16-letter words containing y

black-eyed susan — any of several North American plants of the genus Rudbeckia, esp R. hirta, having flower heads of orange-yellow rays and brown-black centres: family Asteraceae (composites)
black-letter day — an unlucky or tragic day.
blocked currency — a currency that is not freely convertible because of exchange controls imposed on it
bloomsbury group — a group of writers, artists, and intellectuals living and working in and around Bloomsbury in London from about 1907 to 1930. Influenced by the philosophy of G. E. Moore, they included Leonard and Virginia Woolf, Clive and Vanessa Bell, Roger Fry, E. M. Forster, Lytton Strachey, Duncan Grant, and John Maynard Keynes
blue huckleberry — tangleberry.
blue-ribbon jury — a jury composed of persons having more than ordinary education and presumably exceptional intelligence and perceptiveness, selected by the court on the motion of plaintiff or defendant to try cases of unusual complexity or importance.
board of inquiry — a group set up to inquire into accidents, etc
bob's your uncle — everything is or will turn out all right
bodily functions — physical processes such as urination and defecation
bog whortleberry — a plant, Vaccinium uliginosum, of mountain regions, having pink flowers and black fruits
bootstrap memory — memory that allows new programs to be entered because some simple preliminary instructions or information are already built in.
boston tea party — a raid in 1773 made by citizens of Boston (disguised as Indians) on three British ships in the harbour as a protest against taxes on tea and the monopoly given to the East India Company. The contents of several hundred chests of tea were dumped into the harbour
boundary dispute — dispute between neighbours about the boundary between their properties
boutique brewery — microbrewery.
brandy alexander — an Alexander cocktail made with brandy
bright and early — very early in the morning
brittany spaniel — a short-tailed French bird dog that typically has a smooth orange- or liver-and-white coat
broomrape family — the plant family Orobanchaceae, characterized by scaly, leafless herbaceous plants that are parasitic on the roots of other plants and have irregular flowers and many-seeded capsular fruit, and including beechdrops, broomrape, and squawroot.
brown-eyed susan — a composite plant, Rudbeckia triloba, of the southeastern U.S., having a single flower with yellow rays darkening to an orange orbrown at the base and a brownish-black disk.
buckley's chance — no chance at all
buckthorn family — the plant family Rhamnaceae, characterized by shrubs and trees having alternate, simple leaves, clusters of small flowers, and fruit in the form of a drupe or capsule, and including the buckthorn, cascara, and New Jersey tea.
buckwheat family — the plant family Polygonaceae, characterized by herbaceous plants, vines, shrubs, and trees having stems with swollen joints, simple leaves, small, petalless flowers, and fruit in the form of an achene, and including the buckwheat, dock, knotweed, rhubarb, sea grape, and smartweed.
building society — In Britain, a building society is a business which will lend you money when you want to buy a house. You can also invest money in a building society, where it will earn interest. Compare savings and loan association.
bullying tactics — the use of intimidation to gain one's objective
bunker mentality — a defensive attitude in which others are seen as hostile or potentially hostile
bunya-bunya pine — a tall dome-shaped Australian coniferous tree, Araucaria bidwillii, having edible cones (bunya nuts) and thickish flattened needles
buoyancy chamber — an enclosed section of a canoe, float, ship or other object that contains air, foam, or another buoyant substance in order to help maintain buoyancy
bureaucratically — of, relating to, or characteristic of a bureaucrat or a bureaucracy; arbitrary and routine.
burgundy trefoil — alfalfa.
burkitt lymphoma — a rare type of tumour of the white blood cells, occurring mainly in Africa and associated with infection by Epstein-Barr virus
burrowing blenny — graveldiver.
bury st. edmunds — a city in W Suffolk, in E England: medieval shrine.
bury the hatchet — to cease hostilities and become reconciled
bush honeysuckle — any of several shrubs of the genus Diervilla, of eastern North America, having clusters of yellowish flowers.
bush huckleberry — a huckleberry shrub, Gaylussacia dumosa, having sticky, hairy twigs, white or pink flowers, and tasteless but edible black fruit.
business analyst — (job) A person who analyses the operations of a department or functional unit to develop a general systems solution to the problem. The solution will typically involve a combination of manual and automated processes. The business analyst can provide insights into an operation for an information systems analyst.
busman's holiday — If you have a holiday, but spend it doing something similar to your usual work, you can refer to it as a busman's holiday.
buttercup family — the plant family Ranunculaceae, typified by mostly herbaceous plants having usually alternate leaves, multistaminate flowers sometimes lacking petals but with colorful sepals, and including the anemone, buttercup, clematis, columbine, delphinium, and monkshood.
butterfly ballot — a ballot paper in the form of two leaves extending from a central spine
butterfly damper — a damper, as in a flue, that rotates about a central axis across its face.
butterfly effect — the idea, used in chaos theory, that a very small difference in the initial state of a physical system can make a significant difference to the state at some later time
butterfly flower — Also called Jerusalem date. a shrub or small tree, Bauhinia monandra, of French Guiana, having clusters of pink, purple-streaked flowers.
butterfly orchid — an orchid (Oncidium papilio) with reddish flowers, native to South America
butterfly scheme — A parallel version of Scheme for the BBN Butterfly computer.
butterfly stroke — a swimming stroke in which the arms are plunged forward together in large circular movements
buying behaviour — the behaviours displayed by consumers when they purchase things, such as preferences, price points, etc
by hook or crook — by any means
by the bucketful — If someone produces or gets something by the bucketful, they produce or get something in large quantities.
by word of mouth — orally rather than by written means
bypass capacitor — a capacitor which provides a low-impedance path for alternating current while not passing any direct current

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