19-letter words containing w, a, l
- orange flower water — a distilled infusion of orange blossom, used in cakes, confectionery, etc
- out at (the) elbows — shabby; poverty-stricken
- own flesh and blood — If you say that someone is your own flesh and blood, you are emphasizing that they are a member of your family.
- peak envelope power — (communications) (PEP) The maximum power output by a radio transmitter over one complete RF cycle at any modulation.
- perfoliate bellwort — a slender plant, Uvularia perfoliata, of the lily family, of eastern North America, having pale yellow, bell-shaped flowers.
- personal watercraft — a jet-propelled boat ridden like a motorcycle.
- philadelphia lawyer — a lawyer of outstanding ability at exploiting legal fine points and technicalities.
- pileated woodpecker — a large, black-and-white American woodpecker, Dryocopus pileatus, having a prominent red crest.
- pinwheel escapement — a clock escapement in which two pallets, usually of unequal length, alternately engage and release pins set on the escape wheel perpendicular to its plane of rotation.
- play footsie (with) — to touch feet or rub knees (with) in a caressing way, as under the table
- play the devil with — Theology. (sometimes initial capital letter) the supreme spirit of evil; Satan. a subordinate evil spirit at enmity with God, and having power to afflict humans both with bodily disease and with spiritual corruption.
- port jackson willow — an Australian acacia tree, Acacia cyanophylla, introduced in the 19th century into South Africa, where it is now regarded as a pest
- public-interest law — a branch of law that often utilizes class-action suits to protect the interest of a large group or of the public at large, as in matters relating to racial discrimination, air pollution, etc.
- ralph waldo emerson — Ralph Waldo [wawl-doh,, wol-] /ˈwɔl doʊ,, ˈwɒl-/ (Show IPA), 1803–82, U.S. essayist and poet.
- red-shouldered hawk — a North American hawk, Buteo lineatus, having rufous shoulders.
- research fellowship — the position or office of someone who conducts academic research into a subject at a university, etc
- scale down (or up) — to reduce (or increase), often according to a fixed ratio or proportion
- see one's way clear — to be willing (to do something)
- siberian wallflower — a North American plant, Erysimum asperum, of the mustard family, having orange-yellow flowers.
- sir wilfrid laurier — Sir Wilfrid [wil-frid;; French weel-freed] /ˈwɪl frɪd;; French wilˈfrid/ (Show IPA), 1841–1919, Canadian statesman: prime minister 1896–1911.
- sleepy hollow chair — an armchair of the mid-19th century, sometimes on rockers, having a single piece forming a high upholstered back and a concave upholstered seat.
- so what else is new — not surprised
- sow one's wild oats — any uncultivated species of Avena, especially a common weedy grass, A. fatua, resembling the cultivated oat.
- st. lawrence seaway — a series of channels, locks, and canals between Montreal and the mouth of Lake Ontario, a distance of 182 miles (293 km), enabling most deep-draft vessels to travel from the Atlantic Ocean, up the St. Lawrence River, to all the Great Lakes ports: developed jointly by the U.S. and Canada.
- swallow one's words — to retract a statement, argument, etc, often in humiliating circumstances
- swallow-tailed coat — tail coat.
- swallow-tailed kite — an American kite, Elanoides forficatus, having black upper parts, white head and underparts, and a long, deeply forked tail.
- swedish nightingale — Jenny (Johanna Maria Lind Goldschmidt"The Swedish Nightingale") 1820–87, Swedish soprano.
- sweetheart neckline — a neckline on a woman's garment, as a dress, with a high back and a low-cut front with two curved edges resembling the conventionalized shape of a heart.
- sweetness and light — extreme or excessive pleasantness or amiability.
- switchblade (knife) — a large jackknife that snaps open when a release button on the handle is pressed
- teaching fellowship — a fellowship providing a student in a graduate school with free tuition and expenses and stipulating that the student assume some teaching duties in return.
- the whole enchilada — all of it; everything; the entirety of something
- the wolverine state — a Midwestern state in the Great Lakes area of the north central US
- third law of motion — any of three laws of classical mechanics, either the law that a body remains at rest or in motion with a constant velocity unless an external force acts on the body (first law of motion) the law that the sum of the forces acting on a body is equal to the product of the mass of the body and the acceleration produced by the forces, with motion in the direction of the resultant of the forces (second law of motion) or the law that for every force acting on a body, the body exerts a force having equal magnitude and the opposite direction along the same line of action as the original force (third law of motion or law of action and reaction)
- throw cold water on — having a relatively low temperature; having little or no warmth: cold water; a cold day.
- throw oneself at sb — If someone throws themselves at you, they make it very obvious that they want to begin a relationship with you, by behaving as though they are sexually attracted to you.
- tidal power station — a power station where the energy of flowing water is converted into electricity
- to be headline news — to attract a lot of attention from newspapers
- to blow a raspberry — If you blow a raspberry, you make a sound by putting your tongue out and blowing, in order to insult someone.
- to clutch at straws — If you are clutching at straws or grasping at straws, you are trying unusual or extreme ideas or methods because other ideas or methods have failed.
- to lay down the law — If you say that someone lays down the law, you are critical of them because they give other people orders and they think that they are always right.
- to leave well alone — If someone tells you to leave well alone, they are telling you not to interfere in something, because it is all right as it is and you might only make it worse.
- traveling-wave tube — an electron tube used in microwave communications systems, having an electron beam directed coaxially through a wire helix to produce amplification.
- unlawful possession — possession of substances or items (such as drugs or guns) for which criminal sanctions exist because they may not be legally possessed or may not be possessed under certain circumstances
- up against the wall — any of various permanent upright constructions having a length much greater than the thickness and presenting a continuous surface except where pierced by doors, windows, etc.: used for shelter, protection, or privacy, or to subdivide interior space, to support floors, roofs, or the like, to retain earth, to fence in an area, etc.
- value added network — (networking) (VAN) A privately owned network that provides a specific service, such as legal research or access to a specialised database, for a fee. A Value Added Network usually offers some service or information that is not readily available on public networks. A Value Added Network's customers typically purchase leased lines that connect them to the network or they use a dial-up number, given by the network owner, to gain access to the network.
- wade-giles (system) — a system for transliterating Chinese ideograms into the Latin alphabet, in wide use esp. before Pinyin was adopted by the People's Republic of China in 1979
- wage-push inflation — an inflationary trend caused by wage increases that in turn cause rises in production costs and prices.
- wandering albatross — a large albatross, Diomedea exulans, of southern waters, having the plumage mostly white with dark markings on the upper parts.