17-letter words containing n, a, b
- drive-by download — an incidence of an unwanted program being automatically downloaded to a computer, often without the user's knowledge
- east siberian sea — a part of the Arctic Ocean, between Wrangel Island and the New Siberian Islands. 352,520 sq. mi. (913,000 sq. km).
- economic blockade — an embargo on trade with a country, esp one which prohibits receipt of exports from that country, with the intention of disrupting the country's economy
- egyptian brackets — (programming, humour) A humourous term for K&R indent style, referring to the "one hand up in front, one down behind" pose which popular culture inexplicably associates with Egypt.
- emotional baggage — burden of personal experience
- english breakfast — An English breakfast is a breakfast consisting of cooked food such as bacon, eggs, sausages, and tomatoes. It also includes toast and tea or coffee.
- establishing shot — Cinema
- examination board — an organization that sets and corrects exams
- federal land bank — a U.S. federal bank for making long-term loans to farmers.
- flowering tobacco — any plant belonging to the genus Nicotiana, of the nightshade family, as N. alata and N. sylvestris, having clusters of fragrant flowers that usually bloom at night, grown as an ornamental.
- fluid lubrication — lubrication in which bearing surfaces are separated by an oil film sustained by the motion of the parts
- football hooligan — a noisy violent football supporter
- fort walton beach — a city in NW Florida.
- freedmen's bureau — an agency of the War Department set up in 1865 to assist freed slaves in obtaining relief, land, jobs, fair treatment, and education.
- frostbite sailing — the sport of sailing in temperate latitudes during the winter despite cold weather.
- fulgencio batista — Fulgencio [fool-hen-syaw] /fulˈhɛn syɔ/ (Show IPA), (Fulgencio Batista y Zaldívar) 1901–73, Cuban military leader: dictator of Cuba 1934–40; president 1940–44, 1952–59.
- garden strawberry — a plant which has white flowers and red edible fruits and is spread by runners, Fragaria ananassa
- get a bang out of — to experience a thrill or excitement from
- get above oneself — If you say that someone is getting above themself, you disapprove of them because they think they are better than everyone else.
- get one's back up — the rear part of the human body, extending from the neck to the lower end of the spine.
- glass box testing — white box testing
- glastonbury chair — a folding chair having legs crossed front-to-back and having arms connected to the back and to the front seat rail.
- goldbeater's skin — the prepared outside membrane of the large intestine of the ox, used by goldbeaters to lay between the leaves of the metal while they beat it into gold leaf.
- golf ball printer — IBM 2741
- great st. bernard — Great, a mountain pass between SW Switzerland and NW Italy, in the Pennine Alps: Napoleon led his army through it in 1800; location of a hospice. 8108 feet (2470 meters) high.
- greenland halibut — a flatfish, Reinhardtius hippoglossoides, similar and related to the halibut
- gunboat diplomacy — diplomatic relations involving the use or threat of military force, especially by a powerful nation against a weaker one.
- haemoglobinometer — an instrument used to determine the haemoglobin content of blood
- haemoglobinopathy — (medicine) Any of a group of inherited disorders in which haemoglobin does not function properly.
- half-breadth plan — a diagrammatic plan of one half of the hull of a vessel divided lengthwise amidships, showing water lines, stations, diagonals, and bow and buttock lines.
- harvey wallbanger — a screwdriver cocktail topped with Galliano.
- have a bearing on — If something has a bearing on a situation or event, it is relevant to it.
- have it in for sb — If someone has it in for you, they dislike you and try to cause problems for you.
- have on the brain — If someone has something on the brain, they keep thinking about it.
- headline-grabbing — A headline-grabbing statement or activity is one that is intended to attract a lot of attention, especially from the media.
- heartbreakingness — The state or quality of being heartbreaking.
- henry cabot lodge — Henry Cabot, 1850–1924, U.S. public servant and author: senator 1893–1924.
- high-carbon steel — steel containing between 0.5 and 1.5 per cent carbon
- histamine blocker — any of various substances that act at a specific receptor site to block certain actions of histamine.
- hold one's breath — If you say that someone is holding their breath, you mean that they are waiting anxiously or excitedly for something to happen.
- hold sb to ransom — If you say that someone is holding you to ransom in British English, or holding you for ransom in American English, you mean that they are using their power to try to force you to do something which you do not want to do.
- honorable mention — a citation conferred on a contestant, exhibit, etc., having exceptional merit though not winning a top honor or prize.
- hottentot's bread — elephant's-foot.
- hubble's constant — the ratio of the recessional velocity of galaxies to their distance from the sun, with current measurements of its value ranging from 50 to 100 km/sec per megaparsec.
- hydrofluorocarbon — Any of a class of partly chlorinated and fluorinated hydrocarbons, used as an alternative to chlorofluorocarbons in foam production, refrigeration, and other processes.
- hyperbolic secant — a hyperbolic function that is the reciprocal of cosh; sech
- i am bound to say — You can say 'I am bound to say' to introduce a statement expressing something that you find undesirable or unexpected.
- i beg your pardon — You say 'Pardon?' or 'I beg your pardon?' or, in American English, 'Pardon me?' when you want someone to repeat what they have just said because you have not heard or understood it.
- i can't be fagged — I can't be bothered
- iambic pentameter — a verse line consisting of five metrical iambs