20-letter words containing w, e, t, u
- to waste your breath — If someone says you are wasting your breath, they mean that the person you are talking to will not take any notice and so there is no point saying anything to them.
- to wear the trousers — If one person in a couple, especially the woman, wears the pants, or in British English wears the trousers, they are the one who makes all the decisions.
- tomb of the unknowns — See under Unknown Soldier.
- travelling-wave tube — an electronic tube in which an electron beam interacts with a distributed high-frequency magnetic field so that energy is transferred from the beam to the field
- 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.
- turn over a new leaf — one of the expanded, usually green organs borne by the stem of a plant.
- 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.
- under/below strength — If an army or team is under strength or below strength, it does not have all the members that it needs or usually has.
- unified screw thread — a screw thread system introduced for defence equipment (1939–44), in which the thread form and pitch were a compromise between British Standard Whitworth and American Standard Sellers: adopted by the International Standards Organization
- university of hawaii — (body, education) A University spread over 10 campuses on 4 islands throughout the state. See also Aloha, Aloha Net.
- university of twente — (body, education) A university in the east of The Netherlands for technical and social sciences. It was founded in 1961, making it one of the youngest universities in The Netherlands. It has 7000 students studying Applied Educational Science; Applied Mathematics; Applied Physics; Chemical Technology; Computer Science; Electrical Engineering; Mechanical Engineering; Philosophy of science, Technology and Society; Educational Technology.
- wardrobe malfunction — an embarrassing situation caused by the clothes a person is wearing
- warehouse facilities — places for storing goods
- weights and measures — units or standards of measurement
- western mountain ash — a mountain ash, Sorbus sitchensis, of western North America.
- wet-bulb temperature — The wet-bulb temperature is the temperature reached by a small amount of liquid evaporating in a large amount of an unsaturated air-vapor mixture.
- wet-bulb thermometer — a thermometer having a bulb that is kept moistened when humidity determinations are being made with a psychrometer.
- 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.
- white bush (scallop) — a variety of summer squash having a saucer-shaped white fruit, scalloped around the edges
- 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.
- with all due respect — despite my regard for you
- with one's eyes shut — with great ease, esp as a result of thorough familiarity
- without detriment to — If something happens without detriment to a person or thing, it does not harm or damage them.
- without prejudice to — If you take an action without prejudice to an existing situation, your action does not change or harm that situation.
- woman of easy virtue — a sexually available woman, esp a prostitute
- worcestershire sauce — a sharp sauce made with soy, vinegar, spices, etc., originally made in Worcester, England.
- would you believe it — If you say would you believe it, you are emphasizing your surprise about something.
- you know what i mean — You can use expressions such as you know what I mean and if you know what I mean to suggest that the person listening to you understands what you are trying to say, and so you do not have to explain any more.