Mr_doody2004@yahoo.com 831 stand up - to be strong enough to use for a long time The new carpet should stand up for a long time. stand up (someone) - to fail to keep an appointment or date with someone (usually used for a date with a boyfriend or girlfriend) The boy stood the girl up on a date last Saturday and now she will not talk to him. stand up and be counted - to be willing to say what one thinks in public The union members thought that they should stand up and be counted before management took away their benefits. stand up for (someone or something) - to defend against attack, to fight for someone or something The citizens of the town were ready to stand up for their rights. stand up to (someone) - to be brave in confronting someone The man stood up to his boss during the meeting when his boss criticized his work. Mr_doody2004@yahoo.com 832 . a standing joke - something that regularly and over time causes amusement when it is mentioned It was a standing joke around our office that our boss was a very bad driver. stark raving mad - to be completely crazy The woman who lives next door is stark raving mad. stars in one`s eyes - to have an appearance or feeling of very great happiness She had stars in her eyes when she saw the beautiful ring that her boyfriend had bought for her. start from scratch - to start from the beginning I lost all of my notes so I had to start from scratch with my project. start in as (something) - to begin a career as something The man started in as a mailroom clerk but soon he began to have more and more important jobs in the company. start off on the wrong foot - to start an activity badly, to start a relationship badly I started off on the wrong foot with my supervisor. Mr_doody2004@yahoo.com 833 start out as (something) - to start one's career as something The president of our company started out as a mailroom clerk when he was quite young. start over/off with a clean slate - to ignore the past and start over again The young man broke the law several times but he was able to start over with a clean slate when the judge decided that he would probably not do anything wrong in the future. start the ball rolling - to begin to do something My uncle finally started the ball rolling on his plans to build a new house. start up (something) - to begin operating something, to begin to play/do something My uncle started up a small business when he was 20-years old. stay away from (something) - to avoid something My uncle has been staying away from salty foods for several months now. stay put - to stay in one place, to not leave We decided to stay put for our holidays rather than go away. Mr_doody2004@yahoo.com 834 steal a base - to sneak from one base to another in baseball The player was easily able to steal a base during the game. steal a march on (someone) - to get an advantage over someone without being noticed I was able to steal a march on my colleague when he was away on vacation. steal (someone`s) thunder - to do or say something that another person had planned to do or say My colleague stole my thunder when he announced that he was leaving the company before me. steal the show/spotlight - to act or to do so well in a performance that you get most of the attention The young musician stole the show at the music festival. steamed up - to be angry I was steamed up over the fact that my friend lost the spare keys to my apartment. steaming mad - to be very angry The woman was steaming mad when the customer service representative was rude to her on the telephone. Mr_doody2004@yahoo.com 835 steer clear of (someone or something) - to avoid someone or something I have been steering clear of my friend since our argument. step Idioms step-by-step - gradually My grandfather has made a great effort and step-by-step he has learned how to use a computer. step down from (a job/position) - to leave an important position My father recently stepped down from his job as president of his company. step into (someone's) shoes - to take over a job or some role from someone I plan to step into my supervisor's shoes when he is away on vacation. step into the breach - to move into a space or vacancy The woman stepped into the breach and helped the other teachers while several people were sick. step on it - to go faster, to hurry "Please step on it," he yelled as the taxi took him to the airport. Mr_doody2004@yahoo.com 836 step on (someone`s) toes - to do something that embarrasses or offends someone else The supervisor stepped on many people`s toes at work and now he has many enemies. step on the gas - to go faster, to hurry I had to step on the gas in order to get to work on time. step out of line - to misbehave, to do something offensive/wrong When the children step out of line their teacher becomes very angry. step right up - to move forward toward someone/something The clerk told me to step right up when I was waiting to order some food. step up (something) - to make something go faster, to increase something Recently we had to step up our effort to hire some new computer programmers for our company. step up - to rise to a higher or more important position, to be promoted My boss stepped up to the position of manager after the old manager was fired. Mr_doody2004@yahoo.com 837 . stew in one`s own juice - to suffer from something that one has caused to happen to himself or herself The man is stewing in his own juice after he got into trouble for being late. stick Idioms stick around - to stay or wait nearby for something We decided to stick around after the game and talk for awhile. stick by/with (someone or something) - to support someone or something The woman always sticks by her friends when they are in trouble. a stick-in-the-mud - someone who is old-fashioned or does not want to join in with others and do something The girl is a stick-in-the-mud and will never join in any of the activities at a party. stick one`s neck out for (someone or something) - to take risks, to support someone The man never sticks his neck out for anyone at work and he has few friends. Mr_doody2004@yahoo.com 838 stick out like a sore thumb - to be obvious and visible The woman sticks out like a sore thumb when she wears her red hat. stick (someone) with (something) - to leave someone with an unpleasant task My friend always sticks me with paying the bill when we go to a restaurant. stick (something) out - to endure/continue something She does not like her new job but she plans to stick it out until she saves enough money to go to Europe. stick (something) up - to attach something to a wall/post etc. I plan to stick the poster up on our kitchen wall. stick to a story/the facts - to remain faithful to the facts of a story "Please stick to the facts when you tell the story to the police." stick to one`s guns - to defend an action or opinion despite an unfavorable reaction Our boss is sticking to his guns on his decision to fire the manager of the store. stick to one's ribs - to last a long time and give one strength (used for food) The food at the restaurant is wonderful and it sticks to our ribs. Mr_doody2004@yahoo.com 839 stick together - to remain together as a group The children like to stick together when they go to the beach. stick up (someone or something) - to rob someone or something with a gun or other weapon A man with a gun tried to stick up my mother when I was a child. stick up for (someone or something) - to defend/help/support someone My boss always sticks up for the younger workers at our company. stick with (something) - to continue doing something, to not quit something My brother has been able to stick with his trumpet lessons since he was a child. . sticky fingers - the habit of stealing things that one sees and wants The young boy has sticky fingers and you must watch him all the time. stink to high heaven - to smell very bad The kitchen garbage was stinking to high heaven in the hot sun. Mr_doody2004@yahoo.com 840 stir (someone or something) up - to make someone angry or excited, to cause trouble The man`s angry words stirred up the crowd and made them very angry. stir up a hornet`s nest - to make many people angry or dislike something, to provoke your critics He stirred up a hornet`s nest when he began to talk about the bonus system at his company. stock up on (something) - to build up a supply of something We are trying to stock up on wood before the winter. stone-broke - to have no money I was stone-broke after I came back from my holiday in Italy. stone's throw away from (something) - to be very close to something The new vegetable store is a stone's throw away from the large supermarket. stoop to (doing something) - to do something that is beneath one I do not plan to stoop to ask my friend for money for food. . long time. stand up (someone) - to fail to keep an appointment or date with someone (usually used for a date with a boyfriend or girlfriend) The boy stood the girl up on a date last Saturday. steamed up - to be angry I was steamed up over the fact that my friend lost the spare keys to my apartment. steaming mad - to be very angry The woman was steaming mad when the customer service. Mr_doody2004@yahoo.com 837 . stew in one`s own juice - to suffer from something that one has caused to happen to himself or herself The man is stewing in his own juice after he got into trouble