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24-letter words containing n, a, c, r

  • homolographic projection — an equal-area projection in which the proportion between regions of unequal area is correctly shown.
  • hoop-petticoat narcissus — petticoat narcissus.
  • human-computer interface — (software, hardware)   (HCI) Any software or hardware that allows a user to interact with a computer. Examples are WIMP, command-line interpreter, or virtual reality. See also Human-Computer Interaction.
  • hydrochlorofluorocarbons — Plural form of hydrochlorofluorocarbon.
  • immunofluorescence assay — a diagnostic blood test using the technique of immunofluorescence. Abbreviation: IFA.
  • implicit differentiation — a method of finding the derivative of an implicit function by taking the derivative of each term with respect to the independent variable while keeping the derivative of the dependent variable with respect to the independent variable in symbolic form and then solving for that derivative.
  • in someone's good graces — elegance or beauty of form, manner, motion, or action: We watched her skate with effortless grace across the ice. Synonyms: attractiveness, charm, gracefulness, comeliness, ease, lissomeness, fluidity. Antonyms: stiffness, ugliness, awkwardness, clumsiness; klutziness.
  • incomplete metamorphosis — insect development, as in the grasshopper and cricket, in which the change is gradual and characterized by the absence of a pupal stage. Compare complete metamorphosis.
  • industrial correspondent — a journalist who specializes in reporting the industrial news
  • information architecture — the design and organization of an online resource, usually with regard to usability.
  • instructional technology — (education)   Design, development, use, management and evaluation of process and resources for learning. Instructional technology aims to promote the application of validated, practical procedures in the design and delivery of instruction. It is often defined either in terms of media and other technology used (e.g. audiovisual media and equipment and computers), or in terms of a systematic process which encompasses instructional design, development, delivery and evaluation.
  • intelligent backtracking — (algorithm)   An improved backtracking algorithm for Prolog interpreters, which records the point at which each logic variable becomes bound and, when a given set of bindings leads to failure, ignores any choice point which does not bind any of those variables. No choice from such a choice point can succeed since it does not change the bindings which caused the failure.
  • interlocking directorate — a corporate directorate that includes one or more members who serve simultaneously in the directorates of other corporations.
  • internal revenue service — the division of the U.S. Department of the Treasury that collects internal revenue, including income taxes and excise taxes, and that enforces revenue laws.
  • international ice patrol — an annual U.S. Coast Guard patrol of the North Atlantic during the ice season to ascertain the locations of icebergs and to warn ships: undertaken under a 1914 international agreement between 14 maritime countries.
  • international morse code — a form of Morse code used in international radiotelegraphy.
  • internet access provider — (networking, company)   (IAP) A company or other origanisation which provides access to the Internet to businesses and/or consumers. An IAP purchases an Internet link from another company that has a direct link to the Internet and resells portions of that bandwidth to the general public. For example, an IAP may purchase a T1 link (1.544Mb/s) and resell that bandwidth in chunks consisting of ISDN (64Kb/s, 128Kb/s) and analog modems (14.4Kb/s, 28.8Kb/s). The IAP's customer base is likely to include both businesses and individuals. Individual customers usually connect to the IAP via a modem and telephone line to a (preferably local) point of presence. An IAP may also be an Internet Service Provider.
  • iterated function system — (graphics)   (IFS) A class of fractals that yield natural-looking forms like ferns or snowflakes. Iterated Function Systems use a very easy transformation that is done recursively.
  • jewish american princess — JAP.
  • kinetic theory of matter — a theory that matter is composed of small particles, all in random motion.
  • komi autonomous republic — an autonomous republic in the NW Russian Federation in Europe. 145,221 sq. mi. (376,122 sq. km). Capital: Syktyvkar.
  • la belle dame sans merci — a ballad (1819) by Keats.
  • lab for computer science — MIT. http://lcs.mit.edu/.
  • laryngotracheobronchitis — A respiratory disease, a form of croup.
  • laugh in a person's face — to show open contempt or defiance towards a person
  • le chatelier's principle — the principle that if a system in chemical equilibrium is subjected to a disturbance it tends to change in a way that opposes this disturbance
  • least common denominator — the smallest number that is a common denominator of a given set of fractions.
  • legal expenses insurance — Legal expenses insurance is insurance coverage against expenses incurred when you need to seek legal advice or pay for a lawsuit.
  • licensed practical nurse — a person who has graduated from an accredited school of nursing and has become licensed to provide basic nursing care under the supervision of a physician or registered nurse. Abbreviation: LPN.
