stop

stop-and-go halting repeatedly; stopping

and continuing repeatedly. This project

has been stop-and-go since we began.

Problems keep appearing. The traffic

was stop-and-go for miles. I thought I

would never get here!

stop at nothing to do everything possible

(to accomplish something); to be un-

scrupulous. Bill would stop at nothing

to get his way. Bob is completely deter-

mined to get promoted. He’ll stop at

nothing.

stop by (somewhere) and stop in (some-

where) to visit a place, usually briefly.

I was coming home, but I decided to stop

by my aunt’s on the way. She was very

glad that I stopped in.

stop in (somewhere) Go to stop by (some-

where).

stop, look, and listen to exercise caution

at street corners and railroad crossings,

by stopping, looking to the left and to the

right, and listening for approaching ve-

hicles or a train. Sally’s mother trained

her to stop, look, and listen at every street

corner. It is a good practice to stop, look,

and listen at a railroad crossing.

stop off (somewhere) to stop somewhere on

the way to some other place. I stopped

off at the store to buy milk on the way

home. We stopped off for a few minutes

and chatted with my uncle.

stop over (somewhere) to break one’s jour-

ney somewhere, usually overnight or

even longer. (Compare this with lay over

(somewhere).) On our way to New York,

we stopped over in Philadelphia for the

night. That’s a good place to stop over.

There are some nice hotels in Philadelphia.

A storm is brewing. 1. There is going to

be a storm. Look at the clouds. A storm

is brewing. A storm is brewing in the

west. 2. There is going to be trouble or

emotional upset. He looks angry. A

storm is brewing.

the straight and narrow a straight and

law-abiding route through life. (Infor-

mal. From straight and narrow pathway.)

You should have no trouble with the po-

lice if you stick to the straight and narrow.

Roger was the kind who followed the

straight and narrow every day of his life.

straight as an arrow Go to (as) straight as

an arrow.

(straight) from the horse’s mouth from

an authoritative or dependable source.

I know it’s true! I heard it straight from the

horse’s mouth!  This comes from the

horse’s mouth, so it has to be believed.

straight from the shoulder sincerely;

frankly; holding nothing back. Sally al-

ways speaks straight from the shoulder. You

never have to guess what she really means.

Bill gave a good presentation—straight

from the shoulder and brief.

straighten someone or something out 1. [with

someone] to make someone understand

something. (Also literal.) Jane was con-

fused about the date, so I straightened her

out. T I took a few minutes and straight-

ened out everyone. 2. [with someone] to

reform someone. Most people think

that jail never straightens anybody out. T

The judge felt that a few years at hard la-

bor would straighten out the thief. 3. [with

something] to make a situation less con-

fused. John made a mess of the contract,

so I helped him straighten it out. T Please

straighten out your checking account. It’s

all messed up.

straighten up 1. to sit or stand more

straight. Billy’s mother told him to

straighten up or he’d fall out of his chair.

John straightened up so he’d look taller.

2. to behave better. Bill was acting

badly for a while; then he straightened up.

Sally, straighten up, or I will punish you!

stranger to something or somewhere someone

who is new to an area or place. Al-

though John was no stranger to big cities,

he did not enjoy visiting New York. You

are a stranger to our town, and I hope you

feel welcome.

strapped (for something) very much in need

of money. (Informal.) I’m strapped for

a few bucks. Can you loan me five dollars?

Sorry, I’m strapped, too.

stretch a point and stretch the point to

interpret a point flexibly and with great

latitude. Would it be stretching a point

to suggest that everyone is invited to your

picnic? To say that everyone is invited

is stretching the point.

stretch one’s legs to walk around after sit-

ting down or lying down for a time.

We wanted to stretch our legs during the

theater intermission. After sitting in the

car all day, the travelers decided to stretch

their legs.

stretch the point Go to stretch a point.

stretch the truth to exaggerate; to mis-

represent the truth just a little bit. She

was stretching the truth when she said

everything was ready for the party. I

don’t want to stretch the truth. Our town

is probably the wealthiest around here.

(strictly) on the level honest; dependably

open and fair. How can I be sure you’re

on the level? You can trust Sally. She’s

strictly on the level.

(strictly) on the up-and-up honest; fair

and straight. (Slang. Compare this with

on the level.) Do you think that the

mayor is on the up-and-up?  Yes, the

mayor is strictly on the up-and-up.

strike a bargain to reach an agreement on

a price (for something). They argued

for a while and finally struck a bargain.

They were unable to strike a bargain, so

they left.

strike a chord (with someone) to cause

someone to remember something; to re-

mind someone or something; to be fa-

miliar. The woman in the portrait

struck a chord and I realized that it was my

grandmother. His name strikes a chord

with me, but I don’t know why.

strike a happy medium and hit a happy

medium; find a happy medium. to

find a compromise position; to arrive at

a position halfway between two unac-

ceptable extremes. Ann likes very spicy

food, but Bob doesn’t care for spicy food at

all. We are trying to find a restaurant that

strikes a happy medium. Tom is either

very happy or very sad. He can’t seem to

hit a happy medium.

strike a match to light a match.

struck a match and lit a candle. When

Sally struck a match to light a cigarette,

Jane said quickly, “No smoking, please.”

strike a pose to position oneself in a cer-

tain posture. Bob struck a pose in front

of the mirror to see how much he had

grown. Lisa walked into the room and

struck a pose, hoping she would be noticed.

strike a sour note and hit a sour note

to signify something unpleasant. (Infor-

mal.) Jane’s sad announcement struck a

sour note at the annual banquet. News

of the crime hit a sour note in our holiday

celebration.

strike home Go to hit home.

strike it rich to acquire wealth suddenly.

(Informal.) If I could strike it rich, I

wouldn’t have to work anymore. Sally

ordered a dozen oysters and found a huge

pearl in one of them. She struck it rich!

strike out at someone or something to (figu-

ratively or literally) hit at or attack some-

one or something. She was so angry she

struck out at the person she was arguing

with. I was frantic. I wanted to strike

out at everything and everybody.

strike someone as something [for a thought or

behavior] to affect someone a certain

way. John’s rude behavior struck me as

odd.   Mary’s attitude struck me as

childish.

strike someone funny to seem funny to

someone. Sally has a great sense of hu-

mor. Everything she says strikes me funny.

