| Idiom |
Where Used |
Meaning |
| sail (you, me, he, she etc.) down the river |
USA (esp. Southern) |
To find love, to search for love. E.g. "you sailed me/my heart down the river", translates roughly to "You made me feel loved." |
| (what's) sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander |
Global |
Also said as "What's good for the goose is good for the gander" (a gander is a male goose)
- When said to a person, essentially, don't complain about being treated the way you've treated others.
- If something is good for one person, it follows that it is good for everybody.
|
| school of hard knocks |
AUS, UK, USA |
The (sometimes painful) education one gets from life, often contrasted with formal education. |
| scraping the bottom of the barrel; scraping the the barrel |
Global |
The last possible selection. |
| screw the pooch |
USA |
To make a grievous error. |
| (to) see a man about a dog; (to) see a man about a horse |
Global |
To urinate (in men), or occasionally used to explain your absence without disclosing any further details. |
| (to) seize the bull by its horns; (to) take the bull by its horns |
AUS, UK, USA |
Take direct action to solve a problem without looking for other, less demanding, approaches. |
| sell like hotcakes |
Global |
Selling (or being distributed) very rapidly. E.g. "My father's hamburgers sold like hotcakes at the family reunion." |
| (to) send flying |
Global |
Cause to be knocked or scattered about. |
| set the Thames on fire |
UK |
Perform an astonishing feat. This phrase is almost invariably used in the negative: "He'll never set the Thames on fire." Latin and German have similar idioms regarding the Tiber and the Rhine, respectively |
| set the world on fire |
Global |
Region-free variant of above. |
| shake one's booty |
AUS, USA |
To dance vigorously. |
| shake off; shake the dust off your feet; shake the dust off your shoes |
|
Make a clean break from a (bad) former situation. Derived from the gospel of S. Matthew, ch. 10 v. 14: "And whosoever shall not receive you, nor hear your words, when ye depart out of that house or city, shake off the dust of your feet." |
| Shanks' pony; Shanks' mare |
UK |
One's own feet. To travel someplace by Shanks' pony is to walk there. Shanks' (or shanks's) mare (or nag or pony) derives from the name of the lower part of the leg between the knee and ankle - the shank, nowadays more often known as the shin-bone or tibia. |
| (to) shift gears |
AUS, USA |
To talk about or work on a different subject or to change the speed at which one is working. Normally referring to speeding up. "Boy he sure shifted (into a higher) gear(s) when he saw that the end was in sight!" |
| (when the) shit hits the fan; (the) shit has hit the fan |
|
Can describe the moment when dubious conduct is discovered, and the repercussions for your actions are suddenly felt, or more generally when a critical or scandalous situation becomes known to persons of superior authority. |
| (to) shit it in |
AUS |
To be doing very well (eg. "We're shitting it in."), or considered highly likely to succeed (eg. "He'll shit in it.") |
| (to be) shit out of luck (S.O.L.) |
Global |
To have no alternative hope or action. To be without compromise. |
| (to have) shit on the liver |
AUS |
To be in a bad mood, likely to be disagreeable and rude to other people. |
| shipshape and Bristol fashion |
UK |
Everything is nice and tidy, with no rubbish (garbage) strewn around. |
| (to) shoot oneself in the foot |
Global |
Similar to spit or piss into the wind, to bring injury or ill fortune upon oneself (although this idiom tends to imply a self-inflicted misfortune) |
| show me an X and I'll show you a Y |
USA |
"I see possibilities that you don't." Example: "Show me a traumatized ant and I'll show you a vulnerable midnight snack" |
| show one's true colors |
Global |
One's true nature is now visible. Implies that there has been a period of ambiguity if not outright deception beforehand. Comes from the age of sail, when seeing a ship's colors (i.e., flag) was the only way to gauge whether it might be friendly or not. |
| short end of the stick; shitty end of the stick; short end |
Global |
The worse part of an unequal deal or situation
