831

stand up

- to be strong enough to use for a long time
The new carpet should stand up for a long time.

stand up (someone)

- to fail to keep an appointment or date with someone (usually used for a date with a
boyfriend or girlfriend)
The boy stood the girl up on a date last Saturday and now she will not talk to him.

stand up and be counted

- to be willing to say what one thinks in public
The union members thought that they should stand up and be counted before
management took away their benefits.

stand up for (someone or something)

- to defend against attack, to fight for someone or something
The citizens of the town were ready to stand up for their rights.

stand up to (someone)

- to be brave in confronting someone
The man stood up to his boss during the meeting when his boss criticized his work.

832

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a standing joke

- something that regularly and over time causes amusement when it is mentioned
It was a standing joke around our office that our boss was a very bad driver.

stark raving mad

- to be completely crazy
The woman who lives next door is stark raving mad.

stars in one`s eyes


- to have an appearance or feeling of very great happiness
She had stars in her eyes when she saw the beautiful ring that her boyfriend had
bought for her.

start from scratch

- to start from the beginning
I lost all of my notes so I had to start from scratch with my project.

start in as (something)

- to begin a career as something
The man started in as a mailroom clerk but soon he began to have more and more
important jobs in the company.

start off on the wrong foot

- to start an activity badly, to start a relationship badly
I started off on the wrong foot with my supervisor.


833

start out as (something)

- to start one's career as something
The president of our company started out as a mailroom clerk when he was quite
young.

start over/off with a clean slate


- to ignore the past and start over again
The young man broke the law several times but he was able to start over with a clean
slate when the judge decided that he would probably not do anything wrong in the
future.

start the ball rolling

- to begin to do something
My uncle finally started the ball rolling on his plans to build a new house.

start up (something)

- to begin operating something, to begin to play/do something
My uncle started up a small business when he was 20-years old.

stay away from (something)

- to avoid something
My uncle has been staying away from salty foods for several months now.

stay put

- to stay in one place, to not leave
We decided to stay put for our holidays rather than go away.







834

steal a base

- to sneak from one base to another in baseball
The player was easily able to steal a base during the game.

steal a march on (someone)

- to get an advantage over someone without being noticed
I was able to steal a march on my colleague when he was away on vacation.

steal (someone`s) thunder

- to do or say something that another person had planned to do or say
My colleague stole my thunder when he announced that he was leaving the company
before me.

steal the show/spotlight

- to act or to do so well in a performance that you get most of the attention
The young musician stole the show at the music festival.

steamed up

- to be angry
I was steamed up over the fact that my friend lost the spare keys to my apartment.

steaming mad


- to be very angry
The woman was steaming mad when the customer service representative was rude to
her on the telephone.







835

steer clear of (someone or something)

- to avoid someone or something
I have been steering clear of my friend since our argument.


step Idioms
step-by-step

- gradually
My grandfather has made a great effort and step-by-step he has learned how to use a
computer.

step down from (a job/position)

- to leave an important position
My father recently stepped down from his job as president of his company.


step into (someone's) shoes

- to take over a job or some role from someone
I plan to step into my supervisor's shoes when he is away on vacation.

step into the breach

- to move into a space or vacancy
The woman stepped into the breach and helped the other teachers while several
people were sick.

step on it

- to go faster, to hurry
"Please step on it," he yelled as the taxi took him to the airport.



836

step on (someone`s) toes

- to do something that embarrasses or offends someone else
The supervisor stepped on many people`s toes at work and now he has many enemies.

step on the gas

- to go faster, to hurry
I had to step on the gas in order to get to work on time.


step out of line

- to misbehave, to do something offensive/wrong
When the children step out of line their teacher becomes very angry.

step right up

- to move forward toward someone/something
The clerk told me to step right up when I was waiting to order some food.

step up (something)

- to make something go faster, to increase something
Recently we had to step up our effort to hire some new computer programmers for our
company.

step up

- to rise to a higher or more important position, to be promoted
My boss stepped up to the position of manager after the old manager was fired.








837


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stew in one`s own juice

- to suffer from something that one has caused to happen to himself or herself
The man is stewing in his own juice after he got into trouble for being late.

stick Idioms
stick around

- to stay or wait nearby for something
We decided to stick around after the game and talk for awhile.

stick by/with (someone or something)

- to support someone or something
The woman always sticks by her friends when they are in trouble.

a stick-in-the-mud

- someone who is old-fashioned or does not want to join in with others and do
something
The girl is a stick-in-the-mud and will never join in any of the activities at a party.

stick one`s neck out for (someone or something)

- to take risks, to support someone

The man never sticks his neck out for anyone at work and he has few friends.







838

stick out like a sore thumb

- to be obvious and visible
The woman sticks out like a sore thumb when she wears her red hat.

stick (someone) with (something)

- to leave someone with an unpleasant task
My friend always sticks me with paying the bill when we go to a restaurant.

stick (something) out

- to endure/continue something
She does not like her new job but she plans to stick it out until she saves enough
money to go to Europe.

stick (something) up

- to attach something to a wall/post etc.
I plan to stick the poster up on our kitchen wall.


stick to a story/the facts

- to remain faithful to the facts of a story
"Please stick to the facts when you tell the story to the police."

stick to one`s guns

- to defend an action or opinion despite an unfavorable reaction
Our boss is sticking to his guns on his decision to fire the manager of the store.

stick to one's ribs

- to last a long time and give one strength (used for food)
The food at the restaurant is wonderful and it sticks to our ribs.


839

stick together

- to remain together as a group
The children like to stick together when they go to the beach.

stick up (someone or something)

- to rob someone or something with a gun or other weapon
A man with a gun tried to stick up my mother when I was a child.

stick up for (someone or something)


- to defend/help/support someone
My boss always sticks up for the younger workers at our company.

stick with (something)

- to continue doing something, to not quit something
My brother has been able to stick with his trumpet lessons since he was a child.


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sticky fingers

- the habit of stealing things that one sees and wants
The young boy has sticky fingers and you must watch him all the time.

stink to high heaven

- to smell very bad
The kitchen garbage was stinking to high heaven in the hot sun.



840

stir (someone or something) up


- to make someone angry or excited, to cause trouble
The man`s angry words stirred up the crowd and made them very angry.

stir up a hornet`s nest

- to make many people angry or dislike something, to provoke your critics
He stirred up a hornet`s nest when he began to talk about the bonus system at his
company.

stock up on (something)

- to build up a supply of something
We are trying to stock up on wood before the winter.

stone-broke

- to have no money
I was stone-broke after I came back from my holiday in Italy.

stone's throw away from (something)

- to be very close to something
The new vegetable store is a stone's throw away from the large supermarket.

stoop to (doing something)

- to do something that is beneath one
I do not plan to stoop to ask my friend for money for food.