Why are you laughing? Did something

I said strike you funny?

strike someone out [for a baseball pitcher]

to get a batter declared “out” after three

strikes. I never thought he’d strike Tom

out. T Bill struck out all our best players.

strike someone’s fancy to appeal to some-

one. (See also tickle someone’s fancy.) I’ll

have some ice cream, please. Chocolate

strikes my fancy right now. Why don’t

you go to the store and buy a record al-

bum that strikes your fancy?

strike the right note to achieve the desired

effect; to do something suitable or pleas-

ing. (A musical reference.) Meg struck

the right note when she wore a dark suit

to the interview. The politician’s speech

failed to strike the right note with the

crowd.

strike up a conversation to start a con-

versation (with someone). I struck up

an interesting conversation with someone

on the bus yesterday. It’s easy to strike

up a conversation with someone when

you’re traveling.

strike while the iron is hot to do some-

thing at the best possible time; to do

something when the time is ripe. He

was in a good mood, so I asked for a loan

of $200. I thought I’d better strike while

the iron was hot. Please go to the bank

and settle this matter now! They are will-

ing to be reasonable. You’ve got to strike

while the iron is hot.

string along (with someone) to accompany

someone; to run around with someone.

Sally seemed to know where she was going,

so I decided to string along with her. She

said it was okay if I strung along.

string something out to draw something out

(in time); to make something last a long

time. (Also literal.) The meeting was

long enough. There was no need to string

it out further with all those speeches. T

They tried to string out the meeting to

make things seem more important.

a stroke of luck a bit of luck; a lucky hap-

pening. I had a stroke of luck and found

Tom at home when I called. He’s not usu-

ally there. Unless I have a stroke of luck,

I’m not going to finish this report by

tomorrow.

strong as a horse Go to (as) strong as a

horse.

strong as a lion Go to (as) strong as a lion.

strong as an ox Go to (as) strong as an

ox.

a struggle to the death a bitter struggle

either to success or failure. (Also literal.)

It was a struggle to the death, but I fi-

nally finished my report on time. I had

a terrible time getting my car started. It

was a struggle to the death, but it finally

started.

stubborn as a mule Go to (as) stubborn

as a mule.

(stuck) in a rut kept in an established way

of living that never changes. David felt

like he was stuck in a rut, so he went back

to school. Anne was tired of being in a

rut, so she moved to Los Angeles.

stuck in traffic to be caught in a traffic

jam. I am sorry I am late. I was stuck

in traffic. Our taxi was stuck in traffic,

and I thought I would never get to the air-

port on time.

stuck on someone or something 1. [with some-

one] to be fond of or in love with some-

one. John was stuck on Sally, but she

didn’t know it. He always is stuck on the

wrong person. 2. [with something] to be

locked into an idea, cause, or purpose.

Mary is really stuck on the idea of go-

ing to France this spring. You’ve pro-

posed a good plan, Jane, but you’re stuck

on it. We may have to make some changes.

stuck with someone or something burdened

with someone or something; left having

to care for someone or something. (In-

formal.) Please don’t leave me stuck

with your aunt. She talks too much. My

roommate quit school and left me stuck

with the telephone bill.

stuff and nonsense nonsense. (Informal.)

Come on! Don’t give me all that stuff

and nonsense! I don’t understand this

book. It’s all stuff and nonsense as far as I

am concerned.

stuff the ballot box to put fraudulent bal-

lots into a ballot box; to cheat in count-

ing the votes in an election. The elec-

tion judge was caught stuffing the ballot

box in the election yesterday. Election

officials are supposed to guard against

stuffing the ballot box.

stumble across someone or something and

stumble into someone or something; stum-

ble (up)on someone or something to find

someone or something, usually by acci-

dent. I stumbled across an interesting

book yesterday when I was shopping.

Guess who I stumbled into at the library

yesterday? I stumbled on a real bargain

at the bookstore last week.

stumble into someone or something 1. to

bump into someone or something acci-

dentally. I stumbled into John, and I

apologized. It was my fault. I stumbled

into a post and hurt my arm. 2. Go to

stumble across someone or something. 3.

[with something] to enter something or

a place by stumbling. I tripped on the

curb and stumbled into the car. I stum-

bled into the house, exhausted and in need

of a cool drink.

stumble (up)on someone or something 1. Go

to stumble across someone or something. 2.

to trip over someone or something.

There were three of us sleeping in the small

tent. Each of us would stumble on the oth-

ers whenever we went out or came in. I

stumbled on the curb and twisted my

ankle.

stumbling block something that prevents

or obstructs progress. We’d like to buy

that house, but the high price is the stum-

bling block.  Jim’s age is a stumbling

block to getting another job. He’s over 60.

subject to something 1. likely to have some-

thing, such as a physical disorder. The

sick man was subject to dizzy spells. I

am subject to frequent headaches. 2. ten-

tative, depending on something; vulner-

able to something. I have made all the

necessary plans, subject to your approval,

of course. My remarks are, of course,

subject to your criticisms.

subscribe to something to have a standing

order for a magazine or something sim-

ilar. I usually buy my monthly maga-

zines at the newsstand. I don’t subscribe

to them. I subscribe to all the magazines

I read because it’s nice to have them de-

livered by mail.

such and such someone or something

whose name has been forgotten or should

not be said. (Informal.) Mary said that

such and such was coming to her party, but

I forgot their names. If you walk into a

store and ask for such and such and they

don’t have it, you go to a different store.

such as 1. of a particular kind; of the sort

that is; like. Where can I get a haircut

such as yours? I’d like to buy a vase such

as the one in your display case. 2. for ex-

ample. Bill enjoys many kinds of fruit,

such as apples, pears, and plums. Mary

has many hobbies, such as swimming,

bowling, and running.

such as it is in the imperfect state that one

sees it; in the less-than-perfect condition

in which one finds it. This is where I

live. This is my glorious home—such as it

is. I’ve worked for days on this report,

and I’ve done the best that I can do. It’s my

supreme effort—such as it is.

Such is life! That is the way things happen,

even it isn’t the way I want it to be! Oh,

well. Everything can’t be perfect. Such is

life! So I failed my test. Such is life! I can

take it again some time.

suck someone in and take someone in to de-

ceive someone. (The expression with suck

is slang.) I try to shop carefully so that

no one can take me in. T I think that

someone sucked in both of them. I don’t

know why they bought this car.

suggestive of something reminiscent of

something; seeming to suggest some-

thing. Bill’s homemade soup is sugges-

tive of his mother’s. The new movie was

suggestive of an old one I had seen on TV.

suit oneself to do something one’s own

way; to do something to please oneself.

