Словарь американских идиом (8000 единиц)
Шрифт:
[skin] See: BY THE SKIN OF ONE'S TEETH, GET UNDER ONE'S SKIN, JUMP OUT OF ONE'S SKIN, KEEP ONE'S EYES PEELED or KEEP ONE'S EYES SKINNED, SAVE ONE'S NECK or SAVE ONE'S SKIN, WITH A WHOLE SKIN or IN A WHOLE SKIN.
[skin alive] <v. phr.> 1. <informal> To scold angrily. * /Mother will skin you alive when she sees your torn pants./ 2. <informal> To spank or beat. * /Dad was ready to skin us alive when he found we had ruined his saw./ 3. <slang> To defeat. * /We all did our best, but the visiting gymnastic team skinned us alive./
[skin and bones] <n.> A person or animal that is very thin; someone very skinny. * /The puppy is healthy now, but when we found him he was just skin and bones./ * /Have you been dieting? You're nothing but skin and bones!/
[skin-deep] <adj.> Only on the surface; not having any deep or honest meaning; not really or closely connected with what it seems to belong to. * /Mary's friendliness with Joan is only skin-deep./ * /Ralph crammed for the test and got a good grade, but his knowledge of the lesson is only skin-deep./ Contrast: BRED IN THE BONE.
[skin off one's nose] <n. phr.>, <slang> Matter of interest, concern, or trouble to you. Normally used in the negative. * /Go to Jake's party if you wish. It's no skin off my nose./ * /Grace didn't pay any attention to our argument. It wasn't any skin off her nose./ * /You could at least say hello to our visitor. It's no skin off your nose./
[skip] See: HEART SKIP A BEAT.
[skip bail] See: JUMP BAIL.
[skip it] <v. phr.>, <informal> To forget all about it. * /When Jack tried to reward him for returning his lost dog, the man said to skip it./ * /I asked what the fight was about, but the boys said to skip it./
[skip out] <v.>, <informal> To leave in a hurry; especially after cheating or taking money dishonestly; sneak away; leave without permission. * /The man skipped out of the hotel without paying his bill./ * /"How did you get out of the house after supper, Harry? " "I skipped out!"/
[skirt around] <v. phr.> To avoid something. * /"Let's not skirt around the facts," said the attorney to his client. "You must tell me the truth."/
[sky] See: OUT OF THE BLUE or OUT OF A CLEAR SKY or OUT OF A CLEAR BLUE SKY, REACH FOR THE SKY.
[sky is the limit] There is no upper limit to something. * /"Buy me the fastest racehorse in Hong Kong," Mr. Lee instructed his broker. "Spend whatever is necessary; the sky is the limit."/
[slack off] <v. phr.> 1. To become less active; grow lazy. * /Since construction work has been slacking off toward the end of the summer, many workers were dismissed./ 2. To gradually reduce; taper off. * /The snowstorms tend to slack off over the Great Lakes by the first of April./
[slam] See: GRAND SLAM.
[slap down] <v.>, <slang> 1. To stop (someone, usually in a lower position or job) from doing or saying something, in a rough way or with a scolding; silence. * /When Billy talked back, the teacher slapped him down./ 2. To put a quick stop to; refuse roughly. * /The boss slapped down our idea of taking a nap on the job every afternoon./
[slap in the face(1)] <n.> An insult; a disappointment. * /We felt that it was a slap in the face when our gift was returned unopened./ * /Doris thought it was a slap in the face when her boyfriend invited another girl to the dance./ Compare: KICK IN THE PANTS.
[slap in the face(2)] <v. phr.> To insult; embarrass; make feel bad. * /John slapped our club in the face by saying that everyone in it was stupid./ * /I don't want to slap her in the face by not coming to her party./
[slap one's wrist] <v. phr.> To receive a light punishment. * /She could have been fired for contradicting the company president in public, but all she got was a slap on the wrist./
[slap together] See: THROW TOGETHER(1).
[slate] See: CLEAN SLATE.
[slated for] or [slated to be] Going to be; planned or intended for. * /People think the governor is slated to be president./ * /That subject is slated for debate at the next meeting./
[slave driver] <n.> A cruel, merciless boss or employer who makes the people under him work extremely hard for little compensation. * /Mr. Catwallender is such a slave driver that nobody cares to work for him anymore./
[sledding] See: HARD SLEDDING or ROUGH SLEDDING or TOUGH SLEDDING.
[sleep] See: BEAUTY SLEEP, LET SLEEPING DOGS LIE, SLEEP A WINK.
[sleep around] <v. phr.>, <slang>, <vulgar>, <avoidable> To be free with one's sexual favors; to behave promiscuously. * /Sue Catwallender is a nice girl but she sleeps around an awful lot with all sorts of guys./
[sleep a wink] <v. phr.> To get a moment's sleep; enjoy a bit of sleep.
– Used in negative and conditional statements and in questions. * /I didn't sleep a wink all night./
[sleep like a log] <v. phr.> To sleep very deeply and soundly. * /Although I am usually a light sleeper, I was so exhausted from the sixteen-hour transpacific flight that, once we got home, I slept like a log for twelve hours./
[sleep off] <v. phr.> To sleep until the effect of too much alcohol or drugs passes. * /George had too many beers last night and he is now sleeping off the effects./
[sleep on] <v.> To postpone a decision about. * /We asked Judy if she would join our club and she answered that she would sleep on it./ * /We will have to sleep on your invitation until we know whether we will be free Monday night./