19-letter words containing y, a, f
- hyperfocal distance — the distance, at a given f number, between a camera lens and the nearest point (hyperfocal point) having satisfactory definition when focused at infinity.
- infantile paralysis — poliomyelitis.
- inflationary spiral — Geometry. a plane curve generated by a point moving around a fixed point while constantly receding from or approaching it.
- information highway — information superhighway
- intentional fallacy — (in literary criticism) an assertion that the intended meaning of the author is not the only or most important meaning; a fallacy involving an assessment of a literary work based on the author's intended meaning rather than on actual response to the work.
- interferometrically — By means of interferometry.
- invasion of privacy — an encroachment upon the right to be let alone or to be free from publicity.
- judgment by default — a judgment in the plaintiff's favour when the defendant fails to plead or to appear
- keep an eye out for — 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.
- lady of the evening — a prostitute.
- land of opportunity — Arkansas (used as a nickname).
- lay one's finger on — to indicate, identify, or locate accurately
- level playing field — a state of equality; an equal opportunity.
- library of congress — one of the major library collections in the world, located in Washington, D.C., and functioning in some ways as the national library of the U.S. although not officially designated as such: established by Congress in 1800 for service to its members, but now also serving government agencies, other libraries, and the public.
- lymphoproliferation — (medicine) the excessive production of lymphocytes.
- lymphoproliferative — Characterized by lymphoproliferation.
- lyon office of arms — Heralds' Office.
- maratha confederacy — a loose league of states in central and western India, c1750–1818.
- mary wollstonecraft — Mary (Mary Wollstonecraft Godwin) 1759–97, English author and feminist (mother of Mary Shelley).
- mayor of the palace — one of a line of hereditary administrative lieutenants to the Merovingian kings who eventually took over royal function and title in the Frankish kingdoms; a palatine.
- midafternoon prayer — the fifth of the seven canonical hours; none
- mutual fund company — a company that sells and manages mutual funds
- nasty piece of work — malicious person
- negation by failure — An extralogical feature of Prolog and other logic programming languages in which failure of unification is treated as establishing the negation of a relation. For example, if Ronald Reagan is not in our database and we asked if he was an American, Prolog would answer "no".
- non-confidentiality — spoken, written, acted on, etc., in strict privacy or secrecy; secret: a confidential remark.
- non-transferability — to convey or remove from one place, person, etc., to another: He transferred the package from one hand to the other.
- off-highway vehicle — An off-highway vehicle is a vehicle, such as one used for construction or agriculture, that is intended for use on steep or uneven ground.
- out of the ordinary — of no special quality or interest; commonplace; unexceptional: One novel is brilliant, the other is decidedly ordinary; an ordinary person.
- papal infallibility — the dogma that the pope cannot err in a solemn teaching addressed to the whole church on a matter of faith or morals.
- parting of the ways — When there is a parting of the ways, two or more people or groups of people stop working together or travelling together.
- performance anxiety — the stage fright that a person feels when they are about to perform (a play, piece of music etc) in front of an audience
- peroxysulfuric acid — persulfuric acid (def 1).
- play fast and loose — a dramatic composition or piece; drama.
- play footsie (with) — to touch feet or rub knees (with) in a caressing way, as under the table
- profitability study — a study of how much profit a company, organization, etc, makes or how profitable it is
- reciprocity failure — a failure of the two exposure variables, light intensity and exposure time, to behave in a reciprocal fashion at very high or very low values
- refreshable display — braille display
- respiratory failure — a condition in which the respiratory system is unable to provide an adequate supply of oxygen or to remove carbon dioxide efficiently
- rural free delivery — former name for rural delivery service. Abbreviation: R.F.D.
- safety-squeeze-play — Baseball. Also called suicide squeeze, suicide squeeze play. a play executed when there is a runner on third base and usually not more than one out, in which the runner starts for home as soon as the pitcher makes a motion to pitch, and the batter bunts. Also called safety squeeze, safety squeeze play. a similar play in which the runner on third base waits until the batter has successfully bunted before trying to score.
- san fernando valley — valley in SW Calif., partly in NW Los Angeles: c. 260 sq mi (673 sq km)
- sea of tranquillity — Astronomy. Mare Tranquillitatis.
- secondary infection — an infection resulting from another infection
- self-congratulatory — the expression or feeling of uncritical satisfaction with oneself or one's own accomplishment, good fortune, etc.; complacency.
- single life annuity — A single life annuity is an annuity where only one life is covered.
- stanford university — (education) A University in the city of Palo Alto, California, noted for work in computing, especially artificial intelligence. See SAIL.
- take my word for it — If you say to someone 'take my word for it', you mean that they should believe you because you are telling the truth.
- tetrafluoroethylene — a colorless, water-insoluble, flammable gas, C 2 F 4 , used in the synthesis of certain polymeric resins, as Teflon.
- tetralogy of fallot — a congenital malformation of the heart characterized by an abnormal opening in the septum dividing the ventricles, misplacement of the aorta so that it receives blood from both ventricles instead of only the left ventricle, narrowing of the pulmonary artery, and enlargement of the right ventricle.
- the heat of the day — The heat of the day is the hottest part of the day, especially when this is very hot.