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| Sack | Fire; terminate employment (His company sacked David today.) |
| Sack, the | A bed (I just want to hit the sack early tonight.) |
| Sack of crap | Disagreeable person or thing (rude) |
| Sack out | To sleep (Mom won't let me sack out on the sofa.) |
| Sad Sack | Unfortunate person (We should help that Sad Sack.) |
| Saddle up | Prepare to leave; get on a horse (Everybody saddle up. It's time to leave.) |
| Same here | In agreement (Same here. I don't like to eat lima beans.) |
| Same time, at the | Simultaneously (Betty can play piano and chat at the same time.) |
| Sandbag | 1. To surprise unpleasantly (I'll try not to sandbag Arthur with the news.) 2. To undermine (Reporters sandbagged that politician's chance for reelection.) |
| Sap, a | Foolish person (Don't be a sap. You can't do this job.) |
| Sashay around | To prance; be excited (Victor is so happy that he's sashaying around.) |
| Sashay around (the issue) | Avoid telling the truth (Most politicians sashay around the matter.) |
| Sass | argument; complaints (Don't give me any of your sass!) |
| Sass back | To argue (She better not sass back to me.) |
| Save (my) breath | No need to speak (Save your breath. John will get the promotion.) |
| Save face | Retain respect (The auto company made an attempt to save face.) |
| Savvy | Knowledgeable (Stephen is savvy about computer programming.) |
| Sawbones | Medical doctor |
| Say | Expression to draw attention (Say, is this the correct address?) |
| Scab | Temporary non-union worker to replace a striking union worker |
| Scam | To cheat by trickery (The bank's latest offer actually is a scam.) |
| Scared of own shadow | Easily afraid; coward (That fellow is scared of his own shadow.) |
| Scoop | To reveal information before any other source (Newspapers try to scoop competitors.) |
| Scot-free | Without consequences (George always seems to get off scot-free.) |
| Scram | To leave [an imperative] (Scram! We don't want to see you again.) |
| Scratch | Money [old slang] (You can't buy anything without some scratch.) |
| Scratch back | To reciprocate; support (You scratch my back and I'll scratch yours.) |
| Scratch the surface | Barely begin (Your research merely scratched the surface.) |
| Scream, a | Entertaining person (Roger is a scream at parties.) |
| Screw up | To do something wrong (He probably will screw up the assignment.) |
| Screw-up | Person who makes often mistakes (Bill is another screw-up.) |
| Screwball | Crazy person; strange action (George is the class screwball.) |
| Screwy | Strange; wrong (Something is screwy with your idea.) |
| Scrounge | To seek (She scrounged for food.) |
| Scrounge up | To organize; to get (He scrounged up a game.) |
| Scum | Trashy people (That part of town is filled with scum.) |
| Search me | I do not know (Search me, I never heard of that before.) |
| Second thoughts | Doubt; indecision (Do you have any second thoughts about going?) |
| Seconds | 1. An additional amount of something (I eat seconds almost every meal.) 2. An inferior quality (Val often buys seconds at the store.) |
| See daylight | To understand; comprehend (I'm starting to see daylight now.) |
| See you | Meet you later. [also said as See ya] |
| Seedy | Old; rundown (Sally works in a seedy part of town.) |
| Sell like hotcakes | Sell quickly (The latest video game is selling like hotcakes.) |
| Sellout | A traitor; take payment to violate a promise (Henry definitely is a sellout.) |
| Send Me, You | (You) excite me. |
| Set free | To release (Matilda want to set the horse free.) |
| Set of wheels | A vehicle (Bernardo bought a great set of wheels.) |
| Set on legs | To make (someone) responsible (It's time to set him on his legs.) |
| Shabby | Not very good; old (What a dump! The furniture is shabby, too.) |
| Shack-up | Live together without being married (It's not proper to shack-up with someone.) |
| Shadow | To follow without being seen (The detective shadowed his suspect.) |
| Shaft | To cheat someone (Marilyn shafted her old boyfriend.) |
| Shag | 1. To retrieve; catch (Do you want to shag a few balls with me now?) 2. To depart quickly (Let's shag before the cops come!) |
