Commonly-Used Idioms, Sayings and phrasal verbs - "S" Idioms ppsx

Commonly-Used Idioms, Sayings and phrasal verbs - "S" Idioms Mr_doody2004@yahoo.com 746 S sack out - to go to bed, to go to sleep I sacked out as soon as I arrived home last evening. a sacred cow - something that is never criticized or laughed at even if it sometimes deserves to be The medical insurance system is a sacred cow of the government and is never criticized by anyone. sadder but wiser - unhappy about something but having learned something from the experience The man was sadder but wiser after he learned that his wallet had been stolen. saddle (someone) with (something) - to give someone something undesirable or difficult to deal with I try not to saddle my friend with the problems that I am having at work. safe and sound - to be safe/whole/healthy We arrived at our destination safe and sound after a long journey. to be on the safe side - to take no chances It may rain so to be on the safe side I think that I will bring my umbrella. Mr_doody2004@yahoo.com 747 safety in numbers - to feel safe by being surrounded by a large number of people There was safety in numbers when the students went to complain to the principal about their new teacher. sage advice - very good and wise advice I waited for my friend to ask me for my sage advice regarding his problems. sail into (someone) - to scold or criticize someone very hard, to attack someone When I entered the office my supervisor sailed into me for being late. sail right through (something) - to finish something quickly and easily I was able to sail right through the material for my final exam. sail under false colors - to pretend to be something that one is not The politician was sailing under false colors when he appealed to the citizens for votes. salt away money - to save money My friend has salted away much money from her new job. Mr_doody2004@yahoo.com 748 salt of the earth - basic and fundamentally good people The members of our club are all the salt of the earth and are fun to spend time with. same as (someone or something) - to be identical to someone or something My sister is exactly the same as the girl who lives down the block. Same here! - Me too! I agree! "Same here," I replied when someone said that they were having problems with their Internet provider. same old story - something that occurs or has occurred in the same way before It is always the same old story with my friend. He borrows money but he never wants to pay it back. same to you - the same comment applies to you "The same to you," the boy said when his friend said that he was stupid. sands of time - the accumulated tiny amounts of time (like the sand in an hourglass) The sands of time have done much to change the woman's attitude toward her sister. Mr_doody2004@yahoo.com 749 save face - to preserve one`s good reputation or dignity when something has happened to hurt it Our boss was very embarrassed when our company lost a lot of money. However, he was able to save face when he showed that the problems were outside of his control. save one`s breath - to remain silent because talking will do no good You may as well save your breath and not talk to her as she will not believe you anyway. save one`s neck/skin - to save oneself from danger or trouble The man left the scene of the fire as soon as possible in order to save his neck. save (something) for a rainy day - to reserve something/money for the future I always try to save some money for a rainy day when I get paid. save the day - to bring about victory or success (when defeat is likely) The player saved the day for his team when he played his best game of the season. save up for (something) - to save money in order to buy something My friend's brother is saving up for a new digital camera. Mr_doody2004@yahoo.com 750 saved by the bell - to be rescued from a difficult situation just in time by something that brings the situation to a sudden end I was saved by the bell and do not have to give my presentation until tomorrow. saving grace - something that saves someone or something that would otherwise be a total disaster The man's saving grace was his mathematical ability. His other personality traits were very strange. say Idioms say a mouthful - to say something of great importance/meaning/length "You certainly said a mouthful," I said when my friend began to tell me about his complaint. say grace - to say a prayer of thanks before or after a meal The bride's father was asked to say grace before the wedding banquet. say one`s piece - to say openly what one thinks I said my piece at the meeting and then left quietly by the back door. Mr_doody2004@yahoo.com 751 say (something) in a roundabout way - to say something indirectly I had to say what I wanted to say in a roundabout way in order to make my point. say (something) to (someone's) face - to say something (often unpleasant) directly to someone My supervisor always complains about me but she is afraid to say anything to my face. say (something) under one's breath - to say something so softly that almost nobody can hear it The woman said something under her breath but I could not understand it. say the word - to give a sign, to show a wish "Just say the word and I will come and meet you at the airport." say uncle - to surrender, to give in The little boy was forced to say uncle and agree to do what the older boy wanted. . scale (something) down - to make something smaller by a certain amount or proportion The government decided to scale down their plans for the sports stadium. Mr_doody2004@yahoo.com 752 scare (someone) out of his or her wits - to frighten someone very much The dog scared the little boy out of his wits. scare (someone) silly - to frighten someone very much The mouse scared the girl silly. scare (someone) stiff - to scare someone severely The little boy was able to scare his little brother stiff when he decided to hide in the closet and scare him. scare the (living) daylights out of (someone) - to frighten someone very much Falling off the bicycle scared the daylights out of the little girl. scare up (someone or something) - to find someone or something, to gather something with some effort We were able to scare up a couple of sleeping bags so that we could go camping. scared silly/stiff - to be frightened very much I was scared stiff during the horror movie. scatter (something) around - to carelessly put something in different places My papers are always scattered around my house and I am never able to find them. Mr_doody2004@yahoo.com 