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.







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.


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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.



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.


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.




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.








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?"








787

show up


- to become easy to see
After we cleaned the vase the design began to show up.


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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.







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.


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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.


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.


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.