| Shake a leg | To be quick (Shake a leg! We must leave now.) |
| Shake in boots | To fear (Marco is shaking in his boots because police caught him.) |
| Shake like jelly | To be afraid (Julius is still shaking like jelly.) |
| Sham | Pretense; fake (Too bad that Arnold's promise to help was just a sham.) |
| Shanghied | Kidnapped; taken without permission (Competitors shanghied my latest idea.) |
| Sharp | Intelligent (Bill is sharp. He always learns quickly.) |
| Shavetail | Second lieutenant [Military term] (Veteran troops distrust a new shavetail.) |
| Shell company | Front company (Richard set up a shell company in the Cayman Islands.) |
| Shell game | Method to cheat people (The crook developed a new shell game to get money.) |
| Shell out | To give (Dad had to shell out more money for school books.) |
| Shine on the job | To look busy (Jeff dosn't work well. He just shines on the job.) |
| Shindig | A party (Dallas often has big shindigs in its convention center.) |
| Shiner | Black eye (Nathan had a shiner from the fight last night.) |
| Shinolah | Deception (Joe tried to give me a load of shinolah.) |
| Sho' nuff | Certainly [Southern dialect] (Sho' nuff, the boys can go fishing with me.) |
| Shoo | To chase away (I've got to shoo those cows from my garden.) |
| Shoot | 1. To speak; ask a question (Go ahead and shoot. I probably can answer you.) 2. Mild expression of annoyance (Shoot, I can't go with you.) |
| Shoot off | 1. To speak; reveal a secret (Jerry can't be stopped; he'll shoot off his mouth.) 2. To fire; ignite (Tonight we can shoot off some fireworks.) |
| Shoot up | 1. To run wild and fire a pistol (Cowpunchers might shoot up the town tonight.) 2. To inject heroin (The drug addict bought a fix and will shoot up soon.) |
| Short shrift | Cheat (Watch out, or you'll be given a short shrift.) |
| Shorthand | Method to write quickly (My new secretary can take shorthand.) |
| Shorthanded | Deficient in workers (Roberto's company is shorthanded this summer.) |
| Shot of booze | Drink of alcohol (Sam downed another shot of booze.) |
| Shot to hell | Ruined (Look, my dress is shot to hell.) |
| Shove it! | Expletive to express displeasure (Shove it! I won't go with you!) |
| Shove it up (your) ass! | Expression of warning: Do not bother me! [very rude] |
| Show off | To boast; exhibit (Pam loves to show off her expensive clothes.) |
| Show port side | Cranky; irritable (There's no need to show your port side this morning.) |
| Showoff | Boastful person (Pete craves attention because he's a big showoff.) |
| Shrimp | Small, weak person (Willy is a shrimp and boys pick on him.) |
| Shrink | A psychiatrist (You can't trust a shrink.) |
| Shut up | Not speak (Allen ordered us to shut up.) |
| Sic 'em | Attack them; kill them [Term used to order a dog into an attack.] |
| Sick | Inappropriate; bad (He told a sick joke.) |
| Sick in the head | Crazy (Bubba acts like he's sick in the head.) |
| Side with | To support (I'll always side with you.) |
| Sidekick | A subordinate companion (Bucky was Captain America's sidekick.) |
| Sidelined | Kept out of action (Coach sidelined Joe for the whole game.) |
| Simmer | To be angry (Look out! Jake is simmering.) |
| Simmer down | To reduce anger (Mother told Johnny to simmer down.) |
| Sing a different tune | Change opinion or testimony (Jane sang a different tune after we caught her in a lie.) |
| Sit a horse | To ride a horse [Cowboy talk] (Did you ever sit a horse?) |
| Sit down | To sit (Mother warned Amy to sit down and be quiet.) |
| Sit in on | To participate (Matt decided to sit in on the meeting.) |
| Sit on | 1. To delay (The County supervisor sat on his report.) 2. To participate (Mr. Jones sits on the board of directors.) |
| Sit on (my) thumb | To do nothing (Jeremy just sits on his thumb all day.) |
| Sit pretty | To be in a good situation; prepared (Looks like Jim is sitting pretty.) |
| Sitting duck | To be a target (I felt like a sitting duck during the investigation.) |
| Skag | Girl with small breasts (She's cute but also a skag.) |
| Skank | Nasty girl (Everyone at school knows that Natalie's a skank.) |
| Skeedaddle | To run away (British troops skeedaddled at the battle of New Orleans.) |