  • line of least resistance — the easiest, but not necessarily the best or most honourable, course of action
  • linear (induction) motor — an electric motor that produces thrust in a direct line, as distinguished from the rotary motion produced by a rotary engine, by the interaction of a moving magnetic field and the current induced by the field
  • local government officer — an employee of a local council
  • logical block addressing — (storage)   (LBA) A hard disk sector addressing scheme used on all SCSI hard disks, and on ATA-2 conforming IDE hard disks. The addressing conversion is performed by the hard disk firmware. Prior to LBA, combined limitations of IBM PC BIOS and ATA restricted the useful capacity of IDE hard disks on IBM PCs and compatibles to 1024 cylinders * 63 sectors per track * 16 heads * 512 bytes per sector = 528 million bytes = 504 megabytes. Modern BIOSes select LBA mode automatically, and work around the 1024-cylinder BIOS limit by representing a hard disk to the OS as having e.g. half as many cylinders and twice as many heads. However, there is still an unbreakable BIOS disk size limit of 1024 cylinders * 63 sectors per track * 256 heads * 512 bytes per sector = 8 gigabytes, but modern OSes (including Windows 9x, Windows NT and Linux) are not affected by it, since they issue direct LBA-based calls, bypassing the BIOS hard disk services completely.
  • long-spined sea scorpion — Cottus bubalis or Taurulus bubalis
  • long-term care insurance — Long-term care insurance is insurance for people who may require long-term health or nursing care, and pays for things such as nursing homes and adult day care.
  • lunar (excursion) module — the component of the Apollo spacecraft used to carry astronauts to the moon's surface and return them to the command and service modules in lunar orbit
  • mach interface generator — (tool, programming)   (MIG) An implementation of a subset of Matchmaker that generates C and C++ remote procedure call interfaces for interprocess communication between Mach tasks.
  • macintosh user interface — (operating system)   The graphical user interface used by Apple Computer's Macintosh family of personal computers, based on graphical representations of familiar office objects (sheets of paper, files, wastepaper bin, etc.) positioned on a two-dimensional "desktop" workspace. Programs and data files are represented on screen by small pictures (icons). An object is selected by moving a mouse over the real desktop which correspondingly moves the pointer on screen. When the pointer is over an icon on screen, the icon is selected by pressing the button on the mouse. A hierarchical file system is provided that lets a user "drag" a document (a file) icon into and out of a folder (directory) icon. Folders can also contain other folders and so on. To delete a document, its icon is dragged into a trash can icon. For people that are not computer enthusiasts, managing files on the Macintosh is easier than using the MS-DOS or Unix command-line interpreter. The Macintosh always displays a row of menu titles at the top of the screen. When a mouse button is pressed over a title, a pull-down menu appears below it. With the mouse button held down, the option within the menu is selected by pointing to it and then releasing the button. Unlike the IBM PC, which, prior to Microsoft Windows had no standard graphical user interface, Macintosh developers almost always conform to the Macintosh interface. As a result, users are comfortable with the interface of a new program from the start even if it takes a while to learn all the rest of it. They know there will be a row of menu options at the top of the screen, and basic tasks are always performed in the same way. Apple also keeps technical jargon down to a minimum. Although the Macintosh user interface provides consistency; it does not make up for an application program that is not designed well. Not only must the application's menus be clear and understandable, but the locations on screen that a user points to must be considered. Since the mouse is the major selecting method on a Macintosh, mouse movement should be kept to a minimum. In addition, for experienced typists, the mouse is a cumbersome substitute for well-designed keyboard commands, especially for intensive text editing.
  • magnetothermoelectricity — thermoelectricity induced or affected by a magnetic field.
  • make a production out of — to make an unnecessary fuss about
  • make ducks and drakes of — to use recklessly; squander or waste
  • make one's presence felt — If you make your presence felt, you do something which makes people notice you or pay attention to you.
  • maker interchange format — (MIF) A language used to describe a FrameMaker document in a text file. MIF is used to exchange information between FrameMaker and other applications.
  • mandy rice-davis applies — (chat)   (MRDA) An acronym used to imply that someone is lying to protect their own interests. During the trial of Stephen Ward (who was charged with living off the immoral earnings of Christine Keeler and Rice-Davies), the prosecuting counsel pointed out that Lord Astor denied any involvement with her and Rice-Davies replied, "Well, he would, wouldn't he?"
  • manic-depressive illness — bipolar disorder.
  • mari autonomous republic — autonomous republic in the Russian Federation in Europe. 8994 sq. mi. (23,294 sq. km). Capital: Ioshkar-Ola.
  • mean length of utterance — the mean number of morphemes produced per sentence, used especially as a measure of child language development. Abbreviation: MLU.
  • medium-scale integration — MSI.
  • mitigating circumstances — conditions that lessen responsibility for a crime
  • money-market certificate — a certificate of deposit held for a specified term earning a fixed interest rate keyed to the interest rate of U.S. Treasury bills.
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