If he doesn’t want to do it my way, he

can suit himself. Take either of the books

that you like. Suit yourself. I’ll read the

other one.

suit someone to a T and fit someone to a T

to be very appropriate for someone.

This kind of job suits me to a T. This is

Sally’s kind of house. It fits her to a T.

sum and substance a summary; the gist.

(See also form and substance.) Can you

quickly tell me the sum and substance of

your proposal? In trying to explain the

sum and substance of the essay, Thomas

failed to mention the middle name of the

hero.

sum something up to summarize something.

(Literally, to figure out the total.) T At

the end of the lecture, Dr. Williams

summed up the important points. He

said when he finished, “Well, that about

sums it up.”

Sunday-go-to-meeting clothes one’s best

clothes. (Folksy. See also in one’s Sunday

best.) John was all dressed up in his

Sunday-go-to-meeting clothes. I hate to

be wearing my Sunday-go-to-meeting

clothes when everyone else is casually

dressed.

supply and demand the availability of

things or people as compared to the need

to utilize the things or people; the avail-

ability of goods compared to the number

of willing customers for the goods.

Sometimes you can find what you want by

shopping around and other times almost

no store carries the items you are looking

for. It depends entirely on supply and de-

mand.  Sometimes customers ask for

things we do not carry in stock and other

times we have things in abundance that no

one wants to buy. Whether or not we can

make money off of a product depends en-

tirely on supply and demand.

supposed to do something expected or in-

tended to do something; obliged or al-

lowed to do something. You’re sup-

posed to say “excuse me” when you burp.

Mom says you’re supposed to come in-

side for dinner now.

sure as death Go to (as) sure as death.

surf and turf fish and beef; lobster and

beef. (A type of meal incorporating both

expensive seafood and an expensive cut

of beef. Refers to the sea and to the pas-

ture.) Walter ordered the surf and turf,

but Alice ordered only a tiny salad. No

surf and turf for me. I want fish and fish

alone.

the survival of the fittest the idea that the

most able or fit will survive (while the

less able and less fit will perish). (This is

used literally as a part of the theory of

evolution.) In college, it’s the survival of

the fittest. You have to keep working in or-

der to survive and graduate. I don’t give

my houseplants very good care, but the

ones I have are really f lourishing. It’s the

survival of the fittest, I guess.

susceptible to something 1. easily per-

suaded; easily influenced. The students

were susceptible to the allure of drugs.

The young revolutionaries were suscepti-

ble to propaganda. 2. likely to contract a

sickness; likely to become sick. People

with AIDS are susceptible to pneumonia.

Infants and the elderly are more sus-

ceptible to illness than other people.

swallow one’s pride to forget one’s pride

and accept something humiliating. I

had to swallow my pride and admit that I

was wrong. When you’re a student, you

find yourself swallowing your pride quite

often.

swallow something, hook, line, and sinker

to believe something completely. (Slang.

These terms refer to fishing and fooling

a fish into being caught.) I made up a

story about why I was so late. The boss

swallowed it, hook, line, and sinker. I

feel like a fool. I swallowed it, hook, line,

and sinker.

[swan song] Go to someone’s swan song.

swear by someone or something 1. to take an

oath on someone or something. My

uncle is sort of old-fashioned. He makes

promises by swearing by his “sainted

mother.” He sometimes swears by his

foot! 2. to have complete faith and con-

fidence in someone or something. I’m

willing to swear by John. He’s completely

dependable. This is an excellent brand

of detergent. My sister swears by it.

swear on a stack of Bibles and swear on

one’s mother ’s grave to state something

very earnestly, pledging to tell the truth.

(Stack of Bibles refers to swearing to tell

the truth in court by placing one’s hand

on a Bible.) I swear on a stack of Bibles

that I am telling the truth. Of course,

I’m telling the truth. I swear on my

mother’s grave!

swear on one’s mother ’s grave Go to

swear on a stack of Bibles.

sweat blood to be very anxious and tense.

(Slang.) What a terrible test! I was

really sweating blood at the last. Bob is

such a bad driver. I sweat blood every time

I ride with him.

sweat something out to endure or wait for

something that causes tension or bore-

dom. (Informal.) I had to wait for her

in the reception area. It was a long wait,

but I managed to sweat it out. T I took

the test and then spent a week sweating out

the results.

sweep one off one’s feet and knock one off

one’s feet 1. to knock someone down.

The wind swept me off my feet.  Bill

punched Bob playfully, and knocked him

off his feet. 2. to overwhelm someone

(figuratively). (Informal.) Mary is

madly in love with Bill. He swept her off

her feet. The news was so exciting that

it knocked me off my feet.

sweep out of somewhere to move or leave in

a flamboyant or theatrical way. The in-

sulted customer swept out of the store.

The celebrity rose from his table and swept

out of the restaurant.

sweep something under the carpet and

sweep something under the rug to try to

hide something unpleasant, shameful,

etc., from the attention of others. The

boss said he couldn’t sweep the theft un-

der the carpet, that he’d have to call in the

police. Roger had a tendency to sweep

all the problems under the rug.

sweep something under the rug Go to

sweep something under the carpet.

sweet and low [of music] pleasing and

quiet. Play me something that is sweet

and low. I like dance music that is sweet

and low—not any of this rowdy, violent

stuff.

sweet and sour a combination of fruity

sweet and sour, but not necessarily salty,

flavors. (Often refers to certain Chinese-

American foods.) I prefer sweet and

sour pork to anything else on the menu.

Alice does not care for sweet and sour

dishes, but she will usually eat whatever we

serve her.

sweet as honey Go to (as) sweet as honey.

sweet as sugar Go to (as) sweet as honey.

sweet nothings affectionate but unimpor-

tant or meaningless words spoken to a

loved one. Jack was whispering sweet

nothings in Joan’s ear when they were

dancing. The two lovers sat in the cin-

ema exchanging sweet nothings.

sweet on someone fond of someone.

(Folksy.) Tom is sweet on Mary. He may

ask her to marry him. Mary’s sweet on

him, too.

sweet-talk someone to talk convincingly to

someone with much flattery. (Folksy.)

