S

Sacred cow
Something that is a sacred cow is held in such respect that it cannot be criticised or attacked.
Safe and sound
If you arrive safe and sound, then nothing has harmed you on your way.
Safe bet
A proposition that is a safe bet doesn’t have any risks attached.
Safe pair of hands
A person who can be trusted to do something without causing any trouble is a safe pair of hands.
Safety in numbers
If a lot of people do something risky at the same time, the risk is reduced because there is safety in numbers.
Sail close to the wind
If you sail close to the wind, you take risks to do something, going close to the limit of what is allowed or acceptable.
Sail under false colours
Someone who sails under false colours is hypocritical or pretends to be something he isn’t in order to deceive people.
Salad days
Your salad days are an especially happy period of your life.
Salt in a wound
If you rub salt in a wound, you make someone feel bad about something that is already a painful experience. ‘Pour salt on a wound’ is an alternative form of the idiom.
Salt of the earth
People who are salt of the earth are decent, dependable and unpretentious.
Save face
If someone saves face, they manage to protect their reputation.
Save someone’s bacon
If something saves your bacon, it saves your life or rescues you from a desperate situation. People can also save your bacon.
Save your skin
If someone saves their skin, they manage to avoid getting into serious trouble.
Saved by the bell
If you are saved by the bell, you are rescued from a danger or a tricky situation just in time.
Saving grace
If someone has some character defects, but has a characteristic that compensate for their failings and shortcomings, this is their saving grace.
Say when
People say this when pouring a drink as a way of telling you to tell them when there’s enough in your glass.
Say-so
If you do something on someone else’s say-so, you do it on the authority, advice or recommendation.
Scales fall from your eyes
When the scales fall from your eyes, you suddenly realise the truth about something.
Scent blood
If you can scent blood, you feel that a rival is having difficulties and you are going to beat them.
Scraping the barrel
When all the best people, things or ideas and so on are used up and people try to make do with what they have left, they are scraping the barrel.
Scream blue murder
If someone shouts very loudly in anger, or fear, they scream blue murder.
Screw loose
If someone has a screw loose, they are crazy.
Searching question
A searching question goes straight to the heart of the subject matter, possibly requiring an answer with a degree of honesty that the other person finds uncomfortable.
Second wind
If you overcome tiredness and find new energy and enthusiasm, you have second wind.
See the light
When someone sees the light, he realise the truth.
Seen better days
If something’s seen better days, it has aged badly and visibly compared to when it was new. The phrase can also be used to describe people.
Sell down the river
If you sell someone down the river, you betray him.
Sell like hot cakes
If a product is selling very well, it is selling like hot cakes.
Sell your birthright for a mess of pottage
If a person sells their birthright for a mess of pottage, they accept some trivial financial or other gain, but lose something much more important. ‘Sell your soul for a mess of pottage’ is an alternative form.
Sell your soul
If someone sells their soul, he betray the most precious beliefs.
Send someone to Coventry
If you send someone to Coventry, you refuse to talk to him or co-operate with.
Separate the sheep from the goats
If you separate the sheep from the goats, you sort out the good from the bad.
Separate the wheat from the chaff
When you separate the wheat from the chaff, you select what is useful or valuable and reject what is useless or worthless.
Set in stone
If something is set in stone, it cannot be changed or altered.
Set the wheels in motion
When you set the wheels in motion, you get something started.
Set your sights on
If you set your sights on someone or something, it is your ambition to beat them or to achieve that goal.
Seven sheets to the wind
If someone is seven sheets to the wind, he is very drunk.
Seventh heaven
If you are in seventh heaven, you are extremely happy.
Shades of meaning
Shades of meaning is a phrase used to describe the small, subtle differences in meaning between similar words or phrases; ‘kid’ and ‘youth’ both refer to young people, but carry differing views and ideas about young people.
Shake a leg
If you shake a leg, you are out of bed and active.
Shanks’s pony
If you go somewhere by Shanks’s pony, you walk there.
Sharp cookie
Someone who isn’t easily deceived or fooled is a sharp cookie.
Shifting sands
If the sands are shifting, circumstances are changing.
Shilly-shally
If people shilly-shally, they can’t make up their minds about something and put off the decision.
Shipshape and Bristol fashion
If things are shipshape and Bristol fashion, they are in perfect working order.
Shoestring
If you do something on a shoestring, you try to spend the absolute minimum amount of money possible on it.
Shoot yourself in the foot
If you shoot yourself in the foot, you do something that damages your ambition, career, etc.
