20-letter words containing u, e, y

qualitative analysis — the analysis of a substance in order to ascertain the nature of its chemical constituents.
qualitative identity — the relation that holds between two relata that have properties in common. This term is used to distinguish many uses of the words identical or same in ordinary language from strict identity or numerical identity
quantum field theory — any theory in which fields are treated by the methods of quantum mechanics; each field can then be regarded as consisting of particles of a particular kind, which may be created and annihilated.
quaternary structure — the basic structural relationship of the components of a polypeptide, specifically, the type, number, and sequence of amino acids and nucleotides in the chain.
raynaud's phenomenon — a secondary circulatory disorder, often associated with a primary vascular disease, characterized by changes of blood flow resulting in white, bluish, or red hands and feet
redundancy agreement — an agreement over the sum of money given by an employer to an employee who has been made redundant
respiratory quotient — the ratio of the amount of carbon dioxide released by the lungs to the amount of oxygen taken in during a given period.
retirement community — a group of houses in a suburban area or a town designed primarily for retired persons.
reversionary annuity — an annuity payable to a beneficiary during the period of time he or she survives the insured.
rocky mountain sheep — bighorn.
rub up the wrong way — to arouse anger (in); annoy
ruby-crowned kinglet — an olive-gray, American kinglet, Regulus calendula, the male of which has an erectile, ruby crest.
scream bloody murder — Law. the killing of another human being under conditions specifically covered in law. In the U.S., special statutory definitions include murder committed with malice aforethought, characterized by deliberation or premeditation or occurring during the commission of another serious crime, as robbery or arson (first-degree murder) and murder by intent but without deliberation or premeditation (second-degree murder)
secure sockets layer — (networking, security) (SSL) A protocol designed by Netscape Communications Corporation to provide secure communications over the Internet using asymmetric key encryption. SSL is layered beneath application protocols such as HTTP, SMTP, Telnet, FTP, Gopher and NNTP and is layered above the connection protocol TCP/IP. It is used by the HTTPS access method.
security association — (networking) The relationship between two or more entities (typically, a computer, but could be a user on a computer, or software component) which describes how the entities will use security services, such as encryption, to communicate. See RFC 1825.
shareholders' equity — Shareholders' equity is the total amount of ownership investment in a company.
sing for your supper — If someone has to sing for their supper, they have to do a job before they are allowed to do something they want to do.
social security card — a card that contains details of a person's social security number
south orkney islands — an uninhabited group of islands in the S Atlantic, southeast of Cape Horn: formerly a dependency of the Falkland Islands; part of the British Antarctic Territory since 1962 (claims are suspended under the Antarctic Treaty). Area: 621 sq km (240 sq miles)
spontaneous recovery — the reappearance of a response after its extinction has been followed by a period of rest
spuyten duyvil creek — a channel in New York City at the north end of Manhattan Island, connecting the Hudson and Harlem rivers.
squatter sovereignty — (used contemptuously by its opponents) popular sovereignty (def 2).
stockholders' equity — the net assets of a corporation as owned by stockholders in capital stock, capital surplus, and undistributed earnings.
sunday-go-to-meeting — most presentable; best: Sunday-go-to-meeting clothes.
supplementary angles — either of two angles that added together produce an angle of 180°.
surveillance society — a society where surveillance technology is widely used to monitor people's everyday activities
systemic circulation — the circulatory system in general.
systemic linguistics — a school of linguistics of British origin that emphasizes the social functions of language and describes grammar in terms of hierarchically organized structures and of systems of mutually exclusive choices available to the speaker under specified conditions.
tax-deferred annuity — an annuity that enables one to purchase an insurance product that will earn interest, with the tax obligation deferred until withdrawals begin, usually at retirement. Abbreviation: TDA.
tchebycheff equation — a differential equation of the form (1 − x 2) d 2 y/dx 2 − x dy/dx + n 2 y = 0, where n is any nonnegative integer.
the canterbury tales — an uncompleted sequence of tales by Chaucer, written for the most part after 1387.
the day of judgement — a Christian term for the ending of the world
the garment industry — the manufacturing of items of clothing
the leisure industry — businesses such as cinemas, restaurants, sports facilities etc
the naughty nineties — (in Britain) the 1890s, considered to be a period of fun-loving and laxity, esp in sexual morals
the other way around — reversed
thermal conductivity — the amount of heat per unit time per unit area that can be conducted through a plate of unit thickness of a given material, the faces of the plate differing by one unit of temperature.
to be on dinner duty — to be responsible for preparing an evening meal
to catch your breath — If something makes you catch your breath, it makes you take a short breath of air, usually because it shocks you.
to clean up your act — If someone who has been behaving badly cleans up their act, they start to behave in a more acceptable or responsible way.
to clear your throat — If you clear your throat, you cough once in order to make it easier to speak or to attract people's attention.
to cry your eyes out — If you cry your eyes out, you cry very hard.
to do your damnedest — If you say that you will do your damnedest to achieve something, you mean that you will try as hard as you can to do it, even though you think that it will take a lot of effort.
to fall on your feet — If you say that someone always falls or lands on their feet, you mean that they are always successful or lucky, although they do not seem to achieve this by their own efforts.
to flex your muscles — If a group, organization, or country flexes its muscles, it does something to impress or frighten people, in order to show them that it has power and is considering using it.
to get your bearings — to find out where one is or to find out what one should do next
to get your own back — If you get your own back on someone, you have your revenge on them because of something bad that they have done to you.
to keep your balance — If you keep your balance, for example, when standing in a moving vehicle, you remain steady and do not fall over. If you lose your balance, you become unsteady and fall over.
to keep your hand in — If you do something to keep your hand in, you practise a skill or hobby occasionally in order to remain fairly good at it.
to land on your feet — If you say that someone always lands on their feet, you mean that they are always successful or lucky, although they do not seem to achieve this by their own efforts.

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