stamp

stamp someone or something out 1. [with

someone] to get rid of or kill someone.

(Slang.) You just can’t stamp somebody

out on your own! T The victim wanted to

stamp out the robbers without a trial. 2.

[with something] to extinguish some-

thing. Quick, stamp that fire out before

it spreads. T Tom stamped out the sparks

before they started a fire. 3. [with some-

thing] to eliminate something. The

doctors hope they can stamp cancer out. T

Many people think that they can stamp out

evil.

stand a chance to have a chance. Do you

think I stand a chance of winning first

place?  Everyone stands a chance of

catching the disease.

stand and deliver to give up something

to someone who demands it. (Originally

used by highway robbers asking for pas-

sengers’ valuables. Now used figura-

tively.) And when the tax agent says

“Stand and deliver” you have to be pre-

pared to pay what is demanded.

robber stopped the coach and demanded of

Lady Ellen, “Stand and deliver!”

stand behind someone or something and

stand (in) back of someone or something to

endorse or guarantee something or the

actions of a person. (Also literal.) Our

company stands behind this product 100

percent. I stand behind Bill and every-

thing he does.

stand by to wait and remain ready. (Gen-

erally heard in communication, such as

broadcasting, telephones, etc.) Your

transatlantic telephone call is almost ready.

Please stand by. Is everyone ready for the

telecast? Only ten seconds—stand by.

stand by someone to support someone; to

continue supporting someone even when

things are bad. (Also literal. Compare

this with stick by someone or something.)

Don’t worry. I’ll stand by you no matter

what. I feel as though I have to stand

by my brother even if he goes to jail.

stand corrected to admit that one has

been wrong. I realize that I accused him

wrongly. I stand corrected. We appreci-

ate now that our conclusions were wrong.

We stand corrected.

stand for something 1. to endure something.

The teacher won’t stand for any whis-

pering in class. We just can’t stand for

that kind of behavior. 2. to signify some-

thing. In a traffic signal, the red light

stands for “stop.” The abbreviation Dr.

stands for “doctor.” 3. to endorse or sup-

port an ideal. The mayor claims to

stand for honesty in government and jobs

for everyone. Every candidate for pub-

lic office stands for all the good things in

life.

stand in awe (of someone or something) to be

overwhelmed with respect for someone

or something. Many people stand in

awe of the president. Bob says he stands

in awe of a big juicy steak. I think he’s ex-

aggerating. When it comes to food, you

can say that it’s delicious, but one hardly

stands in awe.

stand (in) back of someone or something Go

to stand behind someone or something.

stand in (for someone) to substitute for

someone; to serve in someone’s place.

The famous opera singer was ill, and an in-

experienced singer had to stand in for her.

The new singer was grateful for the op-

portunity to stand in.

stand in someone’s way to be a barrier to

someone’s desires or intentions. (Also lit-

eral.) I know you want a divorce so you

can marry Ann. Well, I won’t stand in your

way. You can have the divorce. I know

you want to leave home, and I don’t want

to stand in your way. You’re free to go.

stand on ceremony to hold rigidly to pro-

tocol or formal manners. (Often in the

negative.) Please help yourself to more.

Don’t stand on ceremony. We are very

informal around here. Hardly anyone

stands on ceremony.

stand one’s ground and hold one’s ground

to stand up for one’s rights; to resist an

attack. The lawyer tried to confuse me

when I was giving testimony, but I man-

aged to stand my ground. Some people

were trying to crowd us off the beach, but

we held our ground.

stand on one’s own two feet to be inde-

pendent and self-sufficient. (Informal.

Compare this with get back on one’s

feet.) I’ll be glad when I have a good job

and can stand on my own two feet.

When Jane gets out of debt, she’ll be able

to stand on her own two feet again.

stand out to be uniquely visible or con-

spicuous. This computer stands out as

one of the best available. Because John

is so tall, he really stands out in a crowd.

stand over someone to monitor or watch

over someone, possibly while actually

standing near the person. You don’t

have to stand over me. I can do it by my-

self. I know from previous experience

that if I don’t stand over you, you’ll never

finish.

stand pat to remain as is; to preserve the

status quo. (Informal.) We can’t just

stand pat! We have to keep making

progress! This company isn’t increasing

sales. It’s just standing pat.

stand someone in good stead to be useful

or beneficial to someone. This is a fine

overcoat. I’m sure it’ll stand you in good

stead for many years. I did the mayor a

favor that I’m sure will stand me in good

stead.

stand someone to a treat to pay for food

or drink for someone as a special favor.

We went to the zoo, and my father stood

us all to a treat. We had ice cream and soft

drinks. We went to a nice restaurant and

had a fine meal. It was even better when

Mr. Williams told us he’d stand us to a

treat, and he picked up the bill.

stand someone up to fail to meet someone

for a date or an appointment. John and

Jane were supposed to go out last night, but

she stood him up. T If you stand up peo-

ple very often, you’ll find that you have no

friends at all.

stand still for something and hold still for

something to tolerate or endure something.

