17-letter words containing w, a, t, l

great vowel shift — a series of changes in the quality of the long vowels between Middle and Modern English as a result of which all were raised, while the high vowels (ē) and (o̅o̅), already at the upper limit, underwent breaking to become the diphthongs (ī) and (ou).
great willow herb — either of two tall, large-flowered willow herbs, Epilobium angustifolium or E. hirsutum.
green-winged teal — a small freshwater duck, Anas crecca, of Eurasia and North America, having an iridescent green speculum in the wing.
hardware platform — a group of compatible computers that can run the same software.
how the land lies — the prevailing conditions or state of affairs
i wouldn't say no — You use 'I wouldn't say no' to indicate that you would like something, especially something that has just been offered to you.
illinois waterway — a waterway system in N Illinois made up of canals and rivers connecting Lake Michigan in Chicago with the Mississippi River. 336 miles (541 km) long.
in the family way — a basic social unit consisting of parents and their children, considered as a group, whether dwelling together or not: the traditional family. a social unit consisting of one or more adults together with the children they care for: a single-parent family.
international law — the body of rules that nations generally recognize as binding in their conduct toward one another.
ladies-in-waiting — plural of lady-in-waiting.
lake of the woods — Eldrick [el-drik] /ˈɛl drɪk/ (Show IPA), ("Tiger") born 1975, U.S. professional golfer.
law of reflection — the principle that when a ray of light, radar pulse, or the like, is reflected from a smooth surface the angle of reflection is equal to the angle of incidence, and the incident ray, the reflected ray, and the normal to the surface at the point of incidence all lie in the same plane.
law of refraction — the principle that for a ray, radar pulse, or the like, that is incident on the interface of two media, the ratio of the sine of the angle of incidence to the sine of the angle of refraction is equal to the ratio of the velocity of the ray in the first medium to the velocity in the second medium and the incident ray, refracted ray, and normal to the surface at the point of incidence all lie in the same plane.
law of the jungle — a system or mode of action in which the strongest survive, presumably as animals in nature or as human beings whose activity is not regulated by the laws or ethics of civilization.
law of trichotomy — the property that for natural numbers a and b , either a is less than b , a equals b , or a is greater than b .
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 dawns on sb — If light dawns on you, you begin to understand something after a period of not being able to understand it.
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.
low-hanging fruit — the fruit that grows low on a tree and is therefore easy to reach
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.
nautical twilight — the period of time during which the sun is 12° below the horizon
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 along (with) — to join in or cooperate (with)
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
rainbow coalition — a political grouping together by several minority parties
revolutionary war — American Revolution.
right-to-work law — a state law making it illegal to refuse employment to a person for the sole reason that he or she is not a union member.
roll with a punch — to move in the same direction as a punch thrown at one so as to lessen its force

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