753 school of hard knocks - the ordinary experiences of life The man learned about life in the school of hard knocks. school of thought - a particular philosophy There are many schools of thought about how the government should proceed with its new transportation plan. scout around for (someone or something) - to search here and there and all over for someone or something The company is scouting around for a new warehouse for their products. scrape the bottom of the barrel - to take whatever is left after the best has been taken The company is scraping the bottom of the barrel if they must give that woman a job. scrape (something) together - to gather small amounts of money or something (usually with some difficulty) for some purpose We managed to scrape together enough money to go on a holiday even though business is very bad at the moment. scrape (something) up - to find or gather something with some effort My friend scraped up some money and came to visit me during the summer. Mr_doody2004@yahoo.com 754 scratch around for (something) - look here and there for something The woman was scratching around for some money to buy some food. scratch (someone`s) back - to do something nice for someone in the hope that they will do something for you "You scratch my back and I`ll scratch yours," the customer said when we talked about the new sales contract. scratch the surface - to only begin to do or learn something My friend is interested in classical music but she has only begun to scratch the surface of what is available. scream bloody murder - to complain bitterly about something The woman screamed bloody murder when someone took her parking place at work. screw around - to loaf about, to pass time without doing anything I screwed around all morning and did not get anything done. screw up - to make a mess of something, to cause trouble for someone or something My travel agent screwed up my travel schedule and I had to stay at the airport overnight. [...]... situation second hand - not new, used by someone else We went to a second-hand bookstore to look for the books second nature to (someone) - to be easy and natural for someone Playing a musical instrument is second nature to my friend second-rate - to be not of the best quality The performance of the school choir was second-rate and they need more practice to improve a second thought - a thought that one... salary shipping and handling - the costs of handling a product and transporting it The cost of shipping and handling for some goods that are bought over the Internet are very high ships that pass in the night - people who meet briefly by chance but are unlikely to meet again We were like two ships that pass in the night and I do not think that I will ever see that person again shirk one's duty - to neglect... to arrive at the movie on time." shake (hands) on (something) - to shake the hand of someone as a sign of agreement about something I shook hands on the agreement that I had to take on more responsibility at work shake hands with (someone) - to shake the hand of someone to greet them I shook hands with my neighbor when I first met him shake/quake in one's boots - to be afraid, to shake from fear The... soul - to study and think about one`s reasons and actions to see if one has been fair and honest I have been searching my soul to see if I could have prevented my friend's death in the car crash second-guess (someone) - to try to guess what someone else intends to do or would have done in a situation You should never try to second-guess the actions of the firefighters in a dangerous situation second hand... the city bus settle Idioms settle a score with (someone) - to retaliate against someone, to pay someone back for a past wrong My boss is trying to settle a score with one of my co-workers for something that happened several years ago settle down - to calm down The baby finally settled down and went to sleep settle down - to begin to live a quiet/stable life My friend settled down and started a family... to be too optimistic She is unrealistic and tends to see the world through rose-colored glasses see things - to imagine sights that are not real, to think that one sees something that is not there He is always daydreaming and imagining that he is seeing things see through (someone or something) - to understand someone`s true character or motivation, to understand the real reason for something I could... people set in - to begin and probably continue (used for a weather or mental condition) The rain has set in and it looks like it will not stop for awhile A mild depression has set in for my neighbor 768 Mr_doody2004@yahoo.com set in one's ways - to lead a fixed lifestyle My grandfather is set in his ways and he does not like to change his habits at all set one`s heart on (something) - to want something... accident and has not been back to work since shoot Idioms shoot for (something) - to attempt to do something, to aim toward a goal I was shooting for the local spelling championship before I could go on to a higher level shoot from the hip - to speak directly and frankly, to fire a gun that is at one's side The man often shoots from the hip and gets into trouble over what he says shoot one's mouth off - to... opposing player I fell to the ground and began to see stars 759 Mr_doody2004@yahoo.com see the color of (someone's) money - to verify that someone has (enough) money I did not give anybody a ticket for the dinner until I saw the color of their money see the handwriting on the wall - to know that something is certain to happen We saw the handwriting on the wall and we knew that our company was going...screw up one's courage - to build up one's courage for something I screwed up my courage and went in to ask my supervisor to transfer me to a different department scrimp and save - to be very thrifty, to save up for something I have been scrimping and saving in order to buy a new laptop computer scrounge around for (something) - to look/search in many places for something We . Commonly-Used Idioms, Sayings and phrasal verbs - "S" Idioms Mr_doody2004@yahoo.com 746 S sack out - to go to bed, to go to sleep I sacked. dangerous situation. second hand - not new, used by someone else We went to a second-hand bookstore to look for the books. second nature to (someone) - to be easy and natural for someone Playing. friend. second-rate - to be not of the best quality The performance of the school choir was second-rate and they need more practice to improve. a second thought - a thought that