17-letter words that end in s
- axis-of-ordinates — y-axis (def 1).
- babe in the woods — a baby or child.
- baby-doll pyjamas — frilly pyjamas with short pants and no sleeves
- back on the rails — If something is back on the rails, it is beginning to be successful again after a period when it almost failed.
- backward analysis — (theory) An analysis to determine properties of the inputs of a program from properties or context of the outputs. E.g. if the output of this function is needed then this argument is needed. Compare forward analysis.
- bahia de cochinos — Spanish name of Bay of Pigs.
- balance the books — do accounting
- barbed-wire grass — an aromatic grass, Cymbopogon refractus, with groups of seed heads resembling barbed wire
- barchester towers — a novel (1857) by Anthony Trollope.
- barrow-in-furness — an industrial town in NW England, in S Cumbria. Pop: 47 194 (2001)
- bathroom fittings — plumbing fixtures or accessories suitable for use in a bathroom
- be a box of birds — to be very well indeed
- be on tenterhooks — If you are on tenterhooks, you are very nervous and excited because you are wondering what is going to happen in a particular situation.
- be one's own boss — If you are your own boss, you work for yourself or make your own decisions and do not have anyone telling you what to do.
- beat one's brains — to try hard to remember, understand, or solve something
- beer and skittles — enjoyment or pleasure
- behind the scenes — happening or conducted out of view of the general public: The behind-the-scenes preparations made the convention a huge success.
- behind-the-scenes — If something is done behind the scenes, it is done secretly rather than publicly.
- bell laboratories — One of AT&T's research sites, in Murray Hill, New Jersey, USA. It was the birthplace of the transistor, Unix, C and C++ and the current home of research on Plan 9 and ODE.
- between ourselves — in confidence; as a secret
- between two fires — between two attacks; shot at, criticized, etc. from both sides
- bicycle motocross — a bicycle race over a rough cross-country course, usually consisting of jumps, obstacles, and turns. Abbreviation: BMX.
- bighorn mountains — range of the Rocky Mountains in N Wyo. and S Mont.: highest peak, 13,165 ft (4,013 m)
- bioelectrogenesis — the production of electricity by organisms.
- blackout curtains — thick, lined curtains designed to shut out all daylight and keep a room in complete darkness
- blood-drop emlets — a Chilean scrophulariaceous plant, Mimulus luteus, naturalized in Europe, having red-spotted yellow flowers
- blowpipe analysis — a type of chemical analysis in which the intensely hot flame of a blowpipe vaporizes a mineral or other substance with a characteristically colored flame and a unique odor, so as to identify chemical elements in a substance
- board of managers — a group of people responsible for managing an organization
- board of trustees — a governing board which directs the policies of an educational institution
- boots and saddles — a bugle call formerly used in the US Cavalry to summon soldiers to mount
- bottlebrush grass — a North American grass, Hystrix patula, having loose flower spikes with long awns.
- boys will be boys — If you say boys will be boys, for example when a group of men are behaving noisily or aggressively, you are suggesting in a light-hearted way that this is typical male behaviour and will never change.
- bricks and clicks — a combination of traditional business carried out on physical premises and internet trading
- british cameroons — a former British trust territory of West Africa
- british-cameroons — German Kamerun. a region in W Africa: a German protectorate 1884–1919; divided in 1919 into British and French mandates.
- broadview heights — a town in N Ohio.
- bull of the woods — the foreman of a logging operation.
- bureau of customs — former name of the United States Customs Service.
- calorie-conscious — aware of the calorie content of one's diet
- camp-fire-members — a U.S. organization for girls and boys that emphasizes the building of character and good citizenship through work, health, and love; originally founded for girls (Camp Fire girls) in 1910, it is now open to both boys and girls (Camp Fire members)
- candidate species — any plant or animal species that is a candidate for designation as an endangered species or threatened species.
- canine parvovirus — a highly contagious viral disease of dogs characterized by vomiting, haemorrhagic diarrhoea, depression, and, in severe cases, death
- carbonic-acid gas — carbon dioxide
- cariboo mountains — a mountain range in SW Canada, in SE British Columbia. Highest peak: Mount Sir Wilfrid Laurier, 3520 m (11 549 ft)
- caribou codeworks — (company) The company which sells QTRADER. Director of Marketing: Norm Larsen <[email protected]>.
- casting the runes — (jargon) What a guru does when you ask him or her to run a particular program because it never works for anyone else; especially used when nobody can ever see what the guru is doing different from what J. Random Luser does. Compare incantation, runes, examining the entrails; also see the AI koan about Tom Knight.
- cat-o'-nine-tails — a rope whip consisting of nine knotted thongs, used formerly to flog prisoners
- catholic epistles — the epistles of James, I and II Peter, I John, and Jude, which were addressed to the universal Church rather than to an individual or a particular church
- change the sheets — If you change the sheets on a bed, you take the used sheets off the bed and put on different ones.
- character actress — an actress who specializes in playing odd or eccentric characters