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shoot yourself in the foot
To harm your own cause
“He SHOT HIMSELF IN THE FOOT with that comment”
show someone in their true colours
To show what someone's real character is, especially when it is unpleasant
“The crisis SHOWED HIM IN HIS TRUE COLOURS”
show the white feather
To behave in a cowardly fashion; to show fear
“He SHOWED THE WHITE FEATHER and ran away”
silver lining
A positive aspect in an otherwise negative situation
“The SILVER LINING to the lockdown was more family time”
silver-tongued
A person who speaks in a pleasant way and praises people in order to persuade them to do what they want
“He's a SILVER-TONGUED orator”
sit on the fence
To delay making a decision; to be undecided
“Stop SITTING ON THE FENCE - make a decision.”
sit tight
To wait patiently
“Just SIT TIGHT”
sleep like a log
To sleep very deeply and soundly
“I SLEPT LIKE A LOG all night”
sleep on it
To delay making a decision until the following day
“I'll SLEEP ON IT and let you know tomorrow”
sleep tight
An affectionate way of wishing someone a good night's sleep
“Off you go then, SLEEP TIGHT.”
slip my mind
To be forgotten
“I'm sorry - it SLIPPED MY MIND”
slip of the tongue
A spoken mistake
“That was just A SLIP OF THE TONGUE”
slow day
A day with little activity
“It's been A SLOW DAY, thank god.”
small talk
Polite conversation about unimportant matters
“We made SMALL TALK at the party”
smell a rat
To suspect that something is wrong or dishonest
“I SMELL A RAT here”
snake in the grass
A treacherous person who hides their true nature
“He turned out to be A SNAKE IN THE GRASS”
sounds fishy
Suspicious; seems dishonest or wrong
“That story SOUNDS FISHY to me”
sour grapes
Pretending to not want something that you are desperate for but cannot have
“It's just SOUR GRAPES”
speak of the devil
Said when the person you have just been talking about appears
“SPEAK OF THE DEVIL, here he is.”
spill the beans
To reveal a secret accidentally
“He SPILLED THE BEANS about the surprise”
spit the dummy
To fly into a rage
“He really SPAT THE DUMMY”
spoon feed
To help someone excessively; to make things too easy
“Don't SPOON-FEED the answers”
stab in the back
To betray someone
“He STABBED ME IN THE BACK”
stab someone in the back
To betray someone
“He STABBED ME IN THE BACK after I helped him.”
start from scratch
To begin from the beginning
“We need to START FROM SCRATCH, unfortunately.”
steal someone's thunder
To get the attention or praise that someone else was expecting or deserved
“She STOLE my THUNDER by announcing her news first”
step up your game
To improve your performance
“You need to STEP UP YOUR GAME to compete”
stick to your guns
To maintain your position
“You need to STICK TO YOUR GUNS”
straight from the horse's mouth
To hear something from the authoritative source; directly from the source
“I heard it STRAIGHT FROM THE HORSE'S MOUTH”
stuck between a rock and a hard place
Caught between two difficult choices
“I'm STUCK BETWEEN A ROCK AND A HARD PLACE”
stuff your face
To eat a large amount of food
“He STUFFED HIS FACE at the buffet”
swallow your pride
To humble yourself; admit you were wrong
“You need to SWALLOW YOUR PRIDE and apologize”
swamped
Extremely busy; overwhelmed with work or things to do
“I'm SWAMPED with work”
swan song
The final performance or work of an artist or athlete before they retire
“This album is his SWAN SONG”
sweet tooth
A love for sugary foods
“I have A SWEET TOOTH for chocolate.”
take a back seat
To take a less important role
“I'll TAKE A BACK SEAT on this project”
take french leave
To leave without saying goodbye or asking permission
“He TOOK FRENCH LEAVE from the party early”
take it easy
To relax and not work too hard; to not get stressed
“The doctor said to TAKE IT EASY for a week”
take it with a grain of salt
To be skeptical about something
“TAKE WHAT HE SAYS WITH A GRAIN OF SALT”
take something with a grain of salt
To not completely believe something; to be skeptical about something
“Take his advice WITH A GRAIN OF SALT”
take the bull by the horns
To face a difficult situation directly and confidently
“She TOOK THE BULL BY THE HORNS”
talk a blue streak
To talk quickly and without stopping
“She TALKED A BLUE STREAK all morning”
talk shop
To talk about work or business
“They're always TALKING SHOP at dinner”
teach your grandmother to suck eggs
To give advice to someone more experienced
“Don't try to TEACH YOUR GRANDMOTHER TO SUCK EGGS”
the ball is in your court
It is up to you to make the next decision or step
“I've done my part - THE BALL IS IN YOUR COURT now”
the bee's knees
Used to describe something outstanding
“That car is THE BEE'S KNEES”
the black sheep
A person who is different from the rest of the family or group
“He's THE BLACK SHEEP of the family”
the devil makes work for idle hands
People who are not busy or productive are more likely to get into trouble or do things they shouldn't
“He got into trouble because he had nothing to do - THE DEVIL MAKES WORK FOR IDLE HANDS”
the early bird catches the worm
Success comes to those who start early
“Remember, THE EARLY BIRD CATCHES THE WORM”
the grass is always greener
People think others have it better than they do
“THE GRASS IS ALWAYS GREENER on the other side”