20-letter words containing w, e, i, l
- triple witching hour — the last hour of trading on the New York Stock Exchange on the four Fridays each year when stock options, stock index futures, and options on such futures simultaneously expire: regarded as a time of extreme volatility in trading.
- twelve-string guitar — an acoustic guitar having twelve strings instead of six, with each pair tuned an octave apart, and more difficult to play than the standard guitar.
- twiddle one's thumbs — to turn about or play with lightly or idly, especially with the fingers; twirl.
- twilight of the gods — Götterdämmerung.
- walk-in refrigerator — a refrigerated storage room, as at a butcher shop.
- walking-around money — money that is carried on the person for routine expenses and minor emergencies; pocket money.
- walton and weybridge — a city in Surrey, SE England: a London suburb.
- war of the rebellion — American Civil War.
- wardrobe malfunction — an embarrassing situation caused by the clothes a person is wearing
- warehouse facilities — places for storing goods
- warrensville heights — a city in NE Ohio.
- watch sb like a hawk — If you watch someone like a hawk, you observe them very carefully, usually to make sure that they do not make a mistake or do something you do not want them to do.
- watcom international — (company) A provider of application development tools and IBM PC-based SQL database servers. Founded in 1974, Watcom initially focused on scientific and engineering markets establishing itself as a supplier of programming and information tools worldwide, serving customers in 60 countries with highly regarded products such as WATFOR-77 for mainframes, minicomputers and PCs. Since the introduction of Watcom C in 1988, the company has emerged as an industry leader in optimising compilers for 16 and 32-bit Intel-based IBM PCs. Moving into the client/server market in 1992, Watcom introduced Watcom SQL, including SQL database servers for multi-user networks and single-user stand-alone applications. The product has since been incorporated into Powersoft's PowerBuilder development environment and the Powersoft Enterprise Series. In June, 1993, Watcom launched VX*REXX, an integrated visual development environment for OS/2. In February 1994, Watcom became a wholly-owned subsidiary of Powersoft Corporation which merged with Sybase Inc. on 13 February 1995. Today the company addresses a broad range of application developers, including corporate MIS professionals, system integrators, VARs and independent software vendors. Watcom has strategic relationships with IBM, Lotus, Microsoft, Intel and Novell. Based on its academic roots, Watcom maintains a research relationship with the nearby University of Waterloo. Watcom's products include the Watcom SQL databases, Watcom C/C++, and Watcom VX*REXX 2.1. Ian McPhee is President and Chief Executive Officer, David Boswell is Vice President of Sales and Marketing, Craig Dynes is Vice President of Finance and David Yach is Vice President of Development. Headquarters: Waterloo, Ontario, Canada.
- webbing clothes moth — a small brown moth, Tineola biselliella, the larva of which feeds on woolens and spins a web when feeding.
- western civilization — European culture, thought
- westminster assembly — a convocation that met at Westminster, London, 1643–49, and formulated the articles of faith (Westminster Confession of Faith) that are accepted as authoritative by most Presbyterian churches.
- wet-rice agriculture — the cultivation of rice by planting on dry land, transferring the seedlings to a flooded field, and draining the field before harvesting.
- wheeling and dealing — the use of different methods and contacts, often dishonestly, to achieve one's ends
- wheels within wheels — a circular frame or disk arranged to revolve on an axis, as on or in vehicles or machinery.
- white bush (scallop) — a variety of summer squash having a saucer-shaped white fruit, scalloped around the edges
- white elephant stall — a stall, usually at a fete or fundraising event, where unwanted possessions are sold
- white people problem — a fairly minor problem, complaint, etc., associated with a relatively high standard of living; a first world problem.
- white-flowered gourd — the hard-shelled fruit of any of various plants, especially those of Lagenaria siceraria (white-flowered gourd or bottle gourd) whose dried shell is used for bowls and other utensils, and Cucurbita pepo (yellow-flowered gourd) used ornamentally. Compare gourd family.
- white-fringed beetle — any of several weevils of the genus Graphognathus, native to South America and now of southeastern and mid-Atlantic U.S., whose larvae feed on roots and cause serious damage to a wide variety of plants.
- white-lipped peccary — a piglike artiodactyl mammal, Tayassu albirostris, of forests of southern North America, Central and South America: family Tayassuidae
- whole-life insurance — a type of insurance with a savings element that is guaranteed to pay out on death provided premiums have been paid as required by the policy
- whyte classification — a system for classifying steam locomotives according to the total number of wheels on the front trucks, drivers, and rear trucks, in that order. For example, a Pacific locomotive is designated as 4-6-2.
- wide-angle converter — a person or thing that converts.
- william westmoreland — William Childs [chahyldz] /tʃaɪldz/ (Show IPA), 1914–2005, U.S. army officer: commander of U.S. forces in Vietnam and Thailand 1964–68.
- wilson cloud chamber — cloud chamber.
- winter olympic games — an international contest of winter sports, esp skiing, held every four years
- wipe the slate clean — begin afresh
- with all due respect — despite my regard for you
- with all one's heart — Anatomy. a hollow, pumplike organ of blood circulation, composed mainly of rhythmically contractile smooth muscle, located in the chest between the lungs and slightly to the left and consisting of four chambers: a right atrium that receives blood returning from the body via the superior and inferior vena cavae, a right ventricle that pumps the blood through the pulmonary artery to the lungs for oxygenation, a left atrium that receives the oxygenated blood via the pulmonary veins and passes it through the mitral valve, and a left ventricle that pumps the oxygenated blood, via the aorta, throughout the body.
- with all one's might — If you do something with all your might, you do it using all your strength and energy.
- woolly spider monkey — a rare related monkey, Brachyteles arachnoides, of SE Brazil
- woolsorters' disease — pulmonary anthrax in humans, caused by inhaling the spores of Bacillus anthracis, which may contaminate wool fleece.
- working relationship — a relationship with a colleague, boss or employee
- would you believe it — If you say would you believe it, you are emphasizing your surprise about something.
- yellow-billed cuckoo — a North American cuckoo, Coccyzus americanus, that has a yellow bill and, unlike many cuckoos, constructs its own nest and rears its own young.
- yellow-billed magpie — either of two corvine birds, Pica pica (black-billed magpie) of Eurasia and North America, or P. nuttalli (yellow-billed magpie) of California, having long, graduated tails, black-and-white plumage, and noisy, mischievous habits.
- yu-shiang whole fish — /yoo-shyang hohl fish/ An obsolete name for the Greek character gamma (extended SAIL ASCII code 9, Unicode glyph 0x0263) which with a loop in its tail looks like a little fish swimming down the page. The term is actually the name of a Chinese dish in which a fish is cooked whole (not parsed) and covered with Yu-Shiang (or Yu-Hsiang) sauce. Used primarily by people on the MIT LISP Machine, which could display this character on the screen. Tends to elicit incredulity from people who hear about it second-hand.