eve of His Crucifixion. Compare Lord's Supper (def 1).
- the upper ranks — the higher divisions of the armed forces
- to take up arms — If one group or country takes up arms against another, they prepare to attack and fight them.
- trans-euphrates — a river in SW Asia, flowing from E Turkey through Syria and Iraq, joining the Tigris to form the Shatt-al-Arab near the Persian Gulf. 1700 miles (2735 km) long.
- tricuspid valve — the valve, consisting of three triangular flaps of tissue between the right auricle and ventricle of the heart, that keeps blood from flowing back into the auricle.