(Often in the negative.) I won’t stand

still for that kind of behavior! She won’t

hold still for that kind of talk.

stand to reason to seem reasonable. It

stands to reason that it’ll be colder in Jan-

uary than it is in November. It stands to

reason that Bill left in a hurry, although

no one saw him go.

stand up and be counted to state one’s

support (for someone or something); to

come out for someone or something.

believe in more government help for farm-

ers, write your representative—stand up

and be counted. I’m generally in favor

of what you propose, but not enough to

stand up and be counted.

a standing joke a subject that regularly

and over a period of time causes amuse-

ment whenever it is mentioned. Uncle

Jim’s driving was a standing joke. He used

to drive incredibly slowly.   Their

mother’s inability to make a decision was

a standing joke in the Smith family all

their lives.

stare someone in the face Go to look some-

one in the face.

stark raving mad totally insane; com-

pletely crazy; out of control. (Often an

exaggeration.) When she heard about

what happened at the office, she went stark

raving mad. You must be stark raving

mad if you think I would trust you with

my car!

start from scratch to start from the be-

ginning; to start from nothing. (Infor-

mal. Compare this with make something

from scratch.) Whenever I bake a cake,

I start from scratch. I never use a cake mix

in a box. I built every bit of my own

house. I started from scratch and did

everything with my own hands.

start off on the wrong foot to begin

[something] by doing something wrong.

(Also literal. See also be off on the wrong

foot; get off on the wrong foot.) I don’t

want to start off on the wrong foot by say-

ing something stupid. What should I say?

Poor Donna started off on the wrong

foot when she arrived forty minutes late.

start (off ) with a clean slate and start

(over) with a clean slate to start out

again afresh; to ignore the past and start

over again. (Refers to making marks on

a [clean] slate with chalk.) I plowed un-

der all last year’s f lowers so I could start

with a clean slate next spring. If I start

off with a clean slate, then I’ll know ex-

actly what each plant is. When Bob got

out of jail, he started over with a clean

slate.

start (over) with a clean slate Go to start

(off) with a clean slate.

start someone in (as something) and start

someone out (as something) to start some-

one on a job as a certain kind of worker.

I got a job in a restaurant today. They

started me in as a dishwasher. I now

work for the telephone company. They

started me out as a local operator.

start someone out (as something) Go to start

someone in (as something).

start something to start a fight or an argu-

ment. (Also literal. Something is anything

or nothing in the negative.) Hey, you!

Better be careful unless you want to start

something. I don’t want to start any-

thing. I’m just leaving.

start something up to start something, such

as a car or some procedure. (Also with-

out up.) T It was cold, but I managed to

start up the car without any difficulty.

We can’t start the project up until we have

more money.

start the ball rolling Go to get the ball

rolling.

stay after someone Go to keep after someone.

stay in touch (with someone) Go to keep

in touch (with someone).

stay put not to move; to stay where one is.

(Informal.) We’ve decided to stay put

and not to move to Florida. If the chil-

dren just stay put, their parents will come

for them soon.

steady as a rock Go to (as) steady as a

rock.

steal a base to sneak from one base to an-

other in baseball. The runner stole sec-

ond base, but he nearly got put out on the

way. Tom runs so slowly that he never

tries to steal a base.

steal a march (on someone) to get some

sort of an advantage over someone with-

out being noticed. I got the contract be-

cause I was able to steal a march on my

competitor. You have to be clever and

fast—not dishonest—to steal a march.

steal someone’s thunder to lessen someone’s

force or authority. What do you mean

by coming in here and stealing my thun-

der? I’m in charge here! Someone stole

my thunder by leaking my announcement

to the press.

steal the show Go to steal the spotlight.

steal the spotlight and steal the show

to give the best performance in a show,

play, or some other event; to get attention

for oneself. The lead in the play was

very good, but the butler stole the show.

Ann always tries to steal the spotlight when

she and I make a presentation.

steamed up angry. (Informal.) What

Bob said really got me steamed up. Why

do you get so steamed up about nothing?

steaming (mad) very angry; very mad;

very upset. The steaming coach yelled

at the clumsy players. The principal was

steaming mad when he found that his of-

fice had been vandalized.

steer clear (of someone or something) to avoid

someone or something. John is mad at

me, so I’ve been steering clear of him.

Steer clear of that book. It has many errors

in it. Good advice. I’ll steer clear.

step-by-step little by little, one step at a

time. (Refers both to walking and fol-

lowing instructions.) Just follow the in-

structions step-by-step, and everything

will be fine. The old man slowly moved

across the lawn step-by-step.

step down (from something) to resign a job

or a responsibility. (Also literal.) The

mayor stepped down from office last week.