I didn’t want to help her, but she sweet-

talked me into it. He sweet-talked her

for a while, and she finally agreed to go to

the dance with him.

swift and sure fast and certain. (As with

the flight of a well-aimed arrow.) The

response of the governor to the criticism by

the opposing party was swift and sure.

The boxer’s punch was swift and sure and

resulted in a quick knockout and a very

short match.

swift as an arrow Go to (as) swift as an

arrow.

swift as the wind Go to (as) swift as the

wind.

swift as thought Go to (as) swift as

thought.

swim against the current Go to swim

against the tide.

swim against the tide and swim against

the current to do the opposite of every-

one else; to go against the trend. Bob

tends to do what everybody else does. He

isn’t likely to swim against the tide.

Mary always swims against the current.

She’s a very contrary person.

swing into action Go to go into action.

swing something to make something happen.

(Slang.) I hope I can swing a deal that

will make us all a lot of money. We all

hope you can swing it.

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).

so

so-and-so a despised person. (Informal.

This expression is used in place of other

very insulting terms. Often modified, as

in the example below.) You dirty so-

and-so! I can’t stand you! Don’t you call

me a so-and-so, you creep!

So be it. This is the way it will be. If you

insist on running off and marrying her, so

be it. Only don’t say I didn’t warn you!

Mary has decided that this is what she

wants. So be it.

so clean you could eat off the floor [of

a room or a house] very clean.

kitchen is so clean you could eat off the

f loor! It’s so clean here you could eat off

the f loor. I prefer a little mess, myself.

so far as anyone knows Go to (as) far as

anyone knows.

so far as possible Go to as far as possible.

so far as someone or something is concerned

Go to (as) far as someone or something is

concerned.

So far, so good. All is going well so far.

We are half finished with our project. So

far, so good. The operation is proceed-

ing quite nicely—so far, so good.

So it goes. That is the kind of thing that

happens.; That is life. Too bad about

John and his problems. So it goes. I just

lost a twenty-dollar bill, and I can’t find

it anywhere. So it goes.

so long good-bye. (Informal.) So long,

see you later. As John got out of the car,

he said, “Thanks for the ride. So long.”

so long as Go to as long as.

so mad I could scream very mad. I am

just so mad I could scream! Why is he such

a jerk? She makes me so made I could

scream.

so much for someone or something that is the

last of someone or something; there is no

need to consider someone or something

anymore. It just started raining. So

much for our picnic this afternoon. So

much for John. He just called in sick and

can’t come to work today.

so much the better even better; all to the

better. (Informal.) Please come to the

picnic. If you can bring a salad, so much

the better. The flowers look lovely on the

shelf. It would be so much the better if you

put them on the table.

so quiet you could hear a pin drop Go

to so still you could hear a pin drop.

so-so not good and not bad; mediocre. (In-

formal.) I didn’t have a bad day. It was

just so-so. The players put on a so-so

performance.

so soon early; before the regular time;

ahead of schedule. I got there early be-

cause my bus arrived so soon. Because

the meeting ended so soon, I had some ex-

tra time.

so still you could hear a pin drop and

so quiet you could hear a pin drop

very quiet. (Also with can.) When I

came into the room, it was so still you

could hear a pin drop. Then everyone

shouted, “Happy birthday!” Please be

quiet. Be so quiet you can hear a pin drop.

so to speak as one might say; said a cer-

tain way, even though the words are not

exactly accurate. John helps me with my

taxes. He’s my accountant, so to speak.

I just love my little poodle. She’s my baby,

so to speak.

soaked to the skin with one’s clothing wet

clear through to the skin. I was caught

in the rain and got soaked to the skin.

Oh, come in and dry off! You must be

soaked to the skin.

sober as a judge Go to (as) sober as a

judge.

sock something away to store something in

a safe place. (Informal.) While I worked

in the city, I was able to sock $100 away

every month. T At the present time, I can’t

sock away that much.

soft as a baby’s bottom Go to (as) soft as

a baby’s bottom.

soft as down Go to (as) soft as down.

soft as silk Go to (as) soft as silk.

soft as velvet Go to (as) soft as velvet.

soil one’s diaper(s) [for a baby] to excrete

waste into its diaper. The baby soiled

his diapers. I detect that someone has

soiled his diaper.

soil one’s hands Go to get one’s hands dirty.

sold out [of a product] completely sold

with no more items remaining; [of a

store] having no more of a particular

product. The tickets were sold out so we

couldn’t go to the concert. I wanted new

shoes like yours, but they were sold out.

solid as a rock Go to (as) solid as a rock.

(some) new blood new personnel; new

members brought into a group to revive

it. This company needs some new blood

on its board to bring in new ideas. We’re

trying to get some new blood in the club.

Our membership is falling.  Our club

needs new blood. It has become boring.

The firm’s management has at last got a

little new blood. Things should improve

now.

someone or something checks out someone or

something is verified or authenticated.

(Informal.) I spent all afternoon work-

ing with my checkbook, trying to get the

figures to check out. The police would-

n’t believe that I am who I say I am until

they made a few telephone calls to see if my

story checked out.

someone of note a person who is famous.

We invited a speaker of note to lecture at

the next meeting. The baseball player

of note was inducted into the Hall of

Fame.

someone’s ace in the hole something or

someone held (secretly) in reserve; any-

thing that can help in an emergency.

(Slang. Refers to an ace dealt facedown in

poker.) The hostages served as the ter-

rorists’ ace in the hole for getting what they

wanted. The twenty-dollar bill in my

shoe is my ace in the hole.

someone’s bread and butter someone’s in-

come; someone’s livelihood—the source

of one’s food. (Work or a job leads to a

paycheck that will buy bread and butter.)

I can’t miss another day of work. That’s

my bread and butter. I like to go to busi-

ness conferences. That’s good because that’s

my bread and butter.

someone’s goose is cooked one is finished;

one has been found out and is in trou-

ble. It’s over. His goose is cooked! If

I get caught, my goose is cooked.

someone’s last will and testament a will;

the last edition of someone’s will. The

lawyer read Uncle Charles’s last will and

testament to a group of expectant relatives.

Fred dictated his last will and testament

on his deathbed.

someone’s pet hate something that is dis-

liked intensely by someone and is a con-

stant or repeated annoyance. My pet

hate is being put on hold on the telephone.

