17-letter words containing n, a, s, h, i
- bighorn mountains — range of the Rocky Mountains in N Wyo. and S Mont.: highest peak, 13,165 ft (4,013 m)
- board-and-shingle — a small dwelling with wooden walls and a shingle roof
- boatswain's chair — a seat consisting of a short flat board slung from ropes, used to support a person working on the side of a vessel or in its rigging
- boothia peninsula — a peninsula of N Canada: the northernmost part of the mainland of North America, lying west of the Gulf of Boothia, an arm of the Arctic Ocean
- british cameroons — a former British trust territory of West Africa
- british columbian — of or relating to British Columbia or its inhabitants
- british-cameroons — German Kamerun. a region in W Africa: a German protectorate 1884–1919; divided in 1919 into British and French mandates.
- bushman's singlet — a sleeveless heavy black woollen singlet, used as working clothing by timber fellers
- cache consistency — cache coherency
- carbon disulphide — a colourless slightly soluble volatile flammable poisonous liquid commonly having a disagreeable odour due to the presence of impurities: used as an organic solvent and in the manufacture of rayon and carbon tetrachloride. Formula: CS2
- cardiogenic shock — a type of shock caused by decreased cardiac output despite adequate blood volume, owing to a disease of the heart itself, as myocardial infarction, or any other factor that interferes with the filling or emptying of the heart.
- 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.
- castle in the air — a hope or desire unlikely to be realized; daydream
- catastrophization — The act or process of catastrophizing.
- caudal anesthesia — anesthesia below the pelvis, induced by injecting an anesthetic into the sacral portion of the spinal canal.
- celestial horizon — the line or circle that forms the apparent boundary between earth and sky.
- cellulose varnish — a varnish made from cellulose nitrate, used as a protective sealing film
- chancery division — (in England) the Lord Chancellor's court, now a division of the High Court of Justice
- change one's mind — to alter one's decision or opinion
- character witness — a witness in a trial who testifies to the accused's general good character rather than providing evidence about the specific offence which has led to him or her being on trial
- characterisations — Plural form of characterisation.
- characterizations — portrayal; description: the actor's characterization of a politician.
- charles lindbergh — Anne (Spencer) Morrow, 1906–2001, U.S. writer (wife of Charles Augustus Lindbergh).
- chelsea pensioner — an old ex-soldier resident in the Chelsea Royal Hospital
- china grass cloth — grass cloth.
- chinaman's chance — Older Use: Offensive. a term used to refer to a Chinese person or a person of Chinese descent.
- chinese artichoke — a hairy plant, Stachys affinis, of China and Japan, having numerous small, white, edible tubers.
- chinese turkestan — the E part of the central Asian region of Turkestan: corresponds generally to the present-day Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region of China
- christian science — Christian Science is a type of Christianity which emphasizes the use of prayer to cure illness.
- christmas present — a present given at Christmas time, typically on Christmas Day
- christmas pudding — Christmas pudding is a special pudding that is eaten at Christmas.
- chugach mountains — a coastal mountain range in S Alaska, extending W from the St. Elias Mountains. Highest peak, Mount Marcus Baker, 13,176 feet (4016 meters).
- chukchi peninsula — a peninsula in the extreme NE of Russia, in NE Siberia: mainly tundra
- circle the wagons — to take defensive action; prepare for an attack: from arranging a wagon train in a circular formation
- citizen's charter — (formerly, in Britain) a government document setting out standards of service for public and private sector bodies, such as schools, hospitals, railway companies, water and energy suppliers, etc
- civil partnership — A civil partnership is a legal relationship between two people of the same sex that is similar to marriage.
- classical chinese — a written form of Chinese used from about the 5th century b.c. to 220 a.d.
- classical nahuatl — Aztec (def 2).
- classical-nahuatl — a member of a Nahuatl-speaking state in central Mexico that was conquered by Cortés in 1521.
- cleveland heights — city in NE Ohio: suburb of Cleveland: pop. 50,000
- close parenthesis — right parenthesis
- combine harvester — A combine harvester is a large machine which is used on farms to cut, sort, and clean grain.
- come to handgrips — to engage in hand-to-hand fighting
- congestion charge — Congestion charges refer to money motorists must pay in order to drive in some city centres. Congestion charges are intended to reduce traffic within those areas.
- conscript fathers — august legislators, esp Roman senators
- conspiracy theory — A conspiracy theory is a belief that a group of people are secretly trying to harm someone or achieve something. You usually use this term to suggest that you think this is unlikely.
- continental shelf — The continental shelf is the area which forms the edge of a continent, ending in a steep slope to the depths of the ocean.
- contradistinguish — to differentiate by means of contrasting or opposing qualities
- cushing's disease — a rare condition caused by excess corticosteroid hormones in the body, characterized chiefly by obesity of the trunk and face, high blood pressure, fatigue, and loss of calcium from the bones
- damon and pythias — two friends noted for their mutual loyalty. Damon offered himself as a hostage for Pythias, who was to be executed for treason by Dionysius of Syracuse. When Pythias returned to save his friend's life, he was pardoned