18-letter words containing w, a, t, l, e
- low-start mortgage — a mortgage in which interest only is repaid for a fixed period at the outset, to make it more affordable
- lowell observatory — the astronomical observatory, situated in Flagstaff, Arizona, at which Pluto was discovered in 1930.
- lower klamath lake — See under Klamath Lakes.
- lower palaeolithic — the earliest of the three sections of the Palaeolithic, beginning about 3 million years ago and ending about 70 000 bc with the emergence of Neanderthal man
- may flower compact — an agreement to establish a government, entered into by the Pilgrims in the cabin of the Mayflower on November 11, 1620.
- mendel's first law — the principle, originated by Gregor Mendel, stating that during the production of gametes the two copies of each hereditary factor segregate so that offspring acquire one factor from each parent.
- mobility allowance — an allowance paid by the government to help people who have limited mobility
- nailed to the wall — [like a trophy] Said of a bug finally eliminated after protracted, and even heroic, effort.
- negative cash flow — the situation when income is less than payments
- now you're talking — at last you're saying something agreeable
- oriental scops owl — any of a group of small owls having ear tufts and a whistling call, especially Otus scops (Old World scops owl) and O. sunia (Oriental scops owl)
- owen stanley range — a mountain range in SE New Guinea. Highest peak: Mount Victoria, 4073 m (13 363 ft)
- peter and the wolf — a composition by Sergei Prokofiev written in 1936. It is a children's story with both music and text, spoken by a narrator accompanied by the orchestra
- pileolated warbler — either of two western subspecies of Wilson's warbler.
- plate-glass window — a window that has glass which has been formed by rolling
- pour cold water on — If someone pours cold water on a plan or idea, they criticize it so much that people lose their enthusiasm for it.
- precipitable water — the total water vapor contained in a unit vertical column of the atmosphere.
- presumption of law — a presumption based upon a policy of law or a general rule and not upon the facts or evidence in an individual case.
- quarter-wave plate — a crystal thin enough to cause a phase difference of 90° between the ordinary and extraordinary rays of polarized light, thereby converting circularly polarized light into plane polarized light.
- random walk theory — the theory that the future movement of share prices does not reflect past movements and therefore will not follow a discernible pattern
- resistance welding — welding utilizing pressure and heat that is generated in the pieces to be welded by resistance to an electric current.
- revolutionary wars — American Revolution.
- rhode island white — one of a dual-purpose American breed of chickens having white feathers and a rose comb.
- salem witch trials — 17th-century witchcraft case
- schwarz inequality — Also called Cauchy's inequality. the theorem that the inner product of two vectors is less than or equal to the product of the magnitudes of the vectors.
- self-tapping screw — a screw designed to tap its corresponding female thread as it is driven.
- short-tailed shrew — a grayish-black shrew, Blarina brevicauda, common in eastern North America, that has a tail less than half the length of the body.
- slow on the uptake — slow to understand or learn
- slow-motion replay — a showing again in slow motion of a sequence of action, esp of part of a sporting contest immediately after it happens
- software backplane — (programming, tool) A CASE framework from Atherton.
- st. lawrence river — a river in SE Canada, flowing NE from Lake Ontario, forming part of the boundary between New York and Ontario, and emptying into the Gulf of St. Lawrence. 760 miles (1225 km) long.
- stand/wait in line — When people stand in line or wait in line, they stand one behind the other in a line, waiting their turn for something.
- swarm intelligence — the collective behaviour of a group of animals, esp social insects such as ants, bees, and termites, that are each following very basic rules
- sweet vernal grass — a Eurasian meadow grass, Anthoxanthum odoratum, found throughout North America, having clusters of brownish-green flowers.
- tale of two cities — a historical novel (1859) by Dickens.
- talk between ships — TBS (def 1).
- telford and wrekin — a unitary authority in W Central England, in Shropshire. Pop: 160 300 (2003 est). Area: 289 sq km (112 sq miles)
- territorial waters — law: nation's boundaries
- the bird has flown — the person in question has fled or escaped
- the welsh assembly — the elected assembly for Wales, based in Cardiff, that has certain powers devolved from the UK government
- townsend avalanche — avalanche (def 3).
- traditional weapon — a weapon having ceremonial tribal significance, such as an assegai or knobkerrie
- ultralow frequency — an electromagnetic wave with a frequency between 300 and 3000 hertz. Abbreviation: ULF, ulf.
- ultrasonic welding — the use of high-energy vibration of ultrasonic frequency to produce a weld between two components which are held in close contact
- wandering minstrel — travelling performer
- watson-crick model — a widely accepted model for the three-dimensional structure of DNA, featuring a double-helix configuration for the molecule's two hydrogen-bonded complementary polynucleotide strands.
- wattless component — Electricity. reactive component.
- wedge-tailed eagle — a large brown Australian eagle, Aquila audax, having a wedge-shaped tail and a wingspan of 3 m
- welwyn garden city — a town in SE England, in Hertfordshire: established (1920) as a planned industrial and residential community. Pop: 43 512 (2001)
- wesleyan methodist — a member of any of the churches founded on the evangelical principles of John Wesley.