Another pet hate of mine is having to

stand in line.

someone’s pet peeve one’s “favorite” or most

often encountered annoyance. My pet

peeve is someone who always comes into

the theater after the show has started.

Drivers who don’t signal are John’s pet

peeve.

someone’s place of business a place where

business is done; a factory or office.

Our place of business opens at noon each

day. You will have to come to our place

of business to make a purchase.

someone’s swan song the last work or per-

formance of a playwright, musician, ac-

tor, etc., before death or retirement.

His portrayal of Lear was the actor’s swan

song. We didn’t know that her perfor-

mance last night was the singer’s swan

song.

someone’s train of thought someone’s pat-

tern of thinking; someone’s sequence of

ideas; what one was just thinking about.

(See also lose one’s train of thought.)

My train of thought is probably not as clear

as it should be. I cannot seem to follow

your train of thought on this matter. Will

you explain it a little more carefully,

please?

someone wrote the book on something to be

very authoritative about something; to

know enough about something to write

the definitive book on it. (Also literal. Al-

ways in past tense.) Ted wrote the book

on unemployment. He’s been looking for

work in three states for two years. Do I

know about misery? I wrote the book on

misery!

something else something wonderful;

something extra special. (Also literal. In-

formal.) Did you see her new car? That’s

really something else! John hit a ball yes-

terday that went out of the stadium and

kept on going. He’s something else!

something else (again) something en-

tirely different. (Informal.) Borrowing

is one thing, but stealing is something else.

Skin diving is easy and fun, but scuba

diving is something else again.

something of the sort something of the

kind just mentioned. This is a spruce

tree, or something of the sort. Jane has

a cold or something of the sort.

something or other something; one thing

or another. (Informal.) I can’t remem-

ber what Ann said—something or other.

A messenger came by and dropped off

something or other at the front desk.

something to that effect and words to

that effect something like what was just

said. (Informal.) She said she wouldn’t

be available until after three, or something

to that effect. I was told to keep out of

the house—or something to that effect.

something’s up something is going to hap-

pen; something is going on. (Slang.)

Everybody looks very nervous. I think

something’s up. From the looks of all the

activity around here, I think something’s

up.

(somewhere) in the neighborhood of an

amount approximately a particular mea-

surement. I take somewhere in the

neighborhood of ten pills a day for my var-

ious ailments. My rent is in the neigh-

borhood of $700 per month.

somewhere to hang (up) one’s hat and a

place to hang one’s hat; a place to call

one’s own a place to live; a place to call

one’s home. What I need is somewhere

to hang up my hat. I just can’t stand all this

traveling. A home is a lot more than a

place to hang your hat.

son of a bitch 1. a very horrible person.

(Informal. Use with caution. Usually in-

tended as a strong insult. Never used ca-

sually.) Bill called Bob a son of a bitch,

and Bob punched Bill in the face. This

guy’s a son of a bitch. He treats everybody

rotten. 2. a useless annoyance; something

worthless. This car is a son of a bitch.

It won’t ever start when it’s cold. This

bumpy old road needs paving. It’s a real

son of a bitch. 3. a difficult task. (Infor-

mal.) This job is a son of a bitch. I

can’t do this kind of thing. It’s too hard—

a real son of a bitch.

son of a gun 1. a horrible person. (Infor-

mal. A euphemism for son of a bitch. Use

with caution.) When is that plumber

going to show up and fix this leak? The stu-

pid son of a gun! Bob is a rotten son of

a gun if he thinks he can get away with

that. 2. old (male) friend. (Informal. A

friendly—male to male—way of refer-

ring to a friend. Use with caution.)

Why Bill, you old son of a gun, I haven’t

seen you in three or four years. When

is that son of a gun John going to come visit

us? He’s neglecting his friends.

soon as possible Go to (as) soon as

possible.

sooner or later eventually; in the short

term or in the long term. He’ll have to

pay the bill sooner or later. She’ll get

what she deserves sooner or later.

sorry Go to (I’m) sorry.

sort of something and kind of something al-

most something; somewhat; somehow.

(Informal.) Isn’t it sort of cold out?

That was kind of a stupid thing to do,

wasn’t it?

sort something out to clear up confusion; to

straighten out something disorderly.

(Also literal.) T Now that things are set-

tled down, I can sort out my life. This

place is a mess. Let’s sort things out before

we do anything else.

sound as a dollar Go to (as) sound as a

dollar.

sound as if and sound like to seem, from

what has been said, as if something were

so. (Sound like is colloquial.) It sounds

as if you had a good vacation.  You

sound like you are angry.

sound like Go to sound as if.

sound like a broken record to say the

same thing over and over again. (From an

earlier age when a crack in a 78 rpm

record would cause the needle (or stylus)

to stay in the same groove and play it over

and over.) He’s always complaining

about the way she treats him. He sounds

like a broken record! I hate to sound like

a broken record, but we just don’t have

enough people on the payroll to work

efficiently.

sound like something to seem like some-

thing. That sounds like a good idea.

Your explanation sounds like an excuse!

sound someone out to try to find out what

someone thinks (about something). I

don’t know what Jane thinks about your

suggestion, but I’ll sound her out. T Please

sound out everyone in your department.

soup something up to make something (es-

pecially a car) more powerful. (Slang.)

I wish someone would soup my car up. It’ll

hardly run. T Bill spent all summer soup-

ing up that old car he bought.

sour as vinegar Go to (as) sour as vinegar.

sow one’s wild oats to do wild and foolish

things in one’s youth. (Often assumed to

have some sort of sexual meaning.)

Dale was out sowing his wild oats last

night, and he’s in jail this morning. Mrs.

Smith told Mr. Smith that he was too old

to be sowing his wild oats.

spare someone something to exempt someone

from having to listen to or experience

something. I’ll spare you the details and

get to the point. Please, spare me the

story and tell me what you want.

speak for itself and speak for them-

selves [for something] not to need ex-

plaining; [for things] to have an obvious

meaning. The evidence speaks for itself.

The facts speak for themselves. Tom is

guilty. Your results speak for themselves.

