18-letter words containing u, n, f, r

dwarf storage unit — (humour) (DSU) An IBM term for a cupboard.
expected frequency — the number of occasions on which an event may be presumed to occur on average in a given number of trials
fall to the ground — (of a plan, theory, etc) to be rendered invalid, esp because of lack of necessary information
fast-food industry — the industry surrounding fast-food restaurants
federal funds rate — The federal funds rate is the overnight rate between banks.
feeping creaturism — /fee'ping kree"ch*r-izm/ A deliberate spoonerism for creeping featurism, meant to imply that the system or program in question has become a misshapen creature of hacks. This term isn"t really well defined, but it sounds so neat that most hackers have said or heard it. It is probably reinforced by an image of terminals prowling about in the dark making their customary noises.
fettuccine alfredo — fettuccine in cream sauce with grated Parmesan cheese.
fibrocartilaginous — a type of cartilage having a large number of fibers.
fire in your belly — If you say that someone has fire in their belly, you are expressing approval of them because they are energetic, enthusiastic, and have very strong feelings.
first-in first-out — (algorithm) (FIFO, or "queue") A data structure or hardware buffer from which items are taken out in the same order they were put in. Also known as a "shelf" from the analogy with pushing items onto one end of a shelf so that they fall off the other. A FIFO is useful for buffering a stream of data between a sender and receiver which are not synchronised - i.e. not sending and receiving at exactly the same rate. Obviously if the rates differ by too much in one direction for too long then the FIFO will become either full (blocking the sender) or empty (blocking the receiver). A Unix pipe is a common example of a FIFO. A FIFO might be (but isn't ever?) called a LILO - last-in last-out. The opposite of a FIFO is a LIFO (last-in first-out) or "stack".
fissure of rolando — central sulcus.
fitness instructor — physical trainer, exercise teacher
five hundred rummy — a variety of rummy in which the winner is the first player to score 500 points.
floating underflow — underflow
fluegelman, andrew — Andrew Fluegelman
fluorescent screen — a transparent screen coated on one side with a phosphor that fluoresces when exposed to X-rays or cathode rays
forethoughtfulness — The condition of being forethoughtful.
forget-me-not blue — a shade of blue similar to the shade of the flowers of a forget-me-not
formal equivalence — the relation that holds between two open sentences when their universal closures are materially equivalent
foundation garment — an undergarment, as a girdle or corset, worn by women to support or give shape to the contours of the body.
four-legged friend — a four-legged animal, esp a dog
fourth commandment — “Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy”: fourth of the Ten Commandments.
fourth normal form — database normalisation
fracture toughness — The fracture toughness of a material is how likely it is to resist fracture.
free-range poultry — poultry kept in natural nonintensive conditions
frequency function — probability density function (def 2).
frequency response — the effectiveness with which a circuit, device, or system processes and transmits signals fed into it, as a function of the signal frequency.
frequency spectrum — The frequency spectrum of an electrical signal is the distribution of the amplitudes and phases of each frequency component against frequency.
from hand to mouth — the terminal, prehensile part of the upper limb in humans and other primates, consisting of the wrist, metacarpal area, fingers, and thumb.
from the ground up — the solid surface of the earth; firm or dry land: to fall to the ground.
front of the house — façade of residential building, house front
fulminating powder — powder that explodes by percussion.
fuming nitric acid — a colorless, yellowish, or brownish fuming corrosive liquid, usually prepared from nitric acid by the addition of excess nitrogen dioxide: used in organic synthesis for nitration, and as an oxidizer in liquid propellants for rockets.
functional program — (language) A program employing the functional programming approach or written in a functional language.
funding operations — the conversion of government floating stock or short-term debt into holdings of long-term bonds
funeral procession — ceremonial cortège at a burial
furnishing fabrics — fabrics used to make and cover furniture
get off the ground — project: start well
grand council fire — a formal gathering of camp fire members requiring a minimum attendance of three troops.
grandfather clause — U.S. History. a clause in the constitutions of some Southern states after 1890 intended to permit whites to vote while disfranchising blacks: it exempted from new literacy and property qualifications for voting those men entitled to vote before 1867 and their lineal descendants.
granulated surface — a roughened surface
grass-of-parnassus — any plant belonging to the genus Parnassia, of the saxifrage family, growing in marshy areas, having broad, smooth leaves and a single, pale flower.
gulf of california — an arm of the Pacific Ocean, between Sonora and Lower California
hedge fund manager — a person in charge of managing a hedge fund and making its investments
hydrofluorocarbons — Plural form of hydrofluorocarbon.
ifs, ands, or buts — a supposition; uncertain possibility: The future is full of ifs.
immunofluorescence — any of various techniques for detecting an antigen or antibody in a sample by coupling its specifically interactive antibody or antigen to a fluorescent compound, mixing with the sample, and observing the reaction under an ultraviolet-light microscope.
in the near future — soon
indefinite pronoun — a pronoun, as English some, any, somebody, that leaves unspecified the identity of its referent.
information bureau — an office where you can go to get information

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