Commonly used english part 80 pot

791

signed, sealed and delivered

- formally and officially signed
The contract to buy the house was signed, sealed and delivered when I delivered it to
the real estate agent.

the silence is deafening

- the silence is so great that one becomes uncomfortable, the silence is so great that it
suggests the disapproval of something
The silence was deafening at the meeting when nobody stood up to challenge the
speaker for his extreme remarks.

silly season

- the time of the year (late summer) when there is no important news and news
reporters focus on unimportant things
It was the end of summer and the silly season for the news media.

simmer down

- to become calm/quiet
He was very angry after the meeting but now he has begun to simmer down.

since time immemorial

- since a very long time ago
Since time immemorial people have been coming to the hot springs to bathe in the

water.

sing (someone's) praises

- praise someone highly and enthusiastically
My supervisor always sings my praises when he introduces me to someone.




792

sing/whistle a different tune

- to contradict something that one has said before, to talk or act in the opposite way
Usually the man does not care if he disturbs his neighbors at midnight but now that he
must get up early in the morning he is whistling a different tune.

sink in

- to penetrate, to become understood
It will take time for the comments of our boss to sink in.

sink into despair

- to grieve or to become depressed
The woman sank into despair when she learned that she had lost her job.

sink one`s teeth into (something)

- to begin to work seriously on a project/problem
The problem is difficult and is hard to sink your teeth into.

sink or swim

- to fail or succeed by one's own efforts
My cousin will have to sink or swim when he begins his new job.

sit Idioms
sit around (somewhere)

- to sit somewhere and relax and do nothing
I spent the morning sitting around my apartment while I waited for a phone call.





793

sit back

- to be built a distance away from a street
The large mansion sits back three hundred meters from the street.

sit back

- to relax/rest, to take a break
We decided to sit back for the day and not do anything.

sit back and let (something) happen

- to relax and not interfere in something
I did not want to sit back and let things happen so I began to make some phone calls
about my situation.

sit bolt upright

- to sit up straight
I sat bolt upright when I heard the news about my cousin.

sit idly by

- to sit and watch something while others work, to ignore a situation that calls for help
The man sat idly by while the others worked hard.

a sit-in

- a political demonstration where students or workers refuse to leave their classroom
or job site
The students had a sit-in demonstration to demand lower tuition fees.







794

sit in for (someone)

- to take someone else's place in some activity
I asked my friend to sit in for me at my volunteer job at the community center.

sit in on (something)

- to attend or participate in a meeting
Our boss sat in on our meeting so that he could learn what was happening.

sit on (something)

- to be a member of a jury or board etc.
The former politician sits on the board of many corporations.

sit on its hands

- an audience refuses to applaud
The audience sat on its hands after the terrible performance by the singer.

sit on one's hands

- to do nothing, to fail to help
The manager sat on her hands and refused to do anything about the complaints that
she had received.

sit on (something)

- to hold someone or something back, to delay something
I am going to sit on my job application until I am sure that I want to apply for the new

job.







795

sit on the fence

- to not support any side in a dispute, to not decide/support something
Most of the politicians are sitting on the fence over supporting the new rapid transit
project.

sit right

- to be unacceptable (usually used in the negative or interrogative)
His idea seemed good at first but now it does not sit right with the other members of
the staff.

sit (something) out

- to not participate in something, to wait until something is over
I am planning to sit the meeting out as I am very tired today.

sit through (something)

- to witness or endure all of something

I had to sit through a very boring lecture yesterday.

sit tight

- to wait patiently for something
"Please sit tight for a few minutes while I go and get a police officer."

sit up and take notice

- to become alert and pay attention
The loud bang made everybody sit up and take notice at the concert.







796

sit up with (someone)

- to stay with someone (a sick person) during the night
My mother had to sit up all night because my younger sister was very sick.

sit well with (someone)

- to please or find favor with someone
My decision to leave early for the weekend did not sit well with the other members of
the staff.

.



a sitting duck

- a non-moving target that is easily hit by a hunter
The hunter shot the sitting duck easily and quickly.

a sitting duck

- an unsuspecting person who is easily fooled - as if he or she were waiting to be
attacked
The woman was a sitting duck for the thief when she sat on the bench with her purse
beside her.

sitting on top of the world

- feeling very good/happy
I was sitting on top of the world after I heard from my friend.







797

sitting pretty

- to be in a favorable situation
My uncle is sitting pretty with his new job and high salary.

a sitting target

- someone who is in a position that can be easily attacked
The manager was a sitting target for the criticism by the staff.

six feet under

- to be dead
My friend does not plan to move from his house until he is six feet under.

six of one or half-a-dozen of the other

- to be the same, to have no difference between two things
It was six of one or half-a-dozen of the other as to whether we should take the train or
the airplane. They both arrived at the same time and cost the same.

at sixes and sevens

- to be in confusion or disagreement
Everybody has been at sixes and sevens since they opened the new school.

sixth sense

- a power to know or feel things other than by sight/hearing/smell/taste/touch

My friend seems to have a sixth sense and he knows many things that nobody else
knows.







798

the size of it

- the way something is
"That`s about the size of it," I said as I told my friend about the accident.

size up (someone or something)

- to try to form an opinion of someone, to assess a situation
It took me some time to size up the candidate before deciding to give him a job.

skate on thin ice

- to take a chance, to risk danger or disapproval
My friend has been skating on thin ice recently and he may be fired from his job.

skeleton in one`s closet

- a family secret that one does not like to talk about
I heard that the politician has a skeleton in his closet that he does not want to talk

about.

skid row

- a poor area of a city where many people live who have no money/job/housing
The skid row area of our city is a place where few tourists want to go.

skin and bones

- to be very skinny
The cat which we found in the empty house was all skin and bones.

skin-deep

- to be only on the surface, to not have any deep or honest meaning
Although beauty is said to be only skin-deep many people care about it very much.


799

by the skin of one`s teeth

- only just, barely
We arrived on time for the train by the skin of our teeth.

no skin off one`s nose

- to be of no concern/trouble/interest to someone
It is no skin off my nose whether or not she comes to the party.

skin (someone) alive

- to scold someone angrily, to spank or beat someone
The woman told her son that if he was late for dinner she would skin him alive.

skip bail

- to run away and not come to trial and therefore give up any money that you may
have paid the court to guarantee that you appear
The man skipped bail and went to another city before he was arrested again.

skip it

- to forget about something
"Skip it," I said when she forgot to bring me the phone number after I asked for it
three times.

skip out on (someone or something)

- sneak away from someone or some event
I decided to skip out on the meeting and go to a movie.







800

skip rope

- to jump over a rope that is held by two people and which goes over your head and
beneath your feet
The children spent the morning skipping rope.

sky's the limit

- there is no limit to the success that can be achieved or the money that can be spent or
made
The sky is the limit for my friend and his new job.

slack off

- to reduce something gradually, to become less active, to become lazy
Recently I have begun to slack off in my effort to find a new job.

a slap in the face

- an insult
Not getting a promotion was a slap in the face for the sales manager.

slap (someone or something) down

- to rebuke/reject someone or something
My boss slapped my proposal down soon after the meeting started.

slap (something) together

- to make something in a hurry and without care

We slapped together a picnic table for the company picnic.