AHDI cites the first use of "short end..." to the 1930s, but notes the etymology is lost; it also posits an origin in the phrase "worse end of the staff" from the 1500s, which evolved into thye current "short/shitty end...", "allegedly from a stick poked up one's rectum by another in command of the situation". It also suggests an origin in stick-fighting.[1] OED does not cite the whole phrase, but lists "short end" alone as "US Slang, the inferior part or share (of something), the losing end, a bad deal"; it is listed with other uses meaning odds-and-ends or leftovers, and cites first usage in 1904[2].Compare "wrong end of the stick," below. |
| sick as a parrot |
UK |
Extremely disappointed, upset, dismayed (esp. with regards to the results of a soccer match). |
| sitting ducks |
Global |
Something or someone that is easy to attack or criticize. |
| six feet under |
Global |
Dead and buried (from a traditional depth for human graves). |
| six of one, half a dozen of another, six and two threes, sixes |
Global |
Two options which are essentially the same so there is no real choice to be made (USA first one only). |
| six ways to Sunday; six ways from Sunday |
USA |
In every possible manner; by every imaginable method. This phrase says "six ways" which represent the six days after Sunday in a week (Monday - Saturday.) The most likely origin is in the folkore of the "Old West", in reference to a Sunday showdown (i.e. a competitive battle between two gunsmen), implying that the shooters only have six days to practice their shooting skills (in every way as they can possibly do in the alloted time) prior to the event (i.e. from Monday to Saturday.) |
| skeletons in the closet |
AUS, USA |
Secrets from one's past that one would like to conceal. |
| skeleton in the cupboard |
UK |
A personal secret that one would not like to reveal for fear of embarrassment, as it usually reflects badly on the person having the secret. |
| skin of one's teeth |
Global |
A very close miss from some disaster. |
| sleep with the fishes |
USA |
To be dead, often murdered. "X knew too much. Now he is sleeping with the fishes." |
| slower than molasses |
USA |
Excruciatingly slow. Variation: "slower than molasses in Januaray"... Molasses is very thick and therefore would run slowly at any time of year, but is exaggerated here (when "in January" is added to the phrase) with the coldest month in many regions. Often used to describe a person or an object, e.g. "My computer is running slower than molasses (in January.") |
| small beer |
UK |
Of little consequence or value. |
| small fry |
AUS, UK (esp. in second sense), USA (in either sense, sometimes both) |
1. Young children, or persons of little importance or influence.
2. Financial dealings that will not amount to large profits. Typically used when there are more profitable endeavors to pursue.
|
| small potatoes |
USA |
Insignificant problems. |
| small world |
Global |
One encounters familiar people, events or situations in unexpected places. |
| SNAFU |
Global |
ridiculously chaotic situation; disorderly; out of control; muddled; military slang, situation normal: all fucked (fouled) up |
| (a) snowball's chance in Hell |
USA |
Essentially zero likelihood (also occasionally "an ice cube's chance".) Comparative to "when Hell freezes over" or "when pigs fly." |
| soft sawder |
|
Cajoling or flattery. |
| son of a gun |
CAN, UK, USA |
A unique person. This phrase can be used either approvingly or disparagingly. (Slang) |
| soup to nuts |
USA |
From beginning to end; etymologically, from the first course of a meal (soup) to the last course (nuts, which are often found in desserts). |
| sour grapes |
Global |
To decide that an out-of-reach prize was probably not worth having. Spitefully belittling another's success when one has failed. (Aesop's Fables: The Fox and the Grapes) |
| spare the rod and spoil the child |
? |
To warn others or believe that sparing a child from a rod (whipping) will make them spoiled. |
| speak of the Devil; speak of the Devil and he shall appear |
AUS, UK, USA |
Said aloud when someone who was being discussed in conversation enters the area of those conversing; from the belief that uttering the name of a demon could serve to summon it. |
| (to) spit into the wind. |
Global |
Similar to shooting oneself in the foot, to bring injury or ill fortune upon oneself. Similar to piss into the wind. Also means to do flog a dead horse |
| (to) spin a yarn |
AUS, USA |
To tell a story, especially a long one with distorted truths or exaggerations. |
| spick and span |
AUS, UK, USA |
Neat, clean, and tidy. (In the USA, may be spelled alternately as "spic and span") |