It’s unusual for a mayor to step down.

step into someone’s shoes to take over a job

or some role from someone. I was pre-

pared to step into the boss’s shoes, so there

was no disruption when he left for another

job. There was no one who could step

into Alice’s shoes when she left, so every-

thing came to a stop.

step in(to the breach) to move into a

space or vacancy; to assume the job of

someone who has left it. When Ann re-

signed as president, I stepped into the

breach. A number of people asked me

to step in and take her place.

step on it Go to step on the gas.

step on someone’s toes to interfere with or

offend someone. (Also literal.) When

you’re in public office, you have to avoid

stepping on anyone’s toes. Ann stepped

on someone’s toes during the last campaign

and lost the election.

step out of line to misbehave; to do some-

thing offensive. (Also literal.) I’m ter-

ribly sorry. I hope I didn’t step out of line.

John is a lot of fun to go out with, but

he has a tendency to step out of line.

step something up to cause something to go

faster. T The factory was not making

enough cars, so they stepped up produc-

tion. The music was not fast enough, so

the conductor told everyone to step it up.

stew in one’s own juice to be left alone to

suffer one’s anger or disappointment. (In-

formal.) John has such a terrible tem-

per. When he got mad at us, we just let him

go away and stew in his own juice. Af-

ter John stewed in his own juice for a while,

he decided to come back and apologize to

us.

stick by someone or something and stick with

someone or something to support someone or

something; to continue supporting some-

one or something when things are bad.

(Informal. Compare this with stand by

someone.) Don’t worry. I’ll stick by you

no matter what. I feel as if I have to stick

by my brother even if he goes to jail. I’ll

stick by my ideas whether you like them

or not.

Stick ’em up! Go to Hands up!

stick-in-the-mud someone who is stub-

bornly old-fashioned. Come on to the

party with us and have some fun. Don’t

be an old stick-in-the-mud! Tom is no

stick-in-the-mud. He’s really up-to-date.

stick one’s foot in one’s mouth Go to put

one’s foot in one’s mouth.

stick someone or something up 1. [with some-

thing] to affix or attach something onto

a wall, post, etc. This notice ought to be

on the bulletin board. Please stick it up.

T I’m going to stick up this poster near the

entrance. 2. to rob someone or some-

thing. One robber stuck the cashier up

first, but someone sounded the alarm be-

fore any money was taken. T The robbers

came in and tried to stick up the bank, but

they got caught first.

stick someone with someone or something to

burden someone with someone or some-

thing. (Informal.) The dishonest mer-

chant stuck me with a faulty television set.

John stuck me with his talkative uncle

and went off with his friends.

stick something out to endure something.

(Also literal.) The play was terribly bor-

ing, but I managed to stick it out. Col-

lege was very difficult for Bill, but he de-

cided to stick it out.

stick together to remain together as a

group. (Also literal. Informal.) Come

on, you guys. Let’s stick together. Other-

wise somebody will get lost. Our group

of friends has managed to stick together for

almost twenty years.

stick to one’s guns to remain firm in one’s

convictions; to stand up for one’s rights.

(Informal. Compare this with stand one’s

ground.) I’ll stick to my guns on this

matter. I’m sure I’m right. Bob can be

persuaded to do it our way. He probably

won’t stick to his guns on this point.

stick to one’s ribs [for food] to last long and

fortify one well; [for food] to sustain one

even in the coldest weather. (Refers to the

inside of one’s ribs.) This oatmeal

ought to stick to your ribs. You need some-

thing hearty on a cold day like this. I

don’t want soup! I want something that

will stick to my ribs.

stick with someone or something Go to stick by

someone or something.

sticks and stones elements of harm [di-

rected at someone]. (Part of a rhyme,

“Sticks and stones may break my bones,

but words will never hurt me.”) I have

had enough of your sticks and stones. I

have enough trouble without your adding

to it. After the opposing candidate had

used sticks and stones for a month, sud-

denly there were kind words heard.

stiff as a poker Go to (as) stiff as a poker.

still as death Go to (as) still as death.

stink to high heaven and smell to high

heaven to smell very bad. What hap-

pened? This place stinks to high heaven.

This meat smells to high heaven. Throw it

away!

stir someone or something up 1. [with some-

one] to make someone angry or excited;

to make someone get active. (Also lit-

eral.) I need a cup of hot coffee to stir

me up in the morning. T Reading the

newspaper always stirs up my father. 2.

[with something] to cause trouble; to fo-

ment disagreement and difficulty. T

They stirred up quite a commotion. T

Who stirred up this matter?

stir up a hornet’s nest to create trouble or

difficulties. (Also literal. Informal.)

What a mess you have made of things.

You’ve really stirred up a hornet’s nest.

Bill stirred up a hornet’s nest when he dis-

covered the theft.

stock up (on something) to build up a sup-

ply of something. Before the first snow,

we always stock up on firewood. John

drinks a lot of milk, so we stock up when

we know he’s coming.

a stone’s throw (away) (from something)

Go to within a stone’s throw (of some-

thing).