16-letter words containing w, a, y
- monkey-faced owl — barn owl.
- muddy the waters — If someone or something muddies the waters, they cause a situation or issue to seem less clear and less easy to understand.
- multi-way branch — switch statement
- network analysis — a mathematical method of analyzing complex problems, as in transportation or project scheduling, by representing the problem as a network of lines and nodes.
- new haven colony — a settlement founded in 1638 by John Davenport and Theophilus Eaton at Quinnipiac (now New Haven, Conn.).
- new smyrna beach — a town in NE Florida.
- new year's (day) — Jan. 1, the first day of a calendar year, usually celebrated as a legal holiday
- newry and mourne — a district of SE Northern Ireland, in Co Down. Pop: 89 644 (2003 est). Area: 909 sq km (351 sq miles)
- nine-days wonder — something that arouses great interest, but only for a short period
- off off broadway — experimental or avant-garde drama produced in New York City, in small theaters, halls, churches, etc.
- off-off-broadway — experimental or avant-garde drama produced in New York City, in small theaters, halls, churches, etc.
- one-way function — (cryptography, mathematics) A function which is easy to compute but whose inverse is very difficult to compute. Such functions have important applications in cryptography, specifically in public-key cryptography. See also: trapdoor function.
- overhead railway — elevated railroad.
- part way through — mid-way; before the end
- pay-as-you-throw — denoting a system for waste collection in which households are charged according to the amount of refuse they leave
- phillis wheatley — Phillis [fil-is] /ˈfɪl ɪs/ (Show IPA), 1753?–84, American poet, born in Africa; probably Senegal.
- poor boy sweater — a snug-fitting, pullover sweater with ribbing on both the body and sleeves, worn by girls and women.
- railway carriage — a railway coach for passengers
- raise an eyebrow — If something causes you to raise an eyebrow or to raise your eyebrows, it causes you to feel surprised or disapproving.
- raspberry sawfly — a black sawfly, Monophadnoides geniculatus, the larvae of which feed on the leaves of the raspberry and blackberry.
- renewable energy — any naturally occurring, theoretically inexhaustible source of energy, as biomass, solar, wind, tidal, wave, and hydroelectric power, that is not derived from fossil or nuclear fuel.
- rotary lawnmower — a lawn mower with a single blade attached in the middle that rotates as the mower is moved
- royal water lily — a water lily, Victoria amazonica (or V. regia), of the Amazon River and British Guiana, having floating leaves from three to six feet (0.9 to 1.8 meters) wide, the upturned margins from two to four inches (5 to 10 cm) high, and dull crimson flowers.
- secondary growth — an increase in the thickness of the shoots and roots of a vascular plant as a result of the formation of new cells in the cambium.
- seven years' war — the war (1756–63) in which England and Prussia defeated France, Austria, Russia, Sweden, and Saxony.
- showy crab apple — a large Japanese bush or tree, Malus floribunda, of the rose family, having red fruit and rose-colored flowers that fade to white.
- sleep-wake cycle — Physiology. the species-specific biological pattern of alternating sleep and wakefulness, in humans roughly 8 hours of nocturnal sleep and 16 hours of daytime activity.
- software library — a collection of programs that are used to develop software
- sooty shearwater — any of several long-winged seabirds, often used as food, especially Puffinus tenuirostris (short-tailed shearwater) of Australia and Puffinus griseus (sooty shearwater) which breeds in the Southern Hemisphere and winters in the Northern Hemisphere.
- starry grasswort — a weedy plant, Cerastium arvense, of the pink family, native to the North Temperate Zone, having narrow leaves and white flowers.
- straight whiskey — pure, unblended whiskey of 80 to 110 proof.
- strawberry blite — a plant, Chenopodium capitatum, having dense, rounded clusters of minute reddish flowers.
- strawberry blond — reddish blond.
- strawberry guava — a shrub or small tree, Psidium littorale, of the myrtle family, native to Brazil, having smooth, grayish-brown bark, leathery leaves, white flowers, and edible, white-fleshed, purplish-red fruit.
- strawberry shrub — Carolina allspice
- superheavyweight — an amateur boxer weighing more than 91 kg
- swine erysipelas — erysipelas (def 2).
- swiss army knife — a small knife with blades and other tools, such as a nail file and corkscrew, all folding into the handle.
- systems software — Computers. a collection of system programs for use with a particular computer system.
- the easy way out — least demanding solution
- to cut both ways — If you say that something cuts both ways, you mean that it can have two opposite effects, or can have both good and bad effects.
- to go a long way — If you say that something goes a long way towards doing a particular thing, you mean that it is an important factor in achieving that thing.
- to sow your oats — (of a young person) to behave in a rather uncontrolled way, esp by having a lot of sexual relationships
- tokugawa iyeyasu — Tokugawa [taw-koo-gah-wah] /ˈtɔ kuˈgɑ wɑ/ (Show IPA), 1542–1616, Japanese general and public servant.
- twelvepenny nail — a nail that is 3 1/4 inches (8.25 cm) long.
- two-family house — a house designed for occupation by two families in contiguous apartments, as on separate floors.
- two-party system — a political system consisting chiefly of two major parties, more or less equal in strength.
- unknown quantity — mathematics: amount not known
- utility software — system software that manages and optimizes the performance of hardware
- voluntary worker — a person who serves or acts in a specified function of their own accord and without compulsion or promise of remuneration