You need to work harder.

speak for themselves Go to speak for

itself.

speak highly of someone or something to say

good things about someone or some-

thing. (Note the variation in the exam-

ples. See also think a lot of someone or some-

thing.) Ann speaks quite highly of Jane’s

work. Everyone speaks very highly of

Jane.

speak ill of someone to say something bad

about someone. I refuse to speak ill of

any of my friends. Max speaks ill of no

one and refuses to repeat gossip.

speak off the cuff to speak in public with-

out preparation. I’m not too good at

speaking off the cuff. I need to prepare

a speech for Friday, although I speak off

the cuff quite well.

speak of the devil said when someone

whose name has just been mentioned ap-

pears or is heard from. Well, speak of

the devil! Hello, Tom. We were just talk-

ing about you.  I had just mentioned

Sally when—speak of the devil—she

walked in the door.

speak out (on something) to say something

frankly and directly; to speak one’s mind.

(See also speak up.) This law is wrong,

and I intend to speak out on it until it is

repealed. You must speak out. People

need to know what you think.

speak the same language [for people] to

have similar ideas, tastes, etc. (Also lit-

eral.) Jane and Jack get along very well.

They really speak the same language about

almost everything. Bob and his father

didn’t speak the same language when it

comes to politics.

speak up 1. to speak more loudly. They

can’t hear you in the back of the room.

Please speak up.   What? Speak up,

please. I’m hard of hearing. 2. to speak

out (on something). If you think that this

is wrong, you must speak up and say so.

I’m too shy to speak up.

speak up for someone or something to speak

in favor of someone or something; to

speak in someone’s defense. If anybody

says bad things about me, I hope you speak

up for me. I want to speak up for the

rights of students.

speak with a forked tongue to tell lies; to

try to deceive someone. Jean’s mother

sounds very charming, but she speaks with

a forked tongue. People tend to believe

Fred because he seems plausible, but we

know he speaks with a forked tongue.

spell something out 1. to spell something (in

letters). (Also without out.) I can’t un-

derstand your name. Can you spell it out?

T Please spell out all the strange words so

I can write them down correctly. 2. to give

all the details of something. I want you

to understand this completely, so I’m go-

ing to spell it out very carefully. T The in-

struction book for my computer spells out

everything very carefully.

spick-and-span very clean. (Informal.)

I have to clean up the house and get it

spick-and-span for the party Friday night.

I love to have everything around me

spick-and-span.

spill the beans Go to let the cat out of the

bag.

spin a yarn to tell a tale. Grandpa spun

an unbelievable yarn for us. My uncle is

always spinning yarns about his childhood.

spin one’s wheels to be in motion, but get

nowhere. (Slang.) This is a terrible job.

I’m just spinning my wheels and not get-

ting anywhere. Get organized and try to

accomplish something. Stop spinning your

wheels!

spin something off to create something as a

by-product of something else. When

the company reorganized, it spun its bank-

ing division off. T By spinning off part of

its assets, a company gets needed capital.

spit (something) up to throw something up;

to vomit something. (A little gentler than

throw (something) up.) I guess that the

food didn’t agree with the dog, because he

spit it up. T The baby has been spitting

up all morning. T Bob spit up his whole

dinner.

split hairs to quibble; to try to make petty

distinctions. They don’t have any seri-

ous differences. They are just splitting

hairs. Don’t waste time splitting hairs.

Accept it the way it is.

split one’s sides (with laughter) to laugh

so hard that one’s sides almost split. (Al-

ways an exaggeration.) The members of

the audience almost split their sides with

laughter. When I heard what happened

to Patricia, I almost split my sides.

split people up to separate two or more

people (from one another). If you two

don’t stop chattering, I’ll have to split you

up. The group of people grew too large,

so we had to split them up. T I will have

to split up that twosome in the corner.

split the difference to divide the differ-

ence evenly (with someone else). You

want to sell for $120, and I want to buy for

$100. Let’s split the difference and close the

deal at $110. I don’t want to split the

difference. I want $120.

split up [for people] to separate or leave

one another; [for a couple] to divorce or

spearate. I heard that Mr. and Mrs.

Brown have split up. Our little club had

to split up because everyone was too busy.

spoken for taken; reserved (for someone).

I’m sorry, but this one is already spo-

ken for. Pardon me. Can I sit here, or is

this seat spoken for?

spook someone or something to startle or dis-

orient someone or something. (Folksy.)

A snake spooked my horse, and I nearly

fell off. Your warning spooked me, and

I was upset for the rest of the day.

spoon-feed someone to treat someone with

too much care or help; to teach someone

with methods that are too easy and do

not stimulate the learner to independent

thinking. (Also literal.) The teacher

spoon-feeds the students by dictating notes

on the novel instead of getting the children

to read the books. You mustn’t spoon-

feed the new recruits by telling them what

to do all the time. They must use their

initiative.

a sporting chance a reasonably good

chance. (See also fighting chance.) If

you hurry, you have a sporting chance of

catching the bus. The small company

has only a sporting chance of getting the

export order.

spout off (about someone or something) to

talk too much about someone or some-

thing. (Informal.) Why do you always

have to spout off about things that don’t

concern you?  Everyone in our office

spouts off about the boss. There is no

need to spout off like that. Calm down and

think about what you’re saying.

spread it on thick Go to lay it on thick.

spread oneself too thin to do so many

things that you can do none of them well.

It’s a good idea to get involved in a lot

of activities, but don’t spread yourself too

thin. I’m too busy these days. I’m afraid

I’ve spread myself too thin.

spring for something to treat (someone) to

something. (Slang.) John and I went

out last night, and he sprang for dinner.

At the park Bill usually springs for ice

cream.

spring something on someone to surprise

someone with something. (Informal.)

I’m glad you told me now, rather than

springing it on me at the last minute. I

sprang the news on my parents last night.

They were not glad to hear it.

spruce someone or something up to make

someone or something clean and orderly.

I’ll be ready to go as soon as I spruce my-

self up a bit. T I have to spruce up the

house for the party.

square accounts (with someone) 1. to set-

tle one’s financial accounts with some-

one. I have to square accounts with the

bank this week, or it’ll take back my car.

I called the bank and said I needed to come

in and square accounts. 2. to get even

with someone; to straighten out a mis-

understanding with someone. (Infor-

mal.) I’m going to square accounts with

Tom. He insulted me in public, and he

owes me an apology. Tom, you and I are

going to have to square accounts.

square deal a fair and honest transaction;

fair treatment. (Informal.) All the

workers want is a square deal, but their

boss underpays them. You always get a

square deal with that travel company.

a square peg in a round hole a misfit.