| Skid row | Dilapidated and filthy area of town (Homeless and poor people live on skid row.) |
| Skin and bones | Skinny; starving (The prisoner is nothing but skin and bones.) |
| Skinflint | Stingy person (Old man Myers is a skinflint who hates to spend a dollar.) |
| Skinny-dip | Swim naked (Boys sometimes skinny-dip in the Mississippi River.) |
| Skip it | Forget about it |
| Skip town | To leave (I think we should skip town now.) |
| Skirt, a | Girl; woman (We invited a few skirts to the party.) |
| Skivvies | Underwear (Dave appeared in his skivvies.) |
| Skunk, a | Devious person (Don't trust that salesman. He's a skunk.) |
| Sky is the limit | No limit (I told Jane that the sky is the limit.) |
| Slammer | Jail; prison (Raymond was sentenced to five years in the slammer.) |
| Slap silly | To strike repeatedly (The bully slapped Richard silly.) |
| Slated for | Scheduled (The old computer software is slated for replacement.) |
| Slip by | To avoid; fail to see (Pete's mistake slipped by the committee.) |
| Slip (my) mind | To forget (It slipped my mind that Rosa was coming for a visit.) |
| Slip one by | To avoid detection (He can slip one by the command center.) |
| Slippery as an eel | Devious; tricky (Our congressman is slippery as an eel.) |
| Slob | Slovenly person (She's such a slob; won't ever clean her house!) |
| Slow as molasses | Very slow (Stephanie is slow as molasses. She won't be on time.) |
| Slowpoke | Slow person (Farmer John is a slowpoke when he drives.) |
| Slum around | To relax; be lazy (It's so hot that I just want to slum around.) |
| Slumming | To do nothing (Buddy felt like slumming today.) |
| Sly as a fox | Cunning (That insurance salesman is sly as a fox.) |
| Small fry | Unimportant people (I want to speak with a boss, not the small fry.) |
| Smart | Stupid [Said in sarcasm] (Oh, that was smart!) |
| Smart-ass | Rude person [rude] (No one likes a smart-ass!) |
| Smartmouth | To be sarcastic or rude (Don't be a smartmouth!) |
| Smashed | Drunk (Dave looks smashed again tonight.) |
| Smell like a rose | To win (Deborah came out smelling like a rose.) |
| Smiley | Nickname for a person who smiles often. |
| Smokescreen | Cover the truth; false claim (William is hiding behind a smokescreen.) |
| Snake, a | Devious person; liar (You can never trust a snake.) |
| Snake in | Enter by devious means (Mort snaked his way in with a fake smile.) |
| Snake in the grass | Devious person (Bruce is a snake in the grass.) |
| Snakepit | Mental hospital (A psychiatrist committed his patient to the local snakepit.) |
| Snap | 1. To speak in anger (Mom snapped at us.) 2. To lose control; go crazy (Martha suddenly snapped.) 3. Easy (That's a snap for me to do.) |
| Snap out of it | Become aware of reality |
| Sniff the streets | To investigate (Their boss told the detectives to sniff the streets.) |
| Snip | Rude adolescent (Keep that young snip away from me!) |
| Snockered | Drunk (Mary is snockered again.) |
| Snoop, a | Detective; person who is nosey (We hired a snoop to find the thief.) |
| Snort | A drink of alcohol (Mary-Ellen likes to take a snort sometimes.) |
| Snort coke | Sniff cocaine (Only a foolish person will snort coke.) |
| Snow; snow job | To confuse (Bobby is very good at giving people a snow job.) |
| Snuff out | To extinguish (Scott snuffed out the candles on his birthday cake.) |
| So fast (your) head will spin | Very quickly |
| So help me | Expression of affirmation |
| So long | Good-bye (So long, I hope to see you again soon.) |
| Soaps; soap opera | TV romantic melodramas (Priscilla must watch TV soaps each afternoon.) |
| Sob story | Excuse designed to elicit tears (Delia gave a sob story about why she was late.) |
| Soft touch | Gullible (We can get money from her; she's a soft touch.) |
| Softhearted | Kind (I have a softhearted grandmother.) |
| Son-of-a-bitch | Disagreeable fellow [very rude] |
| Son-of-a-gun | Disagreeable fellow (I won't allow that son-of-a-gun in my home.) |
| Song and dance | A lie (Congressmen ususally give the people a song and dance.) |
| Sort of; sort of like | Somewhat like; similar to (Frog legs taste sort of like chicken.) |
| So-so | Mediocre (Joe can't find anything better than a so-so job.) |
