17-letter words containing w, a, t, l, e
- lewis with harris — the northernmost island of the Hebrides, in NW Scotland. 825 sq. mi. (2135 sq. km).
- lie in wait (for) — to wait so as to catch after planning an ambush or trap (for)
- light heavyweight — a boxer or other contestant intermediate in weight between a middleweight and a heavyweight, especially a professional boxer weighing up to 175 pounds (80 kg).
- longitudinal wave — a wave in which the direction of displacement is the same as the direction of propagation, as a sound wave.
- lower paleolithic — See under Paleolithic.
- manual typewriter — a keyboard machine, operated entirely by hand, for writing mechanically in characters resembling print
- maxwell equations — equations developed by James Clerk Maxwell (1831–79) upon which classical electromagnetic theory is based
- may/might as well — If you say that you might as well do something, or that you may as well do it, you mean that you will do it although you do not have a strong desire to do it and may even feel slightly unwilling to do it.
- mayflower compact — an agreement to establish a government, entered into by the Pilgrims in the cabin of the Mayflower on November 11, 1620.
- metabolic pathway — biochemistry: sequence of reactions within a cell or organism
- minion of the law — a policeman.
- multilateral well — A multilateral well is a well that has more than one branch radiating from the main wellbore.
- new age traveller — New Age travellers are people who live in tents and vehicles and travel from place to place, and who reject many of the values of modern society.
- new england aster — a tall composite plant, Aster novae-angliae, of the northeastern U.S., the flowers of which have lavender to deep-purple rays.
- new orleans style — a style of jazz developed in New Orleans early in the 20th century, influenced by blues, ragtime, marching band music, and minstrelsy and marked by polyphonic group improvisation.
- new scotland yard — See under Scotland Yard (def 1).
- newcastle disease — a rapidly spreading virus-induced disease of birds and domestic fowl, as chickens, marked by respiratory difficulty, reduced egg production and, in chicks, paralysis.
- newfoundland time — a form of civil time observed on the island of Newfoundland, one and one-half hours later than Eastern time and a half hour later than Atlantic time.
- north-wall hammer — a type of ice axe that has a hammer as part of its head
- out at the elbows — the bend or joint of the human arm between upper arm and forearm.
- parliamentary law — the body of rules, usages, and precedents that governs proceedings of legislative and deliberative assemblies.
- pebbleweave cloth — an irregularly textured material made from twisted yarn
- play with oneself — a dramatic composition or piece; drama.
- powder metallurgy — the art or science of manufacturing useful articles by compacting metal and other powders in a die, followed by sintering.
- quality newspaper — a more serious newspaper which gives detailed accounts of world events, as well as reports on business, culture, and society
- quantum cell wire — (electronics, computing) (Or "quantum wire", "binary wire") Quantum cells arranged in a line to carry signals. Adjacent cells with the same orientation are at a low energy state and a change of orientation at one end of a quantum wire propagates along the wire, transmitting a signal. However, unlike conventional wire, since only the orientation of charge pairs changes, no current flows. Circuits created using quantum cell wires are referred to as Quantum-dot Wireless Digital Circuits, see quantum dot, Quantum-dot Cellular Automata.
- railway timetable — a list of railway journeys arranged according to the time when they begin and end
- revolutionary war — American Revolution.
- scentless mayweed — a similar and related plant, Matricaria maritima, with scentless leaves
- slap on the wrist — a sharp blow or smack, especially with the open hand or with something flat.
- social networking — the development of social and professional contacts; the sharing of information and services among people with a common interest.
- software platform — a major piece of software, as an operating system, an operating environment, or a database, under which various smaller application programs can be designed to run.
- stonewall jackson — Andrew ("Old Hickory") 1767–1845, U.S. general: 7th president of the U.S. 1829–37.
- strawberry blonde — woman: with reddish fair hair
- swaddling clothes — cloth for wrapping around a baby
- swash plate motor — a collar or face plate on a shaft that is inclined at an oblique angle to the axis of rotation and converts reciprocating motion to rotation
- technical drawing — the study and practice, esp as a subject taught in school, of the basic techniques of draughtsmanship, as employed in mechanical drawing, architecture, etc
- tell its own tale — to be self-evident
- tennessee warbler — a North American wood warbler, Vermivora peregrina, having a gray head, a greenish back, and white underparts.
- the final whistle — a blast on a referee's whistle to indicate that a game is over
- the lower animals — relatively simple or primitive animals and not mammals or vertebrates
- the lower mammals — relatively simple or primitive mammals
- the new jerusalem — the de facto capital of Israel (recognition of this has been withheld by the United Nations), situated in the Judaean hills: became capital of the Hebrew kingdom after its capture by David around 1000 bc; destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon in 586 bc; taken by the Romans in 63 bc; devastated in 70 ad and 135 ad during the Jewish rebellions against Rome; fell to the Arabs in 637 and to the Seljuk Turks in 1071; ruled by Crusaders from 1099 to 1187 and by the Egyptians and Turks until conquered by the British (1917); centre of the British mandate of Palestine from 1920 to 1948, when the Arabs took the old city and the Jews held the new city; unified after the Six Day War (1967) under the Israelis; the holy city of Jews, Christians, and Muslims. Pop: 693 200 (2003 est)
- the twelve tables — the earliest code of Roman civil, criminal, and religious law, promulgated in 451–450 bc
- the unwritten law — the tradition that a person may avenge any insult to family integrity, as used to justify criminal acts of vengeance
- the whole shebang — The whole shebang is the whole situation or business that you are describing.
- thermal underwear — underwear designed to retain body heat in cold temperatures.
- three-strikes law — a law that mandates a life sentence to a felon convicted for the third time.
- tiger swallowtail — a yellow swallowtail butterfly, Papilio glaucus, of eastern North America, having the forewings striped with black.
- to play with fire — If you say that someone is playing with fire, you mean that they are doing something dangerous that may result in great harm for them and cause many problems.