14-letter words containing w, e, n, o
- stopping power — a measure of the effect a substance has on the kinetic energy of a particle passing through it
- sturgeon's law — "Ninety percent of everything is crap". Derived from a quote by science fiction author Theodore Sturgeon, who once said, "Sure, 90% of science fiction is crud. That's because 90% of everything is crud." Oddly, when Sturgeon's Law is cited, the final word is almost invariably changed to "crap". Compare Ninety-Ninety Rule. Though this maxim originated in SF fandom, most hackers recognise it and are all too aware of its truth.
- sun-worshipper — someone who worships the sun as a deity
- suwannee sound — a part of the Gulf of Mexico where the Suwannee river reaches the sea
- swanscombe man — a primitive human, Homo sapiens steinheimensis, of the middle Pleistocene Epoch, known from a fossil skull fragment found at Swanscombe, England.
- sweeping score — a line at each end of the rink parallel to the foot score and extending through the center of the tee.
- sweet and sour — Sweet and sour is used to describe Chinese food that contains both a sweet flavour and something sharp or sour such as lemon or vinegar.
- sweet nothings — terms of endearment
- sweet-and-sour — cooked with sugar and vinegar or lemon juice and often other seasonings.
- swinging voter — a person who does not vote consistently for any single political party
- swollen-headed — conceited
- take one's way — to go on a journey; travel
- telephone wire — a wire that transmits telegraph and telephone signals
- tenpin bowling — Tenpin bowling is a game in which you roll a heavy ball down a narrow track toward a group of wooden objects and try to knock down as many of them as possible.
- the chosen few — a small group who are treated better than other people
- the five towns — the name given in his fiction by Arnold Bennett to the Potteries towns (actually six in number) of Burslem, Fenton, Hanley, Longton, Stoke-upon-Trent, and Tunstall, now part of the city of Stoke-on-Trent
- the phoney war — a period of apparent calm and inactivity, esp the period at the beginning of World War II
- the snow queen — a fairy tale by Hans Christian Andersen, published in 1845; a young boy, Kay, falls under a troll's spell and his heart is turned to ice. He is carried off by the Snow Queen, who holds him captive until he is rescued by his devoted friend, Gerda
- the top twenty — the twenty best-selling pop music recordings at any particular time
- the unknowable — the ultimate reality that underlies all phenomena but cannot be known
- the worm turns — If you say that the worm turns, you mean that someone who usually obeys another person or accepts their bad behaviour unexpectedly starts resisting that person or expresses their anger.
- there's no way — If you say there's no way that something will happen, you are emphasizing that you think it will definitely not happen.
- throw a wrench — If someone throws a wrench or throws a monkey wrench into a process, they prevent something happening smoothly by deliberately causing a problem.
- to know better — If someone knows better than to do something, they are old enough or experienced enough to know it is the wrong thing to do.
- to overflowing — If a place or container is filled to overflowing, it is so full of people or things that no more can fit in.
- to think twice — If you think twice about doing something, you consider it again and decide not to do it, or decide to do it differently.
- to win the day — If a particular person, group, or thing wins the day, they win a battle, struggle, or competition. If they lose the day, they are defeated.
- tongue twister — a word or sequence of words difficult to pronounce, especially rapidly, because of alliteration or a slight variation of consonant sounds, as “She sells seashells by the seashore.”.
- tongue-twister — A tongue-twister is a sentence or expression which is very difficult to say properly, especially when you try to say it quickly. An example of a tongue-twister is 'Red leather, yellow leather'.
- top-down model — (programming) A method for estimating the overall cost and effort of the proposed software project from global properties of the project. The total cost and schedule is partitioned into components for planning purposes.
- turbulent flow — the flow of a fluid past an object such that the velocity at any fixed point in the fluid varies irregularly.
- two-name paper — commercial paper having more than one obligor, usually a maker and endorser, both of whom are fully liable.
- twopenny piece — a two pence coin
- unacknowledged — widely recognized; generally accepted: an acknowledged authority on Chinese art.
- uncrowned king — a man or woman of high status among a certain group
- unforeknowable — not foreknowable
- uniflow engine — a double-acting steam engine exhausting from the middle of each cylinder at each stroke so that the motion of the steam from admission to exhaust is continuous in one direction.
- unpraiseworthy — not worthy of praise
- virgin's-bower — any of several American clematis plants, esp Clematis virginiana, of E North America, which has clusters of small white flowers
- vowel mutation — umlaut (def 2).
- waiting period — a specified delay, required by law, between officially stating an intention and acting on it, as between securing a marriage license and getting married.
- walk-in closet — a closet that is large enough to walk around in.
- warbling vireo — a grayish-green American vireo, Vireo gilvus, characterized by its melodious warble.
- wardrobe trunk — a large, upright trunk, usually with space on one side for hanging clothes and drawers or compartments on the other for small articles, shoes, etc.
- warning notice — official notification of a danger or threat
- washing powder — Washing powder is a powder that you use with water to wash clothes.
- washington pie — a Boston cream pie with raspberry jam instead of custard between the layers.
- water fountain — a drinking fountain, water cooler, or other apparatus supplying drinking water.
- water moccasin — the cottonmouth.
- water scorpion — any of several predaceous aquatic bugs of the family Nepidae, having clasping front legs and a long respiratory tube at the rear of the abdomen: capable of biting if handled.