| Sot | Drunkard (Marge is tired of living with a sot.) |
| Sound like a broken record | To be repetitive (His complaints sound like a broken record.) |
| Sound off | To respond verbally (Sound off if you like this idea.) |
| Sound the alarm | Call to an action (I'm not going to sound the alarm.) |
| Sound the bell | Call to an action (OK, I'll sound the bell against him.) |
| Sounds bad | To be disagreeable (That sounds bad to me.) |
| Sounds good | To be agreeable (Sounds good. I like the idea.) |
| Sounds great to me | I think that is a good idea. |
| Sounds like | To be (That sounds like something that I will enjoy.) |
| Sour apples | Disgruntlement (Dorothy sounds like a case of sour apples.) |
| Sour grapes | Disgruntlement (I feel like sour grapes due to her action.) |
| Sow, a | Fat woman (That old sow better not come near me again!) |
| Sow wild oats | Act sexually irresponsibly (Don't sow any wild oats.) |
| Spaced out | Vacant look (Matilda looks all spaced out this morning.) |
| Speak against | To oppose (Jimmy spoke against the new school policy.) |
| Speak for | 1. To support (Lilly speaks for the need to change policy.) 2. To represent another person or thing (I speak for everyone in my town.) |
| Speak out | To speak very vocally (Jeff had to speak out or people would not his opinion.) |
| Speak out against | To oppose vocally (I will speak out against raising taxes this year.) |
| Speak up | 1. To voice an opinion (Abigail decided to speak up in favor of the proposal.) 2. Speak louder (Please speak up so everyone can hear you.) |
| Speakeasy | Club that sold illegal alcohol during the American prohibition era |
| Specs | Eyeglasses (I can't see squat without specs.) |
| Speed burner | Move fast (That horse is a speed burner.) |
| Speed up | Go faster (Speed up or we won't catch them.) |
| Spend all day | Take a long time (Martha can spend all day looking at new clothes.) |
| Spend time | To participate (Dad will spend time with the children today.) |
| Spill the beans | To reveal information (It's a secret. You aren't supposed to spill the beans.) |
| Spit it out | Tell the truth; speak plainly (It's time to just spit it out.) |
| Split the scene | Depart (We should split the scene before trouble starts.) |
| Spoiled rotten | Obnoxious due to coddling (Those two children are spoiled rotten.) |
| Spoiling for | To seek (Big Bob is spoiling for a fight.) |
| Spot | To see (Can you spot John anywhere?) |
| Spot on | Exactly right [British term] (Your guess is spot on.) |
| Spread | A ranch (Barney owns a big spread in west Texas.) |
| Spread thin | To be overextended (Our troops are spread too thin.) |
| Spud | Potato (Idaho is famous for its spuds.) |
| Squawk | To complain (She squawked at him.) |
| Squealer | Sycophantic informant (I hope to beat the crap out of that squealer.) |
| Squirrely | Odd; strange (Francisco was acting a bit squirrely.) |
| Stacked | To have a good figure (Alisa definitely is stacked.) |
| Stack up to | Comparable; meets with (Ralph actually stacks up to my expectations.) |
| Stand a chance | Possibility (I'm not sure if I stand a chance to get that job.) |
| Stand for | To advocate; support (Patriots stand for the constitution.) |
| Stand in; stand in on | To represent; participate (Anna asked is she can stand in on the ceremony.) |
| Stand-in | A substitute (I could not go, so the company sent a stand-in.) |
| Stand pat | Immovable (I'm going to stand pat.) |
| Stand (something) | To tolerate (I can't stand it anymore.) |
| Stark raving mad | Completely crazy (We're afraid Jonathan will go stark raving mad.) |
| State of the art | Modern; most current (The new computer must be state of the art.) |
| Stick around | To wait (Do you want to stick around for the movie ro start?) |
| Stick foot in mouth | Say the wrong thing (Steve really stuck his foot in his mouth this time.) |
| Stick in the craw | Upsetting (Not being allowed to voice an opinion sticks in my craw.) |
| Stick in the mud | Boring person (Ned is a stick in the mud. He just stays home.) |
| Stick it in (your) ear! | Expression of warning: Do not bother me! [rude] |
| Stick to (his) guns | To be persistent (Lowell stuck to his guns and would not sell the house.) |
