open sesame | any very successful means of achieving a result |
closed primary | a primary in which only registered members of a particular political party can vote, closed primaries strengthen party unity |
open primary | a primary in which any registered voter can vote (but must vote for candidates of only one party) |
open frame break | any frame in which a bowler fails to make a strike or spare, the break in the eighth frame cost him the match |
closed-heart surgery | heart surgery in which a small incision is made (the chest cavity is not opened) |
open-heart surgery | heart surgery in which the rib cage is spread open, the heart is stopped and blood is detoured through a heart-lung machine while a heart valve or coronary artery is surgically repaired |
racket fraudulent scheme illegitimate enterprise | an illegal enterprise (such as extortion or fraud or drug peddling or prostitution) carried on for profit |
closed circuit loop | a complete electrical circuit around which current flows or a signal circulates |
closed loop closed-loop system | a control system with a feedback loop that is active |
field-sequential color television field-sequential color TV field-sequential color television system field-sequential color TV system | an early form of color TV in which successive fields are scanned in three primary colors |
fireplace hearth open fireplace | an open recess in a wall at the base of a chimney where a fire can be built, the fireplace was so large you could walk inside it, he laid a fire in the hearth and lit it, the hearth was black with the charcoal of many fires |
open-air market open-air marketplace market square | a public marketplace where food and merchandise is sold |
open circuit | an incomplete electrical circuit in which no current flows |
open-end wrench tappet wrench | a wrench having parallel jaws at fixed separation (often on both ends of the handle) |
open-hearth furnace | a furnace for making steel in which the steel is placed on a shallow hearth and flames of burning gas and hot air play over it |
open sight | rear gunsight having an open notch instead of a peephole or telescope |
open weave | a weave in which warp threads never come together, leaving interstices in the fabric |
skeen arch skene arch scheme arch diminished arch | an arch whose height is less than half its width |
open door | freedom of access, he maintained an open door for all employees |
open surface | information that has become public, all the reports were out in the open, the facts had been brought to the surface |
mystery enigma secret closed book | something that baffles understanding and cannot be explained, how it got out is a mystery, it remains one of nature's secrets |
outline schema scheme | a schematic or preliminary plan |
scheme strategy | an elaborate and systematic plan of action |
pump-and-dump scheme | an illegal scheme for making money by manipulating stock prices, the schemer persuades other people to buy the stock and then sells it himself as soon as the price of the stock rises |
pyramid scheme | a fraudulent scheme in which people are recruited to make payments to the person who recruited them while expecting to receive payments from the persons they recruit, when the number of new recruits fails to sustain the hierarchical payment structure the scheme collapses with most of the participants losing the money they put in |
schema scheme | an internal representation of the world, an organization of concepts and actions that can be revised by new information about the world |
closed interval bounded interval | an interval that includes its endpoints |
open interval unbounded interval | an interval that does not include its endpoints |
closed couplet | a rhymed couplet that forms a complete syntactic unit |
open account | an unpaid credit order |
open letter | a letter of protest, addressed to one person but intended for the general public |
open-door policy open door | the policy of granting equal trade opportunities to all countries |
open secret | something that is supposed to be secret but is generally known, their love affair was an open secret |
dodge dodging scheme | a statement that evades the question by cleverness or trickery |
executive session closed session | a session (usually of a legislative body) that is closed to the public |
open sesame | a magical command, used by Ali Baba |
open | a tournament in which both professionals and amateurs may play |
open-face sandwich open sandwich | sandwich without a covering slice of bread |
color scheme colour scheme | a planned combination of colors, the color scheme for this room was determined by an interior decorator |
mutual fund mutual fund company open-end fund open-end investment company | a regulated investment company with a pool of assets that regularly sells and redeems its shares |
closed-end fund closed-end investment company | a regulated investment company that issues a fixed number of shares which are listed on a stock market |
open shop | a company whose workers are hired without regard to their membership in a labor union |
closed shop | a company that hires only union members |
open house | an informal party of people with hospitality for all comers |
Open University | a British university that is open to people without formal academic qualifications and where teaching is by correspondence or broadcasting or summer school |
open society | a society that allows its members considerable freedom (as in a democracy), America's open society has made it an easy target for terrorists |
closed corporation close corporation private corporation privately held corporation | a corporation owned by a few people, shares have no public market |
open order | a military formation leaving enough space between ranks to allow an inspecting officer to pass |
system scheme | a group of independent but interrelated elements comprising a unified whole, a vast system of production and distribution and consumption keep the country going |
outdoors out-of-doors open air open | where the air is unconfined, he wanted to get outdoors a little, the concert was held in the open air, camping in the open |