22-letter words containing y, a

southern redbelly dace — any of the small, brightly colored North American freshwater cyprinids, especially Phoxinus oreas (northern redbelly dace) and P. erythrogaster (southern redbelly dace)
special delivery stamp — a stamp of special design, having a value indicating an extra fee in addition to the regular postage, and affixed to an item of mail to ensure its special delivery.
specific heat capacity — the heat required to raise unit mass of a substance by unit temperature interval under specified conditions, such as constant pressure: usually measured in joules per kelvin per kilogram
spectrophotometrically — an instrument for making photometric comparisons between parts of spectra.
spectroscopic analysis — the use of spectroscopy in determining the chemical or physical constitution of substances
speculative philosophy — philosophy embodying beliefs insusceptible of proof and attempting to gain insight into the nature of the ultimate by intuitive or a priori means.
spherical trigonometry — the branch of trigonometry that deals with spherical triangles.
spinal accessory nerve — accessory nerve.
st. marys falls canals — three ship canals (two U.S., one Canadian) bypassing a rapids of the St. Marys River at Sault Ste. Marie
student volunteer army — a students' voluntary organization that aims to undertake useful work in communities, founded in 2010 to help clear up after a damaging earthquake in Christchurch
subjective probability — a measure or estimate of the degree of confidence one may have in the occurrence of an event, defined by subjective criteria
subornation of perjury — the offense of bribing or otherwise persuading another to commit perjury.
suffice it to say that — let us say no more than that; I shall just say that
supplementary question — a question asked in Parliament by an MP during Questions to the Prime Minister
sweet william catchfly — a southern European plant, Silene armeria, of the pink family, having a flat-topped cluster of pink flowers.
sympathetic ophthalmia — inflammation of one eye due to injury or disease of the other eye.
syntactic construction — a construction that has no bound forms among its immediate constituents. Compare morphologic construction.
system account manager — (cryptography, operating system, security) (SAM) A password database stored as a registry file in Windows NT and Windows 2000. The System Account Manager (SAM) database stores users' passwords in a hashed format. Since a hash function is one-way, this provides some measure of security for the storage of the passwords. In an attempt to enhance the security of the SAM database against offline cracking, Microsoft introduced the SYSKEY utility in Windows NT 4.0.
system management mode — (hardware) (SMM) A reduced power consumption state provided by some Intel microprocessors. When a CPU enters SMM it saves its current state in a special area of static RAM called SMRAM (System Management RAM) and then runs a program, also stored in SMRAM, the SMM handler. SMM is implemented in all Intel "SL" suffixed CPUs. In June 1993, Intel announced it was discontinuing its SL range and instead making all its current processors SL enhanced. See also Auto Idle.
take a fancy to sb/sth — If you take a fancy to someone or something, you start liking them, usually for no understandable reason.
take one's breath away — the air inhaled and exhaled in respiration.
take the mickey out of — to deflate (a person)
take/tickle sb's fancy — If something takes your fancy or tickles your fancy, you like it a lot when you see it or think of it.
temporal lobe epilepsy — a type of seizure disorder produced by abnormal electric discharges in the temporal lobe of the brain, characterized by the occurrence of any of a variety of auras followed by a brief loss of consciousness with accompanying repetitive, automatic movements.
temporal-lobe epilepsy — a type of seizure disorder produced by abnormal electric discharges in the temporal lobe of the brain, characterized by the occurrence of any of a variety of auras followed by a brief loss of consciousness with accompanying repetitive, automatic movements.
temporary life annuity — an annuity that ceases upon the death of the annuitant or upon the expiration of a period of time, whichever occurs first.
texas independence day — March 2, observed in Texas as the anniversary of the declaration in 1836 of the independence of Texas from Mexico and also as the birthday of Sam Houston.
that is/that is to say — You use that is or that is to say to indicate that you are about to express the same idea more clearly or precisely.
the catcher in the rye — a novel (1951) by J. D. Salinger.
the continental system — Napoleon's plan in 1806 to blockade Britain by excluding her ships from ports on the mainland of Europe
the mythical man-month — (publication) Fred Brooks's excellent 1975 book on software engineering. See also Brooks's Law.
the nature conservancy — a US charitable environmental organization, founded in 1951, that works to preserve the plants, animals, and natural communities by protecting the lands and waters they need to survive
the pennsylvania dutch — a group of German-speaking people in E Pennsylvania, descended from 18th-century settlers from SW Germany and Switzerland
the same/the very same — You say 'the same' or 'the very same' in reply to someone's question when you are saying that they have identified a person or thing correctly.
thermal imaging system — equipment providing images of a target, or of a person or thing under examination
thiamine-hydrochloride — a white, crystalline, water-soluble compound of the vitamin-B complex, containing a thiazole and a pyrimidine group, C 12 H 17 ClN 4 OS, essential for normal functioning of the nervous system, a deficiency of which results chiefly in beriberi and other nerve disorders: occurring in many natural sources, as green peas, liver, and especially the seed coats of cereal grains, the commercial product of which is chiefly synthesized in the form of its chloride (thiamine chloride or thiamine hydrochloride) for therapeutic administration, or in nitrate form (thiamine mononitrate) for enriching flour mixes.
time-lapse photography — the photographing on motion-picture film of a slow and continuous process, as the growth of a plant, at regular intervals, especially by exposing a single frame at a time, for projection at a higher speed.
to be a one-way street — if you describe an agreement or a relationship as a one-way street, you mean that only one of the sides in the agreement or relationship is offering something or is benefitting from it
to be knocked sideways — If you are knocked sideways by something, it makes you feel very surprised, confused, or upset.
to cast your mind back — If you cast your mind back to a time in the past, you think about what happened then.
to cast your net wider — If you cast your net wider, you look for or consider a greater variety of things.
to fall by the wayside — If a person or plan falls by the wayside, they fail or stop before they complete what they set out to do.
to get/be carried away — If you get carried away or are carried away, you are so eager or excited about something that you do something hasty or foolish.
to laugh your head off — Phrases such as laugh your head off and scream your head off can be used to emphasize that someone is laughing or screaming a lot or very loudly.
to lead someone astray — If you are led astray by someone or something, you behave badly or foolishly because of them.
to overplay one's hand — If someone overplays their hand, they act more confidently than they should because they believe that they are in a stronger position than they actually are.
to play fast and loose — If you say that someone is playing fast and loose, you are expressing disapproval of them for behaving in a deceitful, immoral, or irresponsible way.
to play happy families — to spend time with your family or partner and to outwardly give the impression of being happy (although this may not be the case)
to play to the gallery — If you play to the gallery, you do something in public in a way which you hope will impress people.
to whom it may concern — salutation in a letter

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