Shooting fish in a barrel
If something is like shooting fish in a barrel, it is so easy that success is guaranteed.
Short Shrift
If somebody gives you short shrift, they treat you rudely and brusquely, showing no interest or sympathy.
Shot in the dark
If you have a shot in the dark at something, you try something where you have little hope of success.
Shotgun marriage
A shotgun marriage is one that is forced because of pregnancy. It is also used idiomatically for a compromise, agreement or arrangement that is forced upon groups or people by necessity.
Shrinking violet
A shrinking violet is a shy person who doesn’t express their views and opinions.
Sick as a dog
If somebody’s as sick as a dog, they throw up (vomit) violently.
Sick as a parrot
If someone’s sick as a parrot about something, they are unhappy, disappointed or depressed about it.
Sick to death
If you are sick to death of something, you have been exposed to so much of it that you cannot take any more.
Sight to behold
If something is a sight to behold, it means that seeing it is in some way special, either spectacularly beautiful or, equally, incredibly ugly or revolting, etc.
Silly season
The silly season is midsummer when Parliament is closed and nothing much is happening that is newsworthy, which reduces the press to reporting trivial and stupid stories.
Silver surfer
A silver surfer is an elderly person who uses the Internet.
Since time immemorial
If something has happened since time immemorial, it’s been going on for such a long time that nobody can remember a time without it.
Sing from the same hymn sheet
If people are singing from the same hymn sheet, they are expressing the same opinions in public.
Sitting duck
A sitting duck is something or someone that is easy to criticise or target.
Six of one and half-a-dozen of the other
This is an idiom used when there is little or no difference between two options.
Sixes and sevens
If something is all at sixes and sevens, then there is a lot of disagreement and confusion about what should be done.
Sixty-four-thousand-dollar-question
The sixty-four-thousand-dollar-question is the most important question that can be asked about something.
Skeleton in the closet
If someone has a skeleton in the closet, they have a dark, shameful secret in their past that they want to remain secret.
Slap on the wrist
If someone gets a slap on the wrist, they get a very minor punishment when they could have been punished more severely.
Sleep like a baby
If you sleep very well, you sleep like a baby.
Sleight of hand
Sleight of hand is the ability to use your hands in a clever way, like a magician performing tricks you can’t see.
Slim chance
A slim chance is a very small chance.
Slippery customer
A person from whom it is difficult to get anything definite or fixed is a slippery customer.
Slippery slope
A slippery slope is where a measure would lead to further worse measures.
Slough of despond
If someone is very depressed or in despair, he is in a slough of despond.
Small beer
If something is small beer, it’s unimportant.
Small fry
If someone is small fry, they are unimportant. The term is often used when the police arrest the less important criminals, but are unable to catch the leaders and masterminds.
Smart Alec
A smart Alec is a conceited person who likes to show off how clever and knowledgeable they are.
Smell a rat
If you smell a rat, you know instinctively that something is wrong or that someone is lying to you.
Smoke and mirrors
An attempt to conceal something is smoke and mirrors.
Smoke like a chimney
Someone who smokes very heavily smokes like a chimney.
Smoke the peace pipe
If people smoke the peace pipe, they stop arguing and fighting.
Smokestack industry
Heavy industries like iron and steel production, especially if they produce a lot of pollution, are smokestack industries.
Smoking gun
A smoking gun is definitive proof of someone’s guilt.
Smooth as a baby’s bottom
If something is smooth as a baby’s bottom, it has a regular, flat surface.
Snake in the grass
Someone who is a snake in the grass betrays you even though you have trusted him.
Snake oil salesperson
A person who promotes something that doesn’t work, is selling snake oil.
So on and so forth
And so on and so forth mean the same as etcetera (etc.).
Sod’s law
Sod’s law states that if something can go wrong then it will.
Soft soap someone
If you soft soap someone, you flatter them.
Some other time
If somebody says they’ll do something some other time, they mean at some indefinite time in the future, possibly never, but they certainly don’t want to feel obliged to fix a specific time or date.
Something nasty in the woodshed
Something nasty in the woodshed means that someone as a dark secret or an unpleasant experience in their past.
Sound as a bell
If something or someone is as sound as a bell, they are very healthy or in very good condition.
Spanner in the works
If someone puts or throws a spanner in the works, they ruin a plan.
Speak of the devil!
If you are talking about someone and they happen to walk in, you can use this idiom as a way of letting them know you were talking about them.