| Stick to (his) work | Focus on work (The company asked everyont to stick to their work.) |
| Stickler | Fussy; particular (Jeanie is a stickler about how things look perfect.) |
| Stickup | A robbery (He was shot in a stickup.) |
| Stiff | 1. Potent alcohol (Bob poured himself a stiff one.) 2. Serious (Jane acts too stiff at parties.) 3. To cheat (I refuse to let Malthus stiff us.) |
| Stiff, a | Dead body (Police found an unidentified stiff buried in trash.) |
| Stiffle it! | An order to not speak. |
| Sting | To cheat (Police caught the people who stung us.) |
| Stink | Not good; bad (I think Tom's idea stinks.) |
| Stinker | Bad person (That stinker just conned us out of $1,000.) |
| Stinky | Lousy; bad (Melissa is wearing such a stinky dress.) |
| Stomping grounds | Familiar territory (I enjoy returning to my old stomping grounds.) |
| Stoned | 1. In a drugged stupor (A few college students were stoned out of their minds.) 2. Hit by stones (An ancient punishment was to be stoned.) |
| Stonewall | To postpone giving a response (He stonewalled a police investigation.) |
| Stool pigeon | An informant (Don't trust that guy. He's a stool pigeon.) |
| Stoolie | An informant (Joey is a stoolie for the police.) |
| Stop cold | Stop completely (Margaret's angry face stopped him cold.) |
| Stop on a dime | Stop immediately (Jake's new car can stop on a dime.) |
| Straight arrow | Honest person (Joseph is a straight arrow.) |
| Straight scoop | True information (Nathan gave us the straight scoop.) |
| Straighten out | To correct (Jane promised to straighten out her son's bad behavior.) |
| Straighten up and fly right | To act properly (Dad warned Steve to straighten up and fly right.) |
| Strapped for cash | To need money (Can you lend me $100? I'm strapped for cash just now.) |
| Stretch (our) legs | To exercise (That was a long ride. I need to stretch my legs.) |
| Strike out | To lose (Jonathan struck out again. He always seems to lose.) |
| Strike out for | To depart (Jack's family decided to strike out for California.) |
| String along | To trick (The used car dealer is trying to string us along.) |
| String along with | To join; follow (The guys will string along with Billy's idea.) |
| Strong-arm | To force (Bullies resort to strong-arm tactics.) |
| String along | 1. To agree (I can string along with your ideas.) 2. Travel together (Dave decided to string along with us to town.) 3. To trick (A devious salesman tried to string us along.) |
| Stringbean | Tall and thin person (Danny is such a stringbean that girls avoid him.) |
| Stuck | Cannot get out (People were stuck in the elevator.) |
| Stuck with | Must accept/pay for (Dad got stuck with the bill again.) |
| Stuff | 1. Refers to any unidentified objects (Bring the stuff here!) 2. To fill (I stuffed everything in a bag.) |
| Stuff it! | Be quiet (Stuff it! You talk too much.) |
| Stuff the face | Eat quickly (Sammy likes to stuff his face.) |
| Suck eggs | Expression of disgust [rude] (Suck eggs, you scum-covered vermin!) |
| Suck (your) thumb | To pout [rude] (Go suck your thumb and don't bother me!) |
| Sucker | 1. Foolish person (Crooks always look for a sucker to cheat.) 2. Hard candy on a stick (Little Jake likes cherry flavored suckers.) |
| Sucks | Bad [rude] (I think the teacher's theory sucks!) |
| Suck up to | To be servile (That California politician thinks everyone should suck up to her.) |
| Suck-up | A sycophant (Who's the suck-up trying to get the chief's attention?) |
| Sunk | To lose; hopeless (We're sunk now. No one will loan us more money.) |
| Sure; sure thing | 1. Yes, of course. (Sure, I can help you.) 2. Certain; a winner (I believe that will be a sure thing.) |
| Swarm around | To congregate (Boys swarmed around the new pretty girl in school.) |
| Swabbie | Navy enlisted man (Jack decided to join the navy and now is a swabbie.) |
| Sweat it out | To endure (I hope they can sweat it out until Monday.) |
| Sweet-talk | Words of endearment (Ron likes to sweet-talk his girlfriend.) |
| Sweetie-pie | Name of endearment (My sweetie-pie is taking me on a date.) |
| Swell | Fun; good (We should have a swell time at Disneyland.) |
| Swelled head | Arrogant (Dan's success gave him a swelled head.) |
