Showing 24 of 3,697 lessons.
ship has sailed
An opportunity has been missed
“THE SHIP HAS SAILED on that idea”
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”