811

so soon

- early, before the regular time
I did not expect the dinner to end so soon after the presentations were finished.

so still you can hear a pin drop

- very quiet
The room was so still you could hear a pin drop.

so to speak

- as one might or could say, this is one way to say something
We had a good time at the restaurant, so to speak, although the service was not very
good.


.



soak (something) up

- to take something into oneself like a sponge takes up water
He was able to soak up much knowledge when he went to the film seminar.

soaked to the skin

- with one's clothing wet right through to the skin
We were soaked to the skin when we got home from the picnic.

sob story

- a story that makes one feel pity or sorrow
My sister told me a sob story about how she had lost her job.


812

sock it to (someone)

- to give everything that one is capable of to do something
The president socked it to the audience during his speech at the convention.

sock (something) away

- to store something in a safe place
I have been socking toys away for the time when my friend's children come to visit
me.

soft spot for (someone or something)

- a feeling of affection toward a person or thing
My mother has a soft spot for the elderly lady in her apartment building.

soil one's diapers

- a baby fills his or her diapers

The baby soiled his diapers on the airplane trip.

sold out

- a product/ticket is completely sold from a store or event
All of the latest DVD's are sold out at the moment.

solid as a rock

- very solid/dependable
The small bank in our city is as solid as a rock and is a very stabe organization.








813

somebody up there loves/hates me

- an unseen power in heaven has been favorable/unfavorable to you
"Somebody up there loves me," he said when he found the money on the side of the
road.

something about (someone or something)

- something strange/special/curious about someone or something

There is something about the woman that is very strange.

something else

- to be so good as to be beyond description, to be something entirely different
The movie was something else. It was the best movie that I have seen in many years.

something else again

- to be something that is very different
Working all day on Saturday is OK but working all day on Sunday is something else
again.

something of the sort

- something of the kind just mentioned
I do not know exactly what the man said but it was about his job or something of the
sort.

something or other

- one thing or another
My friend said something or other about his car but I am not sure exactly what he
meant.





814


something/words to that effect

- something like what was just said
The apartment manager said that we could not bring a bicycle into the apartment
lobby or something to that effect.

something's up

- something is going on
I do not know what the children are doing but I think that something's up.

somewhere in the neighborhood of (an amount of money or something)

- approximately a particular measurement/amount
There were somewhere in the neighborhood of fifty people at the meeting.

son of a gun/bitch

- a horrible person, a difficult task
I wish that that son of a bitch would stop using my camera without asking me.
"This is a son of a gun. I can't fix it at all."

son of a sea biscuit

- an expression used as a polite replacement for son of a bitch
"Son of a sea biscuit," the man said when he hit his hand with a hammer.

a song and dance


- an excuse
My friend gave me a song and dance about being busy but I did not believe him.







815

sooner or later

- eventually
"Sooner or later you must give me my money so you should do it soon."

sore loser

- a person who gets angry when he or she loses
He is a sore loser when he does not win a game of tennis.

sort of (something)

- to be almost something, to be similar to something, to be not quite something
"Did you finish cleaning the kitchen?"
"Sort of, but not really."

sort out (something)

- to clear up confusion, to straighten out something that is disorderly

Our accountant is working hard to sort out the money problems.

sound as if

- to seem as if something were so from what has been said
It sounds as if my friend is planning to look for a new job.

sound like a broken record

- to say the same thing over and over again
The boy's mother sounds like a broken record when she tells him to clean his room.

sound like (something)

- to seem like something
It sounds like the stores are going to close early on Saturday because of the holiday.


816

sound off about (something)

- to tell what one knows or thinks in a loud voice
My friend is always sounding off about why he does not like his job.

sound (someone) out

- to try to find out how a person feels about something by asking him or her questions
The man has been sounding out his wife to see if she wants to move to a new house.


soup (something) up

- to change and add something to make something more powerful or faster
My friend souped his car up when he was a teenager.

sow one's wild oats

- to do wild and foolish things in one's youth
The man sowed his wild oats when he was a young man.

spaced out

- to be confused or incoherent, to resemble someone who is using drugs, to be
daydreaming
The boy was totally spaced out when the teacher asked him a question about the
homework.

spare (someone) (something)

- to exempt someone from having to listen to or express something
I wish that our teacher would spare us her speeches about her difficult childhood.







817


speak Idioms
speak for itself/themselves

- to not need explaining
The actions of the men speak for themselves and there is no point talking about it.

speak for (something)

- to make a request for something, to ask for something
I spoke for the comfortable chair as soon as I entered the room.

speak highly of (someone or something)

- to say good things about someone or something
Everybody speaks highly of the new principal of our school.

speak ill of (someone)

- to say something bad about someone
I wish that my friend would not speak ill of the other people in our class.

speak of the devil (and he appears)

- to appear just when someone is talking about you
"Speak of the devil and he appears," I said as our colleague who we were talking
about walked in the door.

speak off the cuff

- to speak in public without preparation

My father plans to speak off the cuff at his retirement party tonight.





818

speak one`s piece/mind

- to say openly what one thinks
I think that it is time for me to speak my piece and tell somebody about my
complaints about our company.

speak out on/about (something)

- to speak in favor of or in support of something
My boss spoke out in favor of giving me a promotion.

speak out of turn

- to say something unwise, to say the right thing but at the wrong time
The young man spoke out of turn while the teacher was asking him questions.

speak the same language

- to have similar ideas/tastes/opinions as someone else
I think that I speak the same language as the new supervisor in our company.

speak up


- to speak in a loud or clear voice, to speak without fear or hesitation
I asked the teacher to speak up as I could not hear him at all.

speak up for (someone or something)

- to speak in favor of someone or something
The politician is always willing to speak up for some of the poorest people in the city.








819

speak with a forked tongue

- to tell lies
The man speaks with a forked tongue and nobody trusts him.


.



spell (something) out


- to explain something in very simple words, to explain something very clearly
I spelled out the conditions for renting the house very clearly.

spell trouble

- to signify future trouble, to mean trouble
The problems that we are having with our furnace spell trouble for the coming cold
season.

spick-and-span

- to be very clean, to be very neat
The house was spick-and-span when we returned from our holiday.

spill the beans

- to tell a secret
My friend promised not to spill the beans about my plans to get married.

spin a yarn

- to tell a tale/story
I like my new neighbor because he always likes to take the time to spin a yarn.


820

spin one's wheels

- to be in motion but get nowhere

I was spinning my wheels all week and I did not get much done.

spin (something) off

- to create something as a by-product of something else
The computer company plans to spin off some new products from their original
invention.

spit up (something)

- to throw something up, to vomit something
The dog spit up the button that he had swallowed.

spitting image of (someone)

- the exact resemblance to someone
My cousin is a spitting image of his father.

split hairs

- to make unnecessary distinctions about something
The manager makes many good points but he has a tendency to split hairs and waste a
lot of our time.

split one's sides (with laughter)

- to laugh so hard that one's sides almost split
I split my sides with laughter when the woman began to tell jokes.