18-letter words containing w, e, r, f
- power-on self-test — (hardware, testing) (POST) A sequence of diagnostic tests that are run automatically by a device when the power is turned on. In a personal computer a typical POST sequence does the following: - checks that the system board is working - checks that the memory is working - compares the current system configuration with that recorded by the PC's configuration program to see if anything has been added or removed or broken - starts the video operation - checks that the diskette drive, hard disk drive, CD-ROM drive, and any other drives that may be installed are working. When POST is finished, typically it will beep, and then let your operating system start to boot. If POST finds an error, it may beep more than once (or possibly not at all if it is your PC speaker that is broken) and display a POST error message. These messages are often nothing more than a single ominous number. Some common numbers and their meanings are: 161 Dead battery (get a new battery for the system board) 162 Configuration changed (you added some memory or a new card to the PC) 301 Keyboard error (take the book off the corner of the keyboard) Because a successful POST indicates that the system is restored to known state, turning the power off and on is a standard way to reset a system whose software has hung. Compare 120 reset, Big Red Switch, power cycle.
- presumption of law — a presumption based upon a policy of law or a general rule and not upon the facts or evidence in an individual case.
- self-tapping screw — a screw designed to tap its corresponding female thread as it is driven.
- software backplane — (programming, tool) A CASE framework from Atherton.
- sunflower seed oil — the oil extracted from sunflower seeds, used as a salad oil, in the manufacture of margarine, etc
- sweptwing aircraft — an aircraft which has wings that are swept (usually) backwards
- take the wraps off — to reveal
- telford and wrekin — a unitary authority in W Central England, in Shropshire. Pop: 160 300 (2003 est). Area: 289 sq km (112 sq miles)
- the bird has flown — the person in question has fled or escaped
- the worse for wear — If you say that someone is the worse for wear, you mean that they are tired, ill, or in a bad state because they have been very active, been through a difficult experience, or been drinking alcohol.
- think the world of — the earth or globe, considered as a planet.
- throw oneself into — to propel or cast in any way, especially to project or propel from the hand by a sudden forward motion or straightening of the arm and wrist: to throw a ball.
- treaty of rijswijk — a treaty signed at Rijswijk in the Netherlands in 1697, ending the War of the Grand Alliance
- treaty of waitangi — a treaty signed in 1840 by Māori chiefs and a representative of the British Government, providing the basis for the British annexation of New Zealand
- two-tier financing — a form of lending in which the debt is divided into two separate parts, as in a first and second mortgage held by an individual on a single property
- ultralow frequency — an electromagnetic wave with a frequency between 300 and 3000 hertz. Abbreviation: ULF, ulf.
- very low frequency — any frequency between 3 and 30 kilohertz. Abbreviation: VLF.
- vicar of wakefield — a novel (1766) by Goldsmith.
- warrant of fitness — a six-monthly certificate required for motor vehicles certifying mechanical soundness
- water of hydration — the portion of a hydrate that is represented as, or can be expelled as, water: now usually regarded as being in true molecular combination with the other atoms of the compound, and not existing in the compound as water.
- wave of the future — a trend or development that may influence or become a significant part of the future: Computerization is the wave of the future.
- weak nuclear force — weak interaction
- weather forecaster — meteorologist
- where you left off — If something continues from where it left off, it starts happening again at the point where it had previously stopped.
- white-faced hornet — any large, stinging paper wasp of the family Vespidae, as Vespa crabro (giant hornet) introduced into the U.S. from Europe, or Vespula maculata (bald-faced hornet or white-faced hornet) of North America.
- white-fronted tern — a coastal bird of New Zealand and SE Australia, Sterna striata, with a long black bill, a white breast, and a forked tail
- whitewater rafting — the sport of rafting down fast-flowing rivers, esp over rapids
- wild passionflower — the maypop, Passiflora incarnata.
- wildlife programme — (esp on television) a documentary whose subject is wild animals in their natural habitat or undomesticated fauna and flora generally
- wildlife sanctuary — an area where wild animals and plants are protected
- woman of the world — a woman experienced and sophisticated in the ways and manners of the world, especially the world of society.
- work one's ass off — work extremely hard
- world of one's own — a state of mental detachment from other people
- writ of assistance — a writ issued by a superior colonial court authorizing officers of the British crown to summon aid and enter and search any premises.
- writ of attachment — a document by which a court orders the seizing of property in order to ensure satisfaction of a judgement
- writ of certiorari — certiorari.
- yelloweye rockfish — a red rockfish, Sebastes ruberrimus, of waters along the Pacific coast of North America, having eyes that are yellow and possessed of strong, sawlike bony ridges on the head.