Словарь американских идиом: 8000 единиц
Шрифт:
[say one’s peace] or [speak one’s piece]{v. phr.} To say openly what you think; say, especially in public, what you usually say or are expected to say. •/John told the boss that he thought he was wrong and the boss got angry. He said, "You’ve said your little piece, so go on home."/ •/Every politician got up and said his piece about how good the mayor was and then sat down./
[says who] or [says you]{v. phr.}, {slang} I don’t believe or accept that. — An expression of rebuff often used to make fun of someone or oppose him. •/"I am the strongest boy on the block." "Says you./" •/"That brook is full of trout." "Says who? I never saw anybody catch trout there."/ •/"You can’t take Mary to the party — she’s my girl." "Says who?"/
[say-so]{n.} Approval; permission; word. •/Father got angry because I took his new car out without his say-so./
[say the word]{v. phr.}, {informal} To say or show that you want something or agree to something; show a wish, willingness, or readiness; give a sign; say yes; say so. •/Just say the word and I will lend you the money./ •/I will do anything you want; just say the word./ •/If you get tired of those pictures, say the word./
[say uncle] also [cry uncle]{v. phr.}, {informal} To say that you surrender; admit that you have lost; admit a defeat; give up. •/Bob fought for five minutes, but he had to say uncle./ •/The bully twisted Jerry’s arm and said, "Cry uncle."/ •/The other team was beating us, but we wouldn’t say uncle./ Compare: GIVE IN.
[scale] See: TO SCALE.
[scale down]{v.} To make smaller or less; decrease. •/John scaled down each boy’s share of food after a bear robbed the camp./ •/Tom built a scaled down model of the plane./ Compare: CUT DOWN.
[scandal sheet]{n.} A newspaper that prints much shocking news and scandal. •/Bob wanted to find out who won the election, but he could find only a scandal sheet./ •/The scandal sheet carried big headlines about the murder./
[scarcely any] See: HARDLY ANY.
[scarcely ever] See: HARDLY EVER.
[scaredy-cat] or [scared-cat] See: FRAIDY-CAT.
[scare away] or [off]{v. phr.} To cause to flee; frighten away. •/Jake is a confirmed bachelor; the best way to scare him off is to start talking about marriage./
[scare out of one’s wits] or [scare stiff] or [scare the daylights out of]{v. phr.}, {informal} To frighten very much. •/The owl’s hooting scared him out of his wits./ •/The child was scared stiff in the dentist’s chair./ •/Pete’s ghost story scared the daylights out of the smaller boys./
[scare to death] See: TO DEATH.
[scare up] or [scrape up]{v.}, {informal} To find, collect, or get together with some effort when needed. •/The boy scared up enough money to go to college./ •/"Will you stay for supper?" she asked. "I can scare up enough for us all."/ •/He managed to scrape up the money for his speeding fine./
[scene] See: BEHIND THE SCENES.
[scent] See: THROW OFF THE SCENT.
[schedule] See: ON SCHEDULE.
[scheme] See: COLOR SCHEME.
[school] See: TELL TALES OUT OF SCHOOL.
[school of hard knocks]{n. phr.} Life outside of school or college; life out in the world; the ordinary experience of learning from work and troubles. •/He never went to high school; he was educated in the school of hard knocks./
[score] See: SETTLE A SCORE also WIPE OUT AN OLD SCORE, THE SCORE.
[scot-free]{adj. phr.} Without punishment; completely free. •/In spite of his obvious guilt, the jury acquitted him and he got off scot-free./
[scotch broth]{n.} A thick barley soup with vegetables and mutton or beef. •/Mother cooked a hearty scotch broth for dinner./
[Scott] See: GREAT GODFREY or GREAT SCOTT.
[scout] See: GOOD EGG or GOOD SCOUT.
[scout around]{v. phr.} To search for; look around. •/When we first came to town, we had to scout around for a suitable apartment./
[scrape] See: BOW AND SCRAPE.
[scrape the bottom of the barrel]{v. phr.}, {informal} To use or take whatever is left after the most or the best has been taken; accept the leftovers. •/At first they took out quarters, but they had so little money that they had to scrape the bottom of the barrel and paid with nickels and pennies for their lunch./ •/The garage owner had to scrape the bottom of the barrel to find a qualified mechanic to work for him./
[scrape together]{v. phr.} To quickly assemble, usually from scanty ingredients. •/We were so hungry we had to scrape together some lunch from all kinds of frozen leftovers./
[scrape up] See: SCARE UP.
[scratch] See: FROM SCRATCH, PUT ONE’S MONEY ON A SCRATCHED HORSE, UP TO PAR or UP TO SCRATCH.
[scratch around for]{v. phr.} To search randomly for something. •/If you scratch around for a more reliable used car, maybe you’ll feel more confident on the road./