14-letter words containing s, h
- basting thread — inexpensive, loosely twisted thread that can be easily pulled out when permanent stitching is in place
- bathing trunks — Bathing trunks are shorts that a man wears when he goes swimming.
- bayes' theorem — the fundamental result which expresses the conditional probability P(E/A) of an event E given an event A as P(A/E).P(E)/P(A); more generally, where En is one of a set of values Ei which partition the sample space, P(En/A) = P(A/En)P(En)/Σ P(A/Ei)P(Ei). This enables prior estimates of probability to be continually revised in the light of observations
- be cursed with — to be afflicted with; suffer from
- be in the wars — If someone has been in the wars, they have been injured, for example in a fight or in an accident.
- be in the wash — If you say that something such as an item of clothing is in the wash, you mean that it is being washed, is waiting to be washed, or has just been washed and should therefore not be worn or used.
- be struck with — to be attracted to or impressed by
- béchamel sauce — a thick white sauce flavoured with onion and seasonings
- bechamel-sauce — a white sauce, sometimes seasoned with onion and nutmeg.
- beclomethasone — a potent synthetic corticosteroid, C 28 H 37 ClO 7 , prepared as an inhalant in the treatment of bronchial asthma.
- belisha beacon — a flashing light in an orange globe mounted on a post, indicating a pedestrian crossing on a road
- bellingshausen — Fabian Gottlieb von [fey-bee-uh n-got-leeb von] /ˈfeɪ bi ənˈgɒt lib vɒn/ (Show IPA), (Faddey Faddeyevich Bellingshauzen) 1778–1852, Russian naval officer and explorer.
- bend the rules — to ignore rules or change them to suit one's own convenience
- bermuda shorts — close-fitting shorts that come down to the knees
- beseechingness — the quality or state of being beseeching
- bethlehem sage — a plant, Pulmonaria saccharata, of the borage family, native to Europe, having mottled, white leaves and white or reddish-purple flowers in clusters.
- between whiles — now and then; at intervals
- biceps brachii — See under biceps.
- big brotherism — paternalistic authoritarianism that seeks to supply the needs and regulate the conduct of people.
- big house, the — a penitentiary
- big red switch — (jargon) (BRS) IBM jargon for the power switch on a computer, especially the "Emergency Pull" switch on an IBM mainframe or the power switch on an IBM PC where it really is large and red. "This [email protected]%$% bitty box is hung again; time to hit the Big Red Switch." It is alleged that the emergency pull switch on an IBM 360/91 actually fired a non-conducting bolt into the main power feed; the BRSes on more recent mainframes physically drop a block into place so that they can't be pushed back in. People get fired for pulling them, especially inappropriately (see also molly-guard). Compare power cycle, three-finger salute, 120 reset; see also scram switch.
- bill of rights — A Bill of Rights is a written list of citizens' rights which is usually part of the constitution of a country.
- biomathematics — the study of the application of mathematics to biology
- bipartisanship — representing, characterized by, or including members from two parties or factions: Government leaders hope to achieve a bipartisan foreign policy.
- bircher muesli — a type of muesli containing softened oats, dried fruit, and apple
- birthing stool — a stool constructed to allow a woman in labour to give birth in a sitting position
- bishop's mitre — a European heteropterous bug, Aelia acuminata, whose larvae are a pest of cereal grasses: family Pentatomidae
- bishops' bible — an English translation of the Bible made under the direction of Matthew Parker and published in 1568: the recognized translation of the Bible in England until the Authorized (King James) Version of 1611.
- bisphosphonate — any drug of a class that inhibits the resorption of bone; used in treating certain bone disorders, esp osteoporosis
- black as night — totally dark
- black panthers — (in the US) a militant Black political party founded in 1965 to end the political dominance of White people
- blacktip shark — a widely distributed sand shark, Charcharinus limbatus, having fins that appear to have been dipped in ink, inhabiting shallow waters of warm seas.
- blade-shearing — the shearing of sheep using hand shears
- blanket finish — a finish so close that a blanket would cover all the contestants involved
- blanket stitch — a strong reinforcing stitch for the edges of blankets and other thick material
- blanket-stitch — a basic sewing stitch in which widely spaced, interlocking loops, or purls, are formed, used for cutwork, as a decorative finish for edges, etc.
- blepharoplasty — cosmetic surgery performed on the eyelid
- bletheranskate — a blatherer
- boarding house — A boarding house is a house which people pay to stay in for a short time.
- body mechanics — body exercises that are intended to improve one's posture, stamina, poise, etc.
- body of christ — the Christian Church
- body snatching — the act or practice of robbing a grave to obtain a cadaver for dissection.
- bolshoi ballet — a ballet company founded in Moscow in 1776.
- bonded-whiskey — something that binds, fastens, confines, or holds together.
- boolean search — (information science) (Or "Boolean query") A query using the Boolean operators, AND, OR, and NOT, and parentheses to construct a complex condition from simpler criteria. A typical example is searching for combinatons of keywords on a web search engine. Examples: car or automobile "New York" and not "New York state" The term is sometimes stretched to include searches using other operators, e.g. "near". Not to be confused with binary search. See also: weighted search.
- bophuthatswana — (formerly) a Bantu homeland in N South Africa: consisted of six separate areas; declared independent by South Africa in 1977 although this was not internationally recognized; abolished in 1993. Capital: Mmabatho
- bosworth field — the site, two miles south of Market Bosworth in Leicestershire, of the battle that ended the Wars of the Roses (August 1485). Richard III was killed and Henry Tudor was crowned king as Henry VII
- bottom fishing — investing in low-priced shares that show prospects of recovery or in shares that are low-priced because of a general market decline in the hope of making a profit
- bowstring hemp — a hemplike fibre obtained from the sansevieria
- braddock hills — a town in SE Pennsylvania.