771

set (something) off

- to decorate something through contrast, to balance something by difference
We painted the trim of our house red in order to set off the light colors.

set (something) off

- to cause something to explode
The fire set off a large explosion on the ship.

set (something) right

- to correct something, to make something more fair
The man made an effort to set things right between himself and his brother.

set (something) to music

- to write a piece of music that is related to some written material
The composer has worked hard to set many great stories to music.

set the pace

- to decide on a rate of speed to do something that others will follow
The manager of the factory sets the pace for the employees under him.

set the stage for (something)

- to prepare for something

The win by our team set the stage for a great final championship game next month.

set the table

- to place plates/glasses/napkins on the table before a meal
I set the table for my mother while she was cooking dinner.


772

set the world on fire

- to do something outstanding, to do something that makes one famous
The author has not been able to set the world on fire with his writing but he is trying
very hard.

set tongues wagging

- to start people to start gossiping
The actions of the supervisor set tongues wagging around our office.

set type

- to arrange type for printing
The small printing company worked all night to set type for the local paper.

set up (someone)

- to put someone in a position to be manipulated
I do not believe that I lost the money honestly. I believe that someone set me up.


set up (something)

- to establish something, to provide the money for something
The newspaper company provided the money to set up the new travel magazine.
The company set up a situation to test the new product.

set up (something)

- to make something ready to use by putting the parts together
After we set up the gas barbecue we were able to cook dinner.







773

set up shop (somewhere)

- to establish one's place of work somewhere
The small fire alarm company decided to set up shop in the suburbs of the city.

set upon (someone or something)

- to attack someone or something violently
The three young boys set upon the man on the city bus.



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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 after he finished university.





774

settle for (something)


- to be satisfied with less than you want, to agree to accept something as a second
choice
I settled for less than I originally wanted but still I am happy with my new contract at
work.

settle on (something)

- to decide on something
We finally settled on the fish dinner at the restaurant.

settle (someone's) affairs

- to deal with one's business matters, to manage the affairs of someone who cannot
manage them
It was very difficult for my friend to settle his father's affairs after he passed away.

settle (something) out of court

- to settle a disagreement without having to go through a court of justice
The company was able to settle their lawsuit out of court.

settle up with (someone)

- to pay someone what one owes
I settled up with my friend before he left to work overseas.














775

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setup

- an arrangement, the details of a situation
My uncle has a very nice setup at his office.

seventh heaven

- a state of intense delight
The girl has been in seventh heaven since she got the music award.

sever ties with (someone)

- to end a relationship or agreement with someone or something
The large company decided to sever ties with the small advertising company.


sew (something) up

- to complete or secure something
The candidate for the nomination sewed up his victory last week.

shack up with (someone)

- to live with someone in a relationship without marrying him or her
When my sister was younger she shacked up with her boyfriend for a couple of years.

shades of (someone or something)

- a reminder of someone or something
The festival continued with shades of the large festivals of many years ago.




776

shadow of oneself/itself

- someone or something that is not as strong/healthy/lively as before
The professional boxer was a shadow of his former self.


shake Idioms
shake a leg

- to go fast, to hurry

"You will have to shake a leg if you want 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 little boy was shaking in his boots when the large dog approached him.

shake off an illness

- to become well/healthy again
My friend is unable to shake off her illness and cannot come to the party.





777

shake off (someone or something)


- to get rid of someone or something that is bothering you
I was able to shake off my cold after a weekend of resting in bed.

shake (someone) down

- to get money by threatening someone
The gangsters shook the small shop owners down to get some money.

shake up (someone)

- to shock or upset someone
The change in policies shook up many people in the company.

shake up (something)

- to reorganize something, to reorganize a group of people
The president decided to shake up the company in order to bring new energy into the
organization.


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shaken up

- to be bothered or disturbed
I was shaken up after I heard about the fire at our apartment building.

shape up


- to improve one's behavior/performance/physical shape
He has finally begun to shape up and is doing his job much better.


778

shape up or ship out

- to either improve one's performance or leave
The new employee was told to shape up or ship out when his performance was not
equal to the other members of the staff.

share and share alike

- have/get equal shares of something
We always share and share alike when we are on a camping trip.

share (someone's) pain

- to understand and sympathize with someone's pain or discomfort
I tried hard to share my friend's pain after his father died.

share (someone's) sorrow

- to grieve as someone else grieves
The neighbors shared the sorrow of the family who lost their house in a fire.

shed crocodile tears


- to pretend that one is crying
The man pretended to apologize for his actions but he was only shedding crocodile
tears.

shed some light on (something)

- to reveal something about something
The speech of the politician did not shed any light on the scandal that he was involved
in.






779

shell out money

- to pay money
I shelled out much money for the new stereo.

shine up to (someone)

- to try to please someone, to try to make friends with someone
He is always shining up to his boss in the hopes of getting an increase in 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 one's job or task
The guard was shirking his duty when he spent much of the evening playing cards.

the shoe is on the other foot

- the opposite is true, the places are changed
The shoe is on the other foot now that my neighbor has to deal with the same
problems that we must deal with.






780

a shoo-in

- someone or something that is expected to win, a sure winner

The university president is a shoo-in to win another term in office.

shook up

- to be upset, to be worried
Our secretary was shook up after the 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 boast or talk too much
The boy was shooting his mouth off about his ability in sports.

shoot one`s wad

- to spend all of one`s money, to say everything that is on one`s mind
My friend shot his wad at a casino while on vacation last winter.