Mr_doody2004@yahoo.com 781 shoot out (something) - to stick or throw something outward The man shot out his foot from under the table and made his friend fall down. shoot straight - to act fairly, to deal honestly with someone The salesman always shoots straight when he is dealing with his customers. shoot the breeze/bull - to talk idly I met my friend at the supermarket and we decided to shoot the breeze for a few minutes. shoot the works - to spare no expense or effort to do something They are planning to shoot the works with the victory celebration for the Olympic athletes. shoot up - to grow quickly The boy seemed to shoot up quickly during the summer. shoot up - to rise suddenly The flames shot up over the top of the building when the wind started blowing. Mr_doody2004@yahoo.com 782 shoot up (drugs) - to take drugs by injecting them We were going to a movie when we saw someone shooting up heroin in the alley. shoot up (someone or something) - to shoot at someone or something recklessly In many western movies the outlaws come into town and shoot up everything. . shop around for (something) - to go to various stores to look for something We shopped around for a month before we bought a new stereo system. shore (something) up - to add support to something which is weak It was necessary to shore up the house after the mud slide damaged the foundation. short and sweet - brief and pleasant My visit with my parents was short and sweet. the short end (of the stick) - unfair or unequal treatment He always gets the short end of the stick when he is at work. Mr_doody2004@yahoo.com 783 short for (something) - something that is a shortened form of a word or phrase The woman's nickname is short for her name which is very difficult to pronounce. short of (something) - to not have enough of something We are short of sugar so I will buy some when I am at the store. short shrift - rude treatment The woman received short shrift from her supervisor when she asked for a holiday. a shot in the arm - something inspiring or encouraging, a boost of energy His job search got a shot in the arm when the company president called him in for an interview. a shot in the dark - an attempt at something without much hope or chance of succeeding The attempt to find the small boy who had fallen into the river was a shot in the dark. shot through with (something) - containing something The drink was shot through with some chemicals that I do not know the name of. shotgun wedding - a forced wedding The young couple were forced into a shotgun wedding by the girl's father. Mr_doody2004@yahoo.com 784 shoulder to shoulder - side by side, with a shared purpose The firefighters worked shoulder to shoulder to help prevent the house from burning. shove (something) down (someone`s) throat - to force someone to do or agree to something that is not wanted I do not like him because he is always trying to shove his ideas down my throat. shove off - to start, to leave "I think that it is time for us to shove off. It is almost midnight." shove one's way somewhere - to make a path through a crowd by pushing We shoved our way into the department store for the big sale. show Idioms show-and-tell - to present something interesting to a class (in elementary school) The little boy took a starfish from the ocean to his school for show-and-tell. show good faith - to demonstrate good intentions or good will The man did not show good faith when he asked for extra money when he left his company. Mr_doody2004@yahoo.com 785 a show of hands - a display of raised hands in a group to vote on something The teacher asked for a show of hands to see who wanted to do a presentation. show off - to try to attract attention, to display something My friend has bought a lot of new clothes that he is trying to show off. show-off - a person who brags a lot The girl is a show-off and is always trying to impress other people. show one`s cards/hand - to disclose one`s plans The buyer has not shown us his cards yet so we do not know what he wants. show one`s (true) colors - to show what one is really like or is thinking My friend is showing his true colors when he refuses to help me when I really need help. show signs of (something) - to show hints or indications of something The man showed no signs of life after he was involved in the accident. Mr_doody2004@yahoo.com 786 show (someone) the door - to ask someone to go away When the man started yelling in the restaurant the manager quickly showed him the door. show (someone) the ropes - to tell or show someone how something is done The experienced carpenter made a great effort to show the new trainee the ropes. show (someone) to his or her seat - to direct someone to a place to sit The usher showed the members of the audience to their seats. show (someone) up - to make someone's faults apparent The girl showed her friend up by doing all of her homework on time. show (something) to good advantage - to make something look good, to make something stand out The new paint helped to show the house to good advantage for the sale. show up - to appear, to arrive, to be present "What time did your friend show up for the party?" Mr_doody2004@yahoo.com 787 show up - to become easy to see After we cleaned the vase the design began to show up. . shrug (something) off - to not be bothered or hurt by something, to disregard something The girl says mean things but we always shrug off her comments. shut Idioms shut off - to be apart, to be separated from someone or something The small town is shut off from the other small towns in the valley. shut out (a team) - to prevent the opposition team from scoring during a game The national soccer team shut out the best team in the world last night. shut (something) off - to make something like water or electricity stop We always shut off the gas when we leave the house for more than a few minutes. Mr_doody2004@yahoo.com 788 shut (something) up - to close the doors and windows of a building for a period of time We decided to shut up our cottage for the winter as we will not use it anymore. shut the door on (someone) - to close the door to keep someone out The teacher always shuts the door on students who come late for her class. shut the door on (something) - to terminate/exclude/obstruct something The bad behavior of the employees shut the door on any future permission to let them have a party at the company. shut up - to stop talking "Please shut up and let someone else speak." shut up (someone or something) - to confine someone or something We always shut up our dog in the house when the postal worker comes. . shuttle (someone) from place to place - to move someone from place to place The volunteer drivers shuttled the athletes from place to place during the sports event. Mr_doody2004@yahoo.com 789 shy away from (someone or something) - to avoid someone or something Recently my doctor has shied away from giving me advice about my eating habits. sick and tired of (someone or something) - to dislike someone or something, to be annoyed with/by someone or something I am sick and tired of my friend's constant complaining. to be sick in bed - to remain in bed while one is sick My father was sick in bed for three days last week. sick of (someone or something) - to be bored with or dislike someone or something I think that the clerk is sick of working late every day. side against (someone) - to take sides against someone My friend always sides against me when I am involved in an argument with someone. side with (someone) - to favor or support someone's position in a dispute The mother always sides with her daughter when the daughter has an argument. a sight for sore eyes - a welcome sight The man was a sight for sore eyes when he returned to work after a three-week holiday. Mr_doody2004@yahoo.com 790 sight unseen - before seeing a thing or a person My friend bought the car sight unseen and now he is having trouble with it. sign on the dotted line - to place one's signature on a contract or other important paper The sales manager gave me the contract and asked me to sign on the dotted line. sign on with (someone) - to sign an agreement to work with or for someone My cousin has signed on with one of the largest companies in the world. sign one's own death warrant - to do something knowingly that will most likely result in severe trouble Our secretary signed her own death warrant when she came to work late three times last week. sign (something) over - to give something legally to someone by signing one`s name The man signed over his car to his son on his 21st birthday. sign up for (something) - to promise to do something by signing one`s name, to join something My friend signs up for tennis lessons every summer but he never improves. signal to (someone) to do (something) - to give someone an instruction using a signal I signaled to our coach to take me out of the game for a rest. . one's way somewhere - to make a path through a crowd by pushing We shoved our way into the department store for the big sale. show Idioms show-and-tell - to present something interesting. show up - to appear, to arrive, to be present "What time did your friend show up for the party?" Mr_doody2004@yahoo.com 787 show up - to become easy to see After. girl says mean things but we always shrug off her comments. shut Idioms shut off - to be apart, to be separated from someone or something The small town is shut off from the other small