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17-letter words containing w, h, e

  • spin one's wheels — a circular frame or disk arranged to revolve on an axis, as on or in vehicles or machinery.
  • spiny-headed worm — any of a small group of endoparasites of the phylum Acanthocephala, as larvae parasitic in insects and crustaceans and as adults in various vertebrates.
  • squaw huckleberry — deerberry.
  • straw in the wind — If you say that an incident or piece of news is a straw in the wind, you mean that it gives an indication of what might happen in the future.
  • swaddling clothes — cloth for wrapping around a baby
  • swash plate motor — a collar or face plate on a shaft that is inclined at an oblique angle to the axis of rotation and converts reciprocating motion to rotation
  • teaching software — computer software for use in providing online education
  • technical drawing — the study and practice, esp as a subject taught in school, of the basic techniques of draughtsmanship, as employed in mechanical drawing, architecture, etc
  • test the water(s) — to explore a possible course of action; approach initially
  • the final whistle — a blast on a referee's whistle to indicate that a game is over
  • the hawkeye state — a nickname for the US state of Iowa
  • the lower animals — relatively simple or primitive animals and not mammals or vertebrates
  • the lower mammals — relatively simple or primitive mammals
  • the lower regions — hell
  • the new jerusalem — the de facto capital of Israel (recognition of this has been withheld by the United Nations), situated in the Judaean hills: became capital of the Hebrew kingdom after its capture by David around 1000 bc; destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon in 586 bc; taken by the Romans in 63 bc; devastated in 70 ad and 135 ad during the Jewish rebellions against Rome; fell to the Arabs in 637 and to the Seljuk Turks in 1071; ruled by Crusaders from 1099 to 1187 and by the Egyptians and Turks until conquered by the British (1917); centre of the British mandate of Palestine from 1920 to 1948, when the Arabs took the old city and the Jews held the new city; unified after the Six Day War (1967) under the Israelis; the holy city of Jews, Christians, and Muslims. Pop: 693 200 (2003 est)
  • the outside world — You can use the outside world to refer to all the people who do not live in a particular place or who are not involved in a particular situation.
  • the show-me state — the nickname of the US state of Missouri, which comes from its inhabitants' reputation for scepticism
  • the twelve tables — the earliest code of Roman civil, criminal, and religious law, promulgated in 451–450 bc
  • the unwritten law — the tradition that a person may avenge any insult to family integrity, as used to justify criminal acts of vengeance
  • the water carrier — the constellation Aquarius, the 11th sign of the zodiac
  • the whole boiling — the whole lot
  • the whole shebang — The whole shebang is the whole situation or business that you are describing.
  • the winter season — the season of the year that covers the winter months
  • the witching hour — the hour at which witches are supposed to appear, usually midnight
  • thermal underwear — underwear designed to retain body heat in cold temperatures.
  • thirty years' war — the war, often regarded as a series of wars (1618–48), in central Europe, initially involving a conflict between German Protestants and Catholics and later including political rivalries with France, Sweden, and Denmark opposing the Holy Roman Empire and Spain.
  • three-strikes law — a law that mandates a life sentence to a felon convicted for the third time.
  • throat sweetbread — sweetbread (def 2).
  • throw the book at — a handwritten or printed work of fiction or nonfiction, usually on sheets of paper fastened or bound together within covers.
  • to know the ropes — If you know the ropes, you know how a particular job or task should be done.
  • to oil the wheels — If someone or something oils the wheels of a process or system, they help things to run smoothly and successfully.
  • to play with fire — If you say that someone is playing with fire, you mean that they are doing something dangerous that may result in great harm for them and cause many problems.
  • to show your face — If you show your face somewhere, you go there and see people, although you are not welcome, are rather unwilling to go, or have not been there for some time.
  • to steal the show — If you say that someone steals the show, you mean that they get a lot of attention or praise because they perform better than anyone else in a show or other event.
  • to test the water — If you test the water or test the waters, you try to find out what reaction an action or idea will get before you do it or tell it to people.
  • to 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.
  • touch a raw nerve — If you say that you have touched a nerve or touched a raw nerve, you mean that you have accidentally upset someone by talking about something that they feel strongly about or are very sensitive about.
  • tower of strength — a building or structure high in proportion to its lateral dimensions, either isolated or forming part of a building.
  • turkish towelling — woven cloth which is used to make towels, wash cloths, etc
  • turn of the screw — a short novel (1898) by Henry James.
  • twelfth amendment — an amendment to the U.S. Constitution, ratified in 1804, providing for election of the president and vice president by the electoral college: should there be no majority vote for one person, the House of Representatives (one vote per state) chooses the president and the Senate the vice president.
  • twelve patriarchs — any of the sons of Jacob ((the twelve patriarchs),) from whom the tribes of Israel were descended.
  • twenty-four hours — the time taken by the Earth to make a complete rotation on its axis; a whole day
  • under the weather — the state of the atmosphere with respect to wind, temperature, cloudiness, moisture, pressure, etc.
  • walk a chalk line — to behave with strict propriety or obedience
  • walk on eggshells — to be very cautious or diplomatic for fear of upsetting someone
  • wall street crash — the dramatic collapse of share prices on the New York Stock Exchange in October 1929, an important factor in the early stages of the Depression
  • walleye surfperch — a common black and silvery surfperch (Hyperprosopon argenteum) found off the coast of California
  • war establishment — the full wartime complement of men, equipment, and vehicles of a military unit
  • warehouse receipt — a receipt for goods placed in a warehouse.
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