sacred cow
anything someone believes in without ever being able to question or criticize.
He didn't like to discuss the sacred cow of his new religious beliefs.
safe and sound
safe and without injury or damage.
The kids returned from the excursion safe and sound.
safety in numbers
safety in numbers is the hypothesis that, by being part of a large physical group or mass, an individual is proportionally less likely to be the victim of a mishap, accident, attack, or other bad event.
Nobody went sightseeing alone, knowing that there was safety in numbers.
sail against the wind
to work to achieve something that is difficult because most people would oppose it.
The journalist is sailing against the wind in his attempt to change people's negative attitude towards that politician.
sail close to the wind
when you sail close to the wind you act just within the limits of what is legal or acceptable.
His business is doing well although he sometimes sail close to the wind.
sail through something
To pass or progress quickly and easily.
He sailed right through his homework.
salt of the earth
said about somone who is honest and good.
He is the salt of the earth. He always helps the poor.
save face
To take an action or make a gesture intended to preserve one's reputation or honor.
They tried to win their last match in the championship just to save face.
say uncle
to admit failure.
I'll show them how I can be a superstar. I'm not going to say uncle.
say your piece
Tell what you have to say
Stop annoying us. Say your piece and go.
scaredy cat
someone who is easily frightened.
Come on, scaredy cat. The dog won't bite you!
scream blue murder
(also shout blue murder or scream bloody murder) to shout or complain loudly because you are annoyed about something.
Because he didn't get what he wanted, he screamed blue murder.
see a man about a dog
used as an excuse for leaving without giving the real reason (especially if the reason is to go to the toilet, or to have a drink)
Please, wait for me here. I won't be long. I'm just going to see a man about a dog.
see someone's point
To understand the meaning that someone is trying to convey.
Yes, I see your point and I think you are absolutley right.
sell ice to Eskimos
To persuade people to go against their best interests or to accept something unnecessary or preposterous.
He's such a smooth talker, he could sell ice to Eskimos.
send shivers down one's spine
To terrify; to make someone feel extremely nervous.
Hearing that her rapers escaped prison sent shivers down her spine.
send shivers down someone's spine
to terrify; to make someone feel extremely nervous.
Hearing that the killer escaped prison sent shivers down my spine.
send up a trial balloon
to test public opinion and response to something.
They had an excellent idea for the project. They sent up a trial balloon but the response was very negative.
separate the wheat from the chaff
to separate things of value from things of no value.
We got a lot of applicants for the job. But we are trying to separate the wheat from the chaff.
set a thief to catch a thief
The best person to catch a thief is another thief, because he or she knows how thieves think.
The government set a thief to catch a thief. They hired a hacker to entrap other hackers who tried to break into the Pentagon's databases.
set the ball rolling
(also start or get the ball rolling) start something, especially a conversation or a social event.
There was a quiet atmosphere in the party so I decided to set the ball rolling and got up to dance.
set the wheels in motion
to initiate a chain of events necessary to help one achieve a goal (more quickly)
His contribution to the project will surely set the wheels in motion.
shake a leg
used to tell someone to rouse themselves from sleep and get out of bed.
Shake a leg or we'll miss the party!
shape up or ship out
To either improve one's behavior or else be required to leave; to either improve one's performance in an activity or else withdraw from that activity completely.
After his many serious mistakes, the boss warned him that he had to shape up or ship out.
she'll be apples
everything will be all right.
'What about our trip to the mountain. They say it will snow all night long'
'Don't worry. She'll be apples.'
shelf life
The length of time something will last.
This medicine has a short shelf life.
shift gears
To change what you are doing in a sudden way.
I'd like to shift gears and start a new job.
shoot the works
to spend all the money you have or to try as much as you can to do something.
We shot the works on our son's education.
shotgun marriage
(also shotgun wedding) when the bridegroom is forced to marry the bride he made her pregnant.
It was a shotgun marriage. Nancy was three months pregnant when she married John.
shoulder to cry on
said about a person someone to whom you can tell your problems to and then ask for sympathy, emotional support and advice.
Lacy needs a shoulder to cry on. Her father died yesterday.
sitting duck
Said about someone or something vulnerable to attack.
Because of his unpopular opinions about foreign policy, he made of himself a sitting duck.
skin and bones
to be underweight and look bad, to be extremely thin.
Because of her illness she was nothing but skin and bones.
skin someone alive
to punish someone severely.
My parents will skin me alive if they see my grades
spill the beans
to reveal a secret.
Why did you spill the beans about our new project? It was supposed to be top secret.
spring chicken
To be old; not young anymore.
She is not a spring chicken. She wouldn't like to go partying with us.
step into somebody's shoes
to take over someone's place or job.
Who do you think will step into Leila's shoes when she leaves?
stiff upper lip
One who has a stiff upper lip displays fortitude in the face of adversity, or exercises self-restraint in the expression of emotion.
He always has a stiff upper lip. He never complains.
stool pigeon
A decoy or an informer, especially one who is a spy for the police.
He was killed by a gangster because he was thought to be a stool pigeon.
stop the music
stop everything.
A: (Entering a room full of people doing various things) Stop the music!
B: What?
A: I have an important announcement!
sweat blood
to work very hard.
She sweats blood every day just to bring home the bacon.
sweep something under the rug
To hide something because it's embarassing.
Because many famous people were involved in the affair, everything was swept under the rug.
_________________________________________
View the original article here
See also
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Idiom
http://www.idiomsite.com
anything someone believes in without ever being able to question or criticize.