John can’t seem to get along with the peo-

ple he works with. He’s just a square peg in

a round hole. I’m not a square peg in a

round hole. It’s just that no one under-

stands me.

square someone or something away to get

someone or something arranged or prop-

erly taken care of. See if you can square

Bob away in his new office. T Please

square away the problems we discussed

earlier.

square up to someone or something to face

someone or something bravely; to tackle

someone or something. You’ll have to

square up to the bully or he’ll make your

life miserable. It’s time to square up to

your financial problems. You can’t just ig-

nore them.

square up with someone to pay someone

what one owes; to pay one’s share of

something to someone. (Informal.) I’ll

square up with you later if you pay the

whole bill now.  Bob said he would

square up with Tom for his share of the

gas.

squared away arranged or properly taken

care of. Is Ann squared away yet? I

will talk to you when I am squared away.

squeak by (someone or something) to just

barely get by someone or something. (In-

formal.) The guard was almost asleep,

so I squeaked by him. I wasn’t very well

prepared for the test, and I just squeaked

squirrel something away to hide or store

something. (Folksy.) Billy has been

squirreling candy away in his top drawer.

T I’ve been squirreling away a little money

each week for years.

stack the cards (against someone or some-

thing) Go to stack the deck (against some-

one or something).

stack the deck (against someone or some-

thing) and stack the cards (against

someone or something) to arrange things

against someone or something. (Slang.

Originally from card playing.) I can’t

get ahead at my office. Someone has

stacked the cards against me. Do you

really think that someone has stacked the

deck? Isn’t it just fate?

stake a claim (to something) to lay or make

a claim for something. (Informal.) I

want to stake a claim to that last piece of

pie. You don’t need to stake a claim. Just

ask politely.

stall someone or something off to put off or de-

lay someone or something. The sheriff

is at the door. I’ll stall him off while you

get out the back door. T You can stall off

the sheriff, but you can’t stall off justice.

six

six of one and half a dozen of the other

about the same one way or another. It

doesn’t matter to me which way you do it.

It’s six of one and half a dozen of the other.

What difference does it make? They’re

both the same—six of one and half a

dozen of the other.

sixth sense a supposed power to know or

feel things that are not perceptible by the

five senses of sight, hearing, smell, taste,

and touch. I have a sixth sense that told

me to avoid going home by my usual route.

Later I discovered there had been a fatal

accident on it.  Jane’s sixth sense de-

manded that she not trust Tom, even

though he seemed honest enough.

size someone or something up to observe

someone or something to get informa-

tion; to check someone or something. The

comedian sized the audience up and de-

cided not to use his new material. T I like

to size up a situation before I act.

skate on thin ice to be in a risky situation.

(Also literal. See also on thin ice.) I try

to stay well informed so I don’t end up

skating on thin ice when the teacher asks

me a question. You are skating on thin

ice when you ask me that!

a skeleton in the closet and skeletons

in the closet a hidden and shocking se-

cret. You can ask anyone about how re-

liable I am. I don’t mind. I don’t have any

skeletons in the closet. My uncle was in

jail for a day once. That’s our family’s

skeleton in the closet.

skin and bones Go to nothing but skin and

bones.

skin someone alive to be very angry with

someone; to scold someone severely.

(Folksy.) I was so mad at Jane that I

could have skinned her alive. If I don’t

get home on time, my parents will skin me

alive.

skip bail Go to jump bail.

skip out (on someone or something) to sneak

away from someone or some event; to

leave someone or an event in secret.

(Slang.) I heard that Bill skipped out

on his wife. I’m not surprised. I thought

he should have skipped out long ago.

skip rope to jump over an arc of rope that

is passed beneath one’s feet then over

one’s head, repeatedly. The children

skipped rope on the playground. The

boxer skipped rope while training.

The sky’s the limit. There is no limit to the

success that can be achieved or the

money that can be gained or spent. If

you take a job with us, you’ll find the pro-

motion prospects very good. The sky’s the

limit, in fact. The insurance salesmen

were told that the sky was the limit when

it came to potential earnings.

slack off 1. to taper off; to reduce gradu-

ally. Business tends to slack off during

the winter months. The storms begin to

slack off in April. 2. to become less active;

to become lazy or inefficient. Near the

end of the school year, Sally began to slack

off, and her grades showed it. John got

fired for slacking off during the busy

season.

a slap in the face an insult; an act that

causes disappointment or discourage-

ment. Losing the election was a slap in

the face for the club president. Failing to

get into a good college was a slap in the face

to Tim after his years of study.

slap someone on the wrist Go to give some-

one a slap on the wrist.

slap someone’s wrist Go to give someone a

slap on the wrist.

slap something together Go to throw some-

thing together.

slated for something scheduled for some-

thing. (Refers to a schedule written on a

slate.) John was slated for Friday’s game,

but he couldn’t play with the team. Ann

is slated for promotion next year.

slated to do something scheduled to do

something. John was slated to play ball

Who is slated to work this

weekend?

a slave to something someone who is under

the control of something; someone who

is controlled by something. (Preceded by

be, become, seem like, or act like.) Mary

is a slave to her job. Bill is a slave to his

drug addiction.

sleep in to oversleep; to sleep late in the

morning. If you sleep in again, you’ll get

fired. I really felt like sleeping in this

morning.

sleep like a baby Go to sleep like a log.

sleep like a log and sleep like a baby

to sleep very soundly. Everyone in our

family sleeps like a log, so no one heard the

fire engines in the middle of the night.

Nothing can wake me up. I usually sleep

like a baby.

sleep on something to think about some-

thing overnight; to weigh a decision over-

night. I don’t know whether I agree to

do it. Let me sleep on it. I slept on it, and

I’ve decided to accept your offer.

sleep something off to sleep while the effects

of liquor or drugs pass away. John

drank too much and went home to sleep

it off. T Bill is at home sleeping off the ef-

fects of the drug they gave him.

slick as a whistle Go to (as) slick as a

whistle.

slip away and slip off; slip out to go

away or escape quietly or in secret. I

slipped away when no one was looking.

Let’s slip off somewhere and have a little

talk. I’ll try to slip out for an hour or two

when Tom is asleep.

slip off Go to slip away.

a slip of the tongue an error in speaking

where a word is pronounced incorrectly,

or where something that the speaker did

not mean to say is said. I didn’t mean

to tell her that. It was a slip of the tongue.

