20-letter words containing w, h
- watering of the eyes — the formation of tears in the eyes
- webbing clothes moth — a small brown moth, Tineola biselliella, the larva of which feeds on woolens and spins a web when feeding.
- weights and measures — units or standards of measurement
- western mountain ash — a mountain ash, Sorbus sitchensis, of western North America.
- wet-bulb thermometer — a thermometer having a bulb that is kept moistened when humidity determinations are being made with a psychrometer.
- what did you do with — You can ask someone what they did with something as another way of asking them where they put it.
- what-you-may-call-it — an object or person whose name one does not know or cannot recall.
- 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.
- wilson cloud chamber — cloud chamber.
- wipe the slate clean — begin afresh
- with a grain of salt — to season with salt.
- with a pinch of salt — without wholly believing; sceptically
- 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.
- with one's eyes open — the organ of sight, in vertebrates typically one of a pair of spherical bodies contained in an orbit of the skull and in humans appearing externally as a dense, white, curved membrane, or sclera, surrounding a circular, colored portion, or iris, that is covered by a clear, curved membrane, or cornea, and in the center of which is an opening, or pupil, through which light passes to the retina.
- with one's eyes shut — with great ease, esp as a result of thorough familiarity
- with/in reference to — You use with reference to or in reference to in order to indicate what something relates to.
- 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 the streets — a prostitute; streetwalker.
- worcestershire sauce — a sharp sauce made with soy, vinegar, spices, etc., originally made in Worcester, England.
- working relationship — a relationship with a colleague, boss or employee
- writer to the signet — (in Scotland) a member of an ancient society of solicitors, now having the exclusive privilege of preparing crown writs
- yellow-breasted chat — an American warbler, Icteria virens, having a yellow throat and breast and greenish-brown upper parts and noted for imitating the songs of other species.
- 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.
- 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.