He didn't like to discuss the sacred cow of his new religious beliefs.
safe and sound
safe and without injury or damage.
The kids returned from the excursion safe and sound.
safety in numbers
safety in numbers is the hypothesis that, by being part of a large physical group or mass, an individual is proportionally less likely to be the victim of a mishap, accident, attack, or other bad event.
Nobody went sightseeing alone, knowing that there was safety in numbers.
sail against the wind
to work to achieve something that is difficult because most people would oppose it.
The journalist is sailing against the wind in his attempt to change people's negative attitude towards that politician.
sail close to the wind
when you sail close to the wind you act just within the limits of what is legal or acceptable.
His business is doing well although he sometimes sail close to the wind.
sail through something
To pass or progress quickly and easily.
He sailed right through his homework.
salt of the earth
said about somone who is honest and good.
He is the salt of the earth. He always helps the poor.
save face
To take an action or make a gesture intended to preserve one's reputation or honor.
They tried to win their last match in the championship just to save face.
say uncle
to admit failure.
I'll show them how I can be a superstar. I'm not going to say uncle.
say your piece
Tell what you have to say
Stop annoying us. Say your piece and go.
scaredy cat
someone who is easily frightened.
Come on, scaredy cat. The dog won't bite you!
scream blue murder
(also shout blue murder or scream bloody murder) to shout or complain loudly because you are annoyed about something.
Because he didn't get what he wanted, he screamed blue murder.
see a man about a dog
used as an excuse for leaving without giving the real reason (especially if the reason is to go to the toilet, or to have a drink)
Please, wait for me here. I won't be long. I'm just going to see a man about a dog.
see someone's point
To understand the meaning that someone is trying to convey.
Yes, I see your point and I think you are absolutley right.
sell ice to Eskimos
To persuade people to go against their best interests or to accept something unnecessary or preposterous.
He's such a smooth talker, he could sell ice to Eskimos.
send shivers down one's spine
To terrify; to make someone feel extremely nervous.
Hearing that her rapers escaped prison sent shivers down her spine.
send shivers down someone's spine
to terrify; to make someone feel extremely nervous.
Hearing that the killer escaped prison sent shivers down my spine.
send up a trial balloon
to test public opinion and response to something.
They had an excellent idea for the project. They sent up a trial balloon but the response was very negative.
separate the wheat from the chaff
to separate things of value from things of no value.
We got a lot of applicants for the job. But we are trying to separate the wheat from the chaff.
set a thief to catch a thief
The best person to catch a thief is another thief, because he or she knows how thieves think.
The government set a thief to catch a thief. They hired a hacker to entrap other hackers who tried to break into the Pentagon's databases.
set the ball rolling
(also start or get the ball rolling) start something, especially a conversation or a social event.
There was a quiet atmosphere in the party so I decided to set the ball rolling and got up to dance.
set the wheels in motion
to initiate a chain of events necessary to help one achieve a goal (more quickly)
His contribution to the project will surely set the wheels in motion.
shake a leg
used to tell someone to rouse themselves from sleep and get out of bed.
Shake a leg or we'll miss the party!
shape up or ship out
To either improve one's behavior or else be required to leave; to either improve one's performance in an activity or else withdraw from that activity completely.
After his many serious mistakes, the boss warned him that he had to shape up or ship out.
she'll be apples
everything will be all right.
'What about our trip to the mountain. They say it will snow all night long'
'Don't worry. She'll be apples.'
shelf life
The length of time something will last.
This medicine has a short shelf life.
shift gears
To change what you are doing in a sudden way.
I'd like to shift gears and start a new job.
shoot the works
to spend all the money you have or to try as much as you can to do something.
We shot the works on our son's education.
shotgun marriage
(also shotgun wedding) when the bridegroom is forced to marry the bride he made her pregnant.
It was a shotgun marriage. Nancy was three months pregnant when she married John.
shoulder to cry on
said about a person someone to whom you can tell your problems to and then ask for sympathy, emotional support and advice.
Lacy needs a shoulder to cry on. Her father died yesterday.
sitting duck
Said about someone or something vulnerable to attack.
Because of his unpopular opinions about foreign policy, he made of himself a sitting duck.
skin and bones
to be underweight and look bad, to be extremely thin.
Because of her illness she was nothing but skin and bones.
skin someone alive
to punish someone severely.
My parents will skin me alive if they see my grades
spill the beans
to reveal a secret.
Why did you spill the beans about our new project? It was supposed to be top secret.
spring chicken
To be old; not young anymore.
She is not a spring chicken. She wouldn't like to go partying with us.
step into somebody's shoes
to take over someone's place or job.
Who do you think will step into Leila's shoes when she leaves?
stiff upper lip
One who has a stiff upper lip displays fortitude in the face of adversity, or exercises self-restraint in the expression of emotion.
He always has a stiff upper lip. He never complains.
stool pigeon
A decoy or an informer, especially one who is a spy for the police.
He was killed by a gangster because he was thought to be a stool pigeon.
stop the music
stop everything.
A: (Entering a room full of people doing various things) Stop the music!
B: What?
A: I have an important announcement!
sweat blood
to work very hard.
She sweats blood every day just to bring home the bacon.
sweep something under the rug
To hide something because it's embarassing.
Because many famous people were involved in the affair, everything was swept under the rug.
_________________________________________
View the original article here
See also
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Idiom
http://www.idiomsite.com
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