| spill the beans |
Global |
To reveal a secret. |
| spirit of the law |
Global |
To interpret something as it is meant, not as explicitly stated. The 'spirit' of the law is often contrasted with the 'letter' of same, which is its explicit statement. |
| spitting image |
AUS, UK |
Resembling strongly. e.g. "He's the spitting image of his grandfather at his age." See also: Dead ringer. |
| squaring the circle; make a square circle |
|
Trying to do something which is impossible. |
| stalking horse |
UK |
A political candidate unlikely to succeed against an incumbent, standing to generate an election and to reveal disquiet with the incumbent's recent performance — possibly inducing other competitors for that post to declare their interest. Refers to American Indian hunting practice of approaching a herd of wild animals while mostly concealed by a tame mount. |
| start with a clean slate; start with a clean sheet; start with a clean sheet of paper |
Global |
To completely start over, or to contemplate solving a problem without preconceptions. |
| stand in good stead |
AUS, UK |
To be extremely useful in the future. |
| steal someone's thunder |
Global |
Taking the credit for something positive occasioned largely by someone else, or simply to upstage someone. From a stage thunder device by John Dennis which actually was stolen. |
| stem the tide |
Global |
To stop or control the growth or increase of something, usually unpleasant. |
| stick in the mud; stuck in the mud |
Global |
An old-fashioned idea or concept, or someone who moves or adapts slowly. Also used to describe a person who does not want to participate in activities suggested by one or more people. |
| stick it to The Man |
USA |
To perform an action that is against the wishes of 'The Man.' |
| (having a) stick up one's ass |
USA |
Being excessively rigid or traditional. |
| sticky wicket |
AUS, UK |
A tough situation; for example, British Prime Minister Tony Blair, maneuvering his way through the sticky wicket of the Middle East, wanted to stress the need to maintain an international coalition. -- William Safire; Fog of War: Von Clausewitz Strikes Again; The New York Times Magazine; Nov 18, 2001. The term comes from the parlance of cricket, and describes a situation in which rain has dampened the pitch. This makes the path of the ball more unpredictable thus making the job of defending the stumps that much more difficult. |
| stiff-necked |
UK |
Stubborn. This is an example of metonymy. A stubborn person frequently does not turn his head to listen and appears stiff in the neck. Thus having a stiff neck and not turning both imply stubbornness; by the rule of metonymy, 'stiff necked' means stubborn |
| storm in a teacup |
AUS, UK |
A large fuss about an insignificant matter. (USA: tempest in a teapot) |
| strain at a gnat and swallow a camel |
Global |
(from Matthew 23:24 in the King James Version of the Bible) The phrase is often used to indicate that someone is making a big deal out of an issue that should not be a big deal. |
| (the) straw that broke the camel's back |
Global |
From a proverb about loading up a camel beyond its capacity to move. This is a reference to any process by which catastrophic failure (a broken back) is achieved by a seemingly inconsequential addition (a single straw). This also gives rise to the phrase 'the last straw' |
| sugar daddy |
Global |
A rich man who is generous to younger women in return for sexual favors; a patron. |
| sure-fire |
Global |
Something which is 'sure-fire' is certain to happen. |
| swan song |
Global |
A final appearance; a theatrical or dramatic farewell, from a legendary belief that a swan would sing its own dirge as it died. |
| sweet dreams |
Global |
A wish that someone will sleep well. |
| swim with the fishes |
USA |
To die, especially to be murdered and have your body disposed of, often in a body of water. (See also "sleep with the fishes"). It's presumed to be a bit of Mafia jargon. |
| swim with sharks; swim with the sharks |
Global |
To take a huge risk |
| sword of Damocles |
Global |
Alludes to a myth in which a man who resented the ruling classes was invited to dine with a sword perilously suspended over his head in order to experience life as they do. The Sword of Damocles refers to the insecurity felt by those with great power due to the possibility of that power being taken away suddenly, or, more generally, any feeling of impending doom. |
