13-letter words containing a, b, e, r, d
- bastard eigne — the first-born illegitimate son of parents whose second son was legitimate.
- bastard title — half title (def 1).
- bastard-title — Also called bastard title. the first printed page of certain books, appearing after the end papers and before the title page and containing only the title of the book.
- bat-eared fox — a fox, Vulpes chama, inhabiting dry areas of southern Africa and having large pointed ears, silvery gray coat, and a bushy tail with a black tip.
- battered wife — See under battered woman syndrome.
- batting order — the sequence in which hitters will bat in a given game, determined in advance by the team manager.
- battlegrounds — Plural form of battleground.
- be hard going — If you say that something is hard going, you mean it is difficult and requires a lot of effort.
- bead and reel — a convex molding having the form of elongated beads alternating with disks placed edge-on, or with spherical beads, or with both.
- beaded lizard — a large, stout-bodied, venomous lizard, Heloderma horridum, inhabiting western Mexico, having black, beadlike scales with yellow to pinkish spots and splotches.
- bearing sword — a large sword carried for its owner by a squire or servant because of its size.
- beat the drum — a musical percussion instrument consisting of a hollow, usually cylindrical, body covered at one or both ends with a tightly stretched membrane, or head, which is struck with the hand, a stick, or a pair of sticks, and typically produces a booming, tapping, or hollow sound.
- beauty editor — the person in charge of a section of newspaper or magazine devoted to cosmetics, etc
- bed and board — sleeping accommodation and meals
- bedroom farce — a light comedy about sexual relationships
- beetlebrained — stupid
- benefit fraud — the illegal activity of claiming benefit payments which a person is not entitled to
- berchtesgaden — a town in Germany, in SE Bavaria: site of the fortified mountain retreat of Adolf Hitler. Pop: 7667 (2003 est)
- bermuda grass — a widely distributed grass, Cynodon dactylon, with wiry creeping rootstocks and several purplish spikes of flowers arising from a single point: used for lawns, pasturage, binding sand dunes, etc
- bermuda onion — a large white or yellow onion with a mild flavor, grown in Texas, California, etc.
- beyond recall — If something is beyond recall, it is no longer possible to remember how it was or to bring it back to its original condition.
- bib and brace — a work garment consisting of trousers and an upper front part supported by straps over the shoulders
- bible reading — a passage from the Bible, esp one read in a service
- bidirectional — (of a printhead) capable of printing from left to right and from right to left
- big-heartedly — in a big-hearted manner
- biodegradable — Something that is biodegradable breaks down or decays naturally without any special scientific treatment, and can therefore be thrown away without causing pollution.
- bird of peace — a dove.
- birthday cake — a special cake eaten at a birthday party
- biscuit bread — biscuits or a biscuit: I like biscuit bread more than corn bread for supper.
- bitter almond — a variety of almond whose bitter seeds yield hydrocyanic acid upon hydrolysis
- black-hearted — evil, malicious, or wicked
- bladder senna — a Eurasian leguminous plant, Colutea arborescens, with yellow and red flowers and membranous inflated pods
- bladder wrack — any of various brown algae (genera Ascophyllum and Fucus), having a flattened body and conspicuous air bladders
- bloody caesar — a drink consisting of vodka, juice made from clams and tomatoes, and usually Worcester sauce and hot pepper sauce
- board measure — a system of units for measuring wood based on the board foot. 1980 board feet equal one standard
- board meeting — a meeting of the board of a company or other organization
- boarding fees — fees paid for boarding at a school
- boardinghouse — a private house in which accommodation and meals are provided for paying guests
- bobby dazzler — a person or thing that is outstanding or excellent.
- bobby-dazzler — anything outstanding, striking, or showy, esp an attractive girl
- body snatcher — (formerly) a person who robbed graves and sold the corpses for dissection
- bonded labour — a system in which a person provides labour in order to pay off debts
- booby-trapped — (of a building, vehicle, etc) planted with a booby trap
- boomerang kid — a young adult who, after having lived on his or her own for a time, returns to live in the parental home, usually due to financial problems caused by unemployment or the high cost of living independently
- border patrol — a government agency in charge of preventing terrorists, weapons, and illegal immigrants entering the country
- border states — slave states bordering on the free states before the Civil War: Mo., Ky., Va., Md., & Del.
- borna disease — viral disease found in mammals, esp horses
- boron carbide — a black extremely hard inert substance having a high capture cross section for thermal neutrons. It is used as an abrasive, refractory, and in control rods in nuclear reactors. Formula: B4C
- bottled water — water sold in bottles
- bottom drawer — a young woman's collection of clothes, linen, cutlery, etc, in anticipation of marriage