I failed to understand the instructions

because the speaker made a slip of the

tongue at an important point.

slip one’s mind [for something that was to

be remembered] to be forgotten. I

meant to go to the grocery store on the way

home, but it slipped my mind. My birth-

day slipped my mind. I guess I wanted to

forget it.

slip through someone’s fingers to get away

from someone; for someone to lose track

(of something or someone). (Also lit-

eral.) I had a copy of the book you want,

but somehow it slipped through my fingers.

There was a detective following me, but

I managed to slip through his fingers.

slip up to make an error. (Informal. Also

without up.) Try as hard as you can to

do it right and not slip up. Everything

was going fine until the last minute when

I slipped up.

slippery as an eel Go to (as) slippery as

an eel.

slow as molasses in January Go to (as)

slow as molasses in January.

slow going the rate of speed when one is

making progress. It was slow going at

first, but I was able to finish the project

by the weekend. Getting the heavy rocks

out of the field is slow going.

slow on the draw 1. slow in drawing a

gun. (Slang. Compare this with quick on

the draw. Cowboy and gangster talk.)

Bill got shot because he’s so slow on the

draw. The gunslinger said, “I have to

be fast. If I’m slow on the draw, I’m dead.”

2. and slow on the uptake slow to fig-

ure something out; slow-thinking.

(Slang. Compare this with quick on the

draw.) Sally didn’t get the joke because

she’s sort of slow on the draw. Bill—

who’s slow on the uptake—didn’t get the

joke until it was explained to him.

slow on the uptake Go to slow on the

draw.

slow someone or something down Go to slow

someone or something up.

slow someone or something up and slow some-

one or something down to cause someone

or something to reduce speed. (The

phrases with up are informal.) I’m in

a hurry. Don’t try to slow me down. T

Please slow up the train. There are sheep

near the track.

slower and slower at a decreasing rate of

speed; slow and then even slower. The

car is going slower and slower and will stop

soon. The dog’s breathing got slower and

slower as it went to sleep.

slower than molasses in January Go to

(as) slow as molasses in January.

slow(ly) but sure(ly) slowly but with a

purpose; slowly and deliberately. (The ex-

pression without the -ly is informal.)

Slowly but surely, the little train reached

the top of the mountain. Progress was

slow but sure. Someday we would be

finished.

sly as a fox Go to (as) sly as a fox.

smack-dab in the middle right in the

middle. (Informal.) I want a big help-

ing of mashed potatoes with a glob of but-

ter smack-dab in the middle. Tom and

Sally were having a terrible argument, and

I was trapped—smack-dab in the middle.

small fry 1. unimportant people. (Small fry

are small, juvenile fish.) The police

have only caught the small fry. The leader

of the gang is still free. You people are

just small fry! I want to talk to the boss.

2. children. Peter’s taking the small fry

to the zoo. We should take the small fry

to the pantomime.

small hours (of the night) and wee

hours (of the night) the hours imme-

diately after midnight. The dance went

on into the small hours of the night. Jim

goes to bed in the wee hours and gets up

at lunchtime.

the small print and the fine print the part

of a document that is not easily noticed,

often because of the smallness of the

print, and that often contains important

information. You should have read the

small print before signing the contract.

You should always read the fine print in an

insurance policy.

small-time small; on a small scale. (Infor-

mal.) Our business is small-time just

now, but it’s growing. He’s a small-time

crook.

smear campaign (against someone) a cam-

paign aimed at damaging someone’s rep-

utation by making accusations and

spreading rumors. The politician’s op-

ponents are engaging in a smear campaign

against him. Jack started a smear cam-

paign against Tom so that Tom wouldn’t

get the manager’s job.

smell a rat to suspect that something is

wrong; to sense that someone has caused

something wrong. (Slang.) I don’t think

this was an accident. I smell a rat. Bob had

something to do with this. The minute

I came in, I smelled a rat. Sure enough, I

had been robbed.

smell to high heaven Go to stink to high

heaven.

smile on someone or something to be favorable

to someone or something. Fate smiled

on me and I got the job.  Lady luck

smiled on our venture and we made a

profit.

smoke and mirrors deception and confu-

sion. (Said of statements or more com-

plicated rhetoric used to mislead people

rather than inform. Refers to the way a

magician uses optical illusion to create

believability while performing a trick.)

Most people know that the politician was

just using smoke and mirrors to make

things look better than they really were.

Her report was little more than smoke and

mirrors. No one will believe any of it.

smoke someone or something out to force

someone or something out (of some-

thing), perhaps with smoke. (In cowboy

or gangster talk this refers to the smoke

from gunfire.) There was a mouse in

the attic, but I smoked it out. T The sher-

iff and the deputies smoked out the bank

robbers.

smooth as glass Go to (as) smooth as

glass.

smooth as silk Go to (as) smooth as silk.

smooth something out Go to smooth some-

thing over.

smooth something over and smooth some-

thing out to reduce the intensity of an ar-

gument or a misunderstanding; to try to

make people feel better about something

that has happened. (Also literal.) Mary

and John had a terrible argument, and

they are both trying to smooth it over.

Let’s get everyone together and try to

smooth things out. We can’t keep on argu-

ing with one another. T We can smooth

over the whole affair.

a snake in the grass a low and deceitful

person. Sally said that Bob couldn’t be

trusted because he was a snake in the grass.

“You snake in the grass!” cried Sally.

“You cheated me.”

snap out of something to become suddenly

freed from a state. (Informal. The state

can be a depression, an illness, uncon-

sciousness, etc.) I was very depressed for

a week, but this morning I snapped out of

it. It isn’t often that a cold gets me down.

Usually I can snap out of it quickly.

snap something up 1. to grab and buy some-

thing. I always snap bargains up when-

ever I go shopping. T I went to the store,

and they had soup on sale, so I snapped up

plenty. 2. to make something go faster.

You’re playing this music too slowly. Snap

it up! T This performance is getting slow

and dull. Let’s snap up the whole thing!

sniff someone or something out to locate some-

one or something. (Also literal.) T I’ll see

if I can sniff out the correct stylus for your

stereo.  Billy was lost, but by looking

around, we were able to sniff him out.

snug as a bug in a rug Go to (as) snug

as a bug in a rug.