22-letter words containing th
- oak processionary moth — a moth, (Thaumetopoea processionea), of the family Thaumetopoeidae, the larvae of which leave the communal shelter nightly for food in a V-shaped procession
- obligational authority — the necessary authority that precedes budget spending by a government agency or department, granted by Congress through appropriations.
- occupational therapist — professional who assists with rehabilitation
- of the first magnitude — of the greatest importance
- on (or off) the track — keeping to (or straying from) the subject, objective, or goal
- on (or off) the wagon — no longer (or once again) drinking alcoholic liquors
- on a hiding to nothing — If you say that someone who is trying to achieve something is on a hiding to nothing, you are emphasizing that they have absolutely no chance of being successful.
- on the crest of a wave — If you say that you are on the crest of a wave, you mean that you are feeling very happy and confident because things are going well for you.
- on the part of someone — as far as someone is concerned
- on the same wavelength — Physics. the distance, measured in the direction of propagation of a wave, between two successive points in the wave that are characterized by the same phase of oscillation.
- on the way/on it's way — If something is on the way, it will arrive soon.
- one's foot in the door — (in vertebrates) the terminal part of the leg, below the ankle joint, on which the body stands and moves.
- other side of the coin — a piece of metal stamped and issued by the authority of a government for use as money.
- partial-birth abortion — (term used chiefly by opponents of abortion) D & C.
- phenolsulfonephthalein — a bright to dark red crystalline compound, C 1 9 H 1 4 O 5 S, slightly soluble in water, alcohol, and acetone: used as an acid-base indicator and as a diagnostic reagent in medicine.
- philip the magnanimous — 1504–67, German prince; landgrave of Hesse (1509–67). He helped to crush (1525) the Peasants' Revolt and formed (1531) the League of Schmalkaden, an alliance of German Protestant rulers
- play into the hands of — a dramatic composition or piece; drama.
- prothonotary apostolic — a member of the first college of prelates of the Roman Curia.
- psychological thriller — book, movie: suspense story
- pull out all the stops — to cease from, leave off, or discontinue: to stop running.
- pushing up the daisies — dead and buried
- put sth out to pasture — If you put animals out to pasture, you move them out into the fields so they can eat the grass.
- put sth to/on one side — If you put something to one side or put it on one side, you temporarily ignore it in order to concentrate on something else.
- put the frighteners on — to intimidate
- read between the lines — a mark or stroke long in proportion to its breadth, made with a pen, pencil, tool, etc., on a surface: a line down the middle of the page.
- recreational therapist — someone who specializes in therapy by means of recreational activities engaged in by the patient
- rejoice in the name of — If you say that a person or thing rejoices in the name of something, you mean that they have a silly or amusing name.
- resistance thermometer — an instrument for measuring the temperature of a metal, utilizing the principle that the electrical resistance of the metal varies with the temperature.
- royal national theatre — a theatre complex in London, on the S bank of the Thames (opened 1976). The prefix Royal was added in 1988. It houses the Royal National Theatre Company
- sail close to the wind — air in natural motion, as that moving horizontally at any velocity along the earth's surface: A gentle wind blew through the valley. High winds were forecast.
- sapir-whorf hypothesis — a theory developed by Edward Sapir and Benjamin Lee Whorf that states that the structure of a language determines or greatly influences the modes of thought and behavior characteristic of the culture in which it is spoken.
- save the children fund — a development agency which raises money for deprived children around the world
- sb can whistle for sth — If you say that someone can whistle for a particular thing, you mean that you are not willing or able to give it to them.
- schachter's hypothesis — (web) The observation that "Given two unrelated technical terms, an Internet search engine will retrieve only résumés". This was first formulated by Joshua Eli Schachter in about 1998, while poring over the uniformly irrelevant pages that resulted from a search he'd run on "+Perl +MAPI" in Altavista.
- search the fucking web — (web, jargon) (Always abbreviated STFW) A response implying that an inquirer could have easily found an answer to his question using Google or some other web search engine. It is now often quicker and more productive to search the World-Wide Web than to RTFM.
- secretary to the board — the secretary to the board of directors; company secretary
- see the light (of day) — to come into existence
- self-sustaining growth — economic growth that maintains itself without intervention
- sell sb down the river — If someone sells you down the river, they betray you for some personal profit or advantage.
- seventh-day adventists — See example at Seventh-Day.
- seventh-inning stretch — Baseball. a point in the game when spectators rise from their seats to relax by stretching their legs, usually after six and one-half innings.
- short end of the stick — a branch or shoot of a tree or shrub that has been cut or broken off.
- show the white feather — a symbol of cowardice.
- skeleton in the closet — Anatomy, Zoology. the bones of a human or an animal considered as a whole, together forming the framework of the body.
- slip something over on — to move, flow, pass, or go smoothly or easily; glide; slide: Water slips off a smooth surface.
- softening of the brain — a softening of the cerebrum, caused by impairment of the blood supply; encephalomalacia.
- south african republic — former name of Transvaal.
- south atlantic current — an eastward-flowing ocean current formed by the merging of the Brazil Current and the southward-flowing current near the Falkland Islands and forming the southern part of the general circulation of the South Atlantic Ocean.
- south sandwich islands — a group of volcanic islands, administered by England, in the South Atlantic Ocean: part of the Falkland Islands dependency. 120 sq. mi. (310 sq. km).
- south shetland islands — a group of uninhabited islands in the S Atlantic, north of the Antarctic Peninsula: formerly a dependency of the Falkland Islands; part of British Antarctic Territory since 1962. (Claims are suspended under the Antarctic Treaty). Area: 4662 sq km (1800 sq miles)