Spend a penny
This is a euphemistic idiom meaning to go to the toilet.
Spend like a sailor
Someone who spends his money wildly spends like a sailor.
Spick and span
If a room is spick and span, it is very clean and tidy.
Spill the beans
If you spill the beans, you reveal a secret or confess to something.
Spinning a line
When someone spins you a line, they are trying to deceive you by lying.
Spinning a yarn
When someone spins you a yarn, they are trying to deceive you by lying.
Spirit of the law
The spirit of the law is the idea or ideas that the people who made the law wanted to have effect.
Spit blood
If someone is spitting blood, they are absolutely furious.
Spitting image
If a person is the spitting image of somebody, they look exactly alike.
Split hairs
If people split hairs, they concentrate on tiny and unimportant details to find fault with something.
Spot on
If something is spot on, it is exactly right.
Spur of the moment
If you do something on the spur of the moment, you do it because you felt like it at that time, without any planning or preparation.
Square peg in a round hole
If somebody’s in a situation, organisation, etc, where they don’t fit in and feel out of place, they are a square peg in a round hole.
Squeeze blood out of a turnip
When people say that you can’t squeeze blood out of a turnip, it means that you cannot get something from a person, especially money, that they don’t have.
Stand in good stead
If something will stand you in good stead, it will probably be advantageous in the future.
Stars and stripes
The stars and stripes is the American flag.
Stars in your eyes
Someone who dreams of being famous has stars in their eyes.
State of the art
If something is state of the art, it is the most up-to-date model incorporating the latest and best technology.
Status quo
Someone who wants to preserve the status quo wants a particular situation to remain unchanged.
Steal someone’s thunder
If someone steals your thunder, they take the credit and praise for something you did.
Steer clear of
If you steer clear of something, you avoid it.
Stem the tide
If people try to stem the tide, they are trying to stop something unpleasant from getting worse, usually when they don’t succeed.
Step up to the plate
If someone steps up to the plate, they take on or accept a challenge or a responsibility.
Stick out like a sore thumb
If something sticks or stands out like a sore thumb, it is clearly and obviously different from the things that are around it.
Stick to your guns
If you stick to your guns, you keep your position even though people attack or criticise you.
Stick your neck out
If you stick you neck out, you take a risk because you believe in something.
Stick-in-the-mud
A stick-in-the-mud is someone who doesn’t like change and wants things to stay the same.
Sticking point
A sticking point is a controversial issue that blocks progress in negotiations, etc, where compromise is unlikely or impossible.
Sticky wicket
If you are on a sticky wicket, you are in a difficult situation.
Stiff upper lip
If you keep your emotions to yourself and don’t let others know how you feel when something bad happens, you keep a stiff upper lip.
Stiff-necked
A stiff-necked person is rather formal and finds it hard to relax in company.
Still in the game
If someone is still in the game, they may be having troubles competing, but they are not yet finished and may come back.
Stitch in time saves nine
A stitch in time saves nine means that if a job needs doing it is better to do it now, because it will only get worse, like a hole in clothes that requires stitching.
Stone dead
This idiom is a way of emphasising that there were absolutely no signs of life.
Stool pigeon
A stool pigeon is a police informer.
Storm in a teacup
If someone exaggerates a problem or makes a small problem seem far greater than it really is, then they are making a storm in a teacup.
Straw that broke the camel’s back
The straw that broke the camel’s back is the problem that made you lose your temper or the problem that finally brought about the collapse of something.
Streets ahead
If people are streets ahead of their rivals, they are a long way in front.
Stroll down memory lane
If you take a stroll down memory lane, you talk about the past or revisit places that were important to you in the past.
Strong as an ox
Someone who’s exceedingly strong physically is said to be as strong as an ox.
Stubborn as a mule
Someone who will not listen to other people’s advice and won’t change their way of doing things is as stubborn as a mule.
Sure as eggs is eggs
These means absolutely certain, and we do say ‘is’ even though it is grammatically wrong.
Swansong
A person’s swansong is their final achievement or public appearance.
Sweat blood
If you sweat blood, you make an extraordinary effort to achieve something.
Sweep things under the carpet
If people try to ignore unpleasant things and forget about them, they sweep them under the carpet.
Swim against the tide
If you swim against the tide, you try to do something that is very difficult because there is a lot of opposition to you.
Swim with the fishes
If someone is swimming with the fishes, they are dead, especially if they have been murdered.
Swimmingly
If things are going swimmingly, they are going very well.