21-letter words containing w, a

dusky seaside sparrow — a species of sparrow, Ammospiza maritima, existing in two subspecies, one (Cape Sable seaside sparrow) having dark olive-drab plumage with a lighter breast and underbelly, and the other (dusky seaside sparrow) having bold black and white markings on the breast and underbelly: the dusky seaside sparrow is almost extinct.
dwarf japanese quince — a low, shrubby, Japanese flowering quince, Chaenomeles japonica, of the rose family, having salmon-to-orange flowers and yellow fruit.
empty the wastebasket — If you empty the wastebasket, you remove its contents and put them in the trash.
financial underwriter — A financial underwriter is an insurance employee working in financial underwriting.
forward compatibility — (jargon) The ability to accept input from later versions of itself. Forward compatibility is harder to achieve than backward compatibility, since, in the backward case, the input format is know whereas a forward compatible system needs to cope gracefully with unknown future features. An example of future compatibility is the stipulation that a web browser should ignore HTML tags it does not recognise. See also extensible.
forward exchange rate — the exchange rate of a currency to be delivered at a later date
frederick william iii — 1770–1840, king of Prussia 1797–1840.
french and indian war — the war in America in which France and its Indian allies opposed England 1754–60: ended by Treaty of Paris in 1763.
frequent wash shampoo — a shampoo whose mildness allows it to be used frequently
go down the wrong way — (of food) to pass into the windpipe instead of the gullet
got what one deserved — If you say that someone got what they deserved, you mean that they deserved the bad thing that happened to them, and you have no sympathy for them.
government in waiting — a political group which is hoping to be elected to govern in the near future
gram-molecular weight — gram molecule. Abbreviation: GMW.
greenwich observatory — the national astronomical observatory of Great Britain, housed in a castle in E Sussex; formerly located at Greenwich.
harriet beecher stowe — Harriet (Elizabeth) Beecher, 1811–96, U.S. abolitionist and novelist.
hawaiian honeycreeper — any small to medium-sized finches of the subfamily Drepanidinae, native to the Hawaiian Islands and including many rare and extinct species.
hazard warning device — an appliance fitted to a motor vehicle that operates the hazard lights
help a person on with — to assist a person in the putting on of (clothes)
i don't know how/what — You use I don't know in expressions which indicate criticism of someone's behaviour. For example, if you say that you do not know how someone can do something, you mean that you cannot understand or accept them doing it.
in a class of its own — unequalled; unparalleled
in co-ordination with — If you do something in co-ordination with someone else, you both organize your activities so that you work together efficiently.
in more ways than one — You say in more ways than one to indicate that what you have said is intended to have more than one meaning.
indicated horse-power — the horsepower of a reciprocating engine as shown by an indicator record. Abbreviation: ihp, IHP.
infant welfare clinic — a medical facility that specializes in the health and well-being of young babies
insurance underwriter — sb who assesses eligibility for insurance policies
intracoastal waterway — a mostly inland water route, partly natural and partly artificial, extending 1550 miles (2500 km) along the Atlantic coast from Boston to Florida Bay (Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway) and 1116 miles (1800 km) along the Gulf coast from Carrabelle, Fla., to Brownsville, Tex. (Gulf Intracoastal Waterway) constructed to protect small craft from the hazards of the open sea.
it takes two to tango — If you say it takes two or it takes two to tango, you mean that a situation or argument involves two people and they are both therefore responsible for it.
jewish defense league — an organization of militant Jewish activists, founded in 1968 in the U.S. to combat anti-Semitism and defend Jewish interests worldwide. Abbr.: JDL.
jobseeker's allowance — (in Britain) a National Insurance or social security payment for unemployed people; replaced unemployment benefit in 1996
jump on the bandwagon — do sth because it is popular
just leave well alone — to refrain from interfering with something that is satisfactory
lady windermere's fan — a comedy (1892) by Oscar Wilde.
law of thermodynamics — any of three principles variously stated in equivalent forms, being the principle that the change of energy of a thermodynamic system is equal to the heat transferred minus the work done (first law of thermodynamics) the principle that no cyclic process is possible in which heat is absorbed from a reservoir at a single temperature and converted completely into mechanical work (second law of thermodynamics) and the principle that it is impossible to reduce the temperature of a system to absolute zero in a finite number of operations (third law of thermodynamics)
leaning tower of pisa — a round, marble campanile in Pisa, Italy, begun in 1174 and now 17 feet (5.2 meters) out of the perpendicular in its height of 179 feet (54 meters).
let well enough alone — separate, apart, or isolated from others: I want to be alone.
lotus of the good law — Saddharma-Pundarika.
lotus-of-the-true-law — a Mahayana sutra, forming with its references to Amida and the Bodhisattvas the basis for the doctrine that there is something of Buddha in everyone, so that salvation is universally available: a central text of Mahayana Buddhism.
luck was on sb's side — If you say that luck was on someone's side, you mean that they succeeded in something by chance as well as by their own efforts or ability.
madagascar periwinkle — a plant, Catharanthus roseus (or Vinca rosea), cultivated for its glossy foliage and pink or white flowers.
maidenhair spleenwort — an evergreen fern, Asplenium trichomanes, abundant in woody areas of the North Temperate Zone, having thickly clustered fronds.
maintenance allowance — money that is given to someone, usually on a regular basis, in order to help them pay for the things that they need
make heavy weather of — to create needless difficulties in dealing with
make one's peace with — the normal, nonwarring condition of a nation, group of nations, or the world.
maryland yellowthroat — (in former systems of nomenclature) the common yellowthroat, Geothlypis trichas, especially the eastern U.S. subspecies.
mechanical weathering — any of the various weathering processes that cause physical disintegration of exposed rock without any change in the chemical composition of the rock: Collision between rock surfaces can cause mechanical weathering.
medical social worker — a person who works in a hospital and is responsible for offering counselling to patients and their families and ensuring that discharged patients will receive appropriate care in the community
microware corporation — Authors of OS-9. Address: Des Moines, Iowa, USA.
motherwell and wishaw — a burgh in the Motherwell district, in S Scotland.
muhammad al-khwarizmi — Muhammad ibn Musa al-Khwarizmi
narrow-angle glaucoma — Ophthalmology. angle-closure glaucoma. See under glaucoma.

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