sabre-rattling sabre-rattling British, American & Australian saber-rattling American threatening behaviour which is intended to frighten someone • After months of sabre-rattling, the two sides have agreedto apeaceful resolution of their differences. sack give sb the sack. After only 2 weeks she was given the sack for being rude to a customer. sackcloth sackcloth and ashes slightly formal if you wear' sackcloth and ashes, you showbyyour behaviour that youare very sorry for something youdid wrong tb In the past, clothes made of sackcloth (= a rough cloth) were worn by the Jews in religious activities to show that they were sad or sorry for the things they had done wrong. • I've already apologized. How long must I wear sackcloth and ashes beforeyou 'llforgioe me? sacred a sacred cow X a belief or system that is treated with much respect and is not usually criticized • The British legal system remains a sacred cow, despite increasing evidence that serious mistakes have been made. sacrificed be sacrificed on the altar of sthformal to be destroyed by an activity,system or belief that is bad but more important or 335 safe more powerful. Service and quality have beensacrificed on thealtar of profit. sadder sadder but wiser if someoneis sadder but wiser after abad experience, they have suffered but they have also learned something from it • He bought a second-hand car and ended up sadder but wiser after a series of breakdowns and expensive repairs. saddle be in the saddle ~< to be in control of a situation • With a new leaderfirmly in the saddle the party lookssetfor victory at the next election. safe safe and sound if you are safe and sound, you are not harmed in any way,although youwere in a dangerous situation. It was a difficult drive but weall arrived safe and sound. a safe pair of hands British & Australian someone who you can trust to do an important job well without making mistakes • He's what this troubled club needs,a good, solid manager;a safepair of hands. be as safe as houses British & Australian to be very safe. Don't worry, I've locked your bicycle in the shed - it's as safe as houses. be in safe hands if someoneor something is in safehands, they are being looked after by someone who can be trusted • I know my daughter's in safehands at thenursery. to be on the safe side y' if youdo something to b~ onthe safeside, you do something that may not be necessary in order to protect yourself against possible problems. I don't think there are any broken bones, but you Please purchase PDF Split-Merge on www.verypdf.com to remove this watermark. safety should have an X-ray just to be on the safe side. safety a safety net J« a system or arrangement that helps you if you have problems, especially financial problems. (often + for) The hardship fund provides a safety net for students who run out of money before they've completed their course. a safety valve a way of allowing someone to express strong or negative emotions without harming other people > (often + for) I often think football acts as a safety valve for a lot of stored-up male aggression. There's safety in numbers. something that you say which means if people do something difficult or unpleasant together, they are less likely to get harmed or blamed. Working on the principle that there's safety in numbers, wedecided weshould all go and complain together. said there's [muchla lot etc.] to be said for sth/doing sth something that you saywhich means that something has a lot of advantages • There's a lot tobesaid.for living alone. when all is said and done r something that you say when you are about to tell someonethe most important fact in a situation » When all is said and done, a child's moral upbringing ts the parents' responsibility. sails trim your sails to spend less money • The school is having to trim its sails because of government cutbacks. salad your salad days old-fashioned the time when you were young and had little experience of life. But that was in my salad days, beforeI got married and had children. 336 salt any Uudge/lawyerlteacher etc.] worth their salt any judge, lawyer, teacher etc. who is goodat their job. Any lawyer worth his salt should beaware of the latest changes in taxation. • No judge worth her salt would attempt to influence thejury. be the salt of the earth X if someone is the salt of the earth, they are a very goodand honest person. His mother's the salt of the earth. She'd give you her lastpenny. rub salt in/into the wound )</ to make a difficult situation even worse for someone • Losing was bad enough, having to watch them receiving the trophy just rubbed salt into the wound. take sth with a pinch of salt British & Australian .>: take sth with a grain of salt American & Australian if you take what someone says with a pinch of salt, you do not completely believe it • You have to take everything she says with a pinch of salt. She has a tendency toexaggerate.• It's interesting to read the reports in the newspapers, but I tend totake them with agrain of salt. same Same difference . something that yousay which means that the difference between two things is not important • They were married for forty years, or was it thirty? Same difference- it was a long timeany waxy. be in the same boat to be in the same unpleasant situation as other people· She's always complaining that she doesn't have enough money, but we're all in the same boat.• (often + as) If he loseshisjob he'll bein the same boat as any other unemployedperson. by the same token X something that yousay whichmeans that the thing youare goingto say next is true for the same reasons as the thing you havejust said. When he liked aperson, he loved them, and, by the same token, when he didn't like aperson, hehated them. Please purchase PDF Split-Merge on www.verypdf.com to remove this watermark. in the same breath 1 if you say two things in the same breath, you say two things that are so different that if one is true the other must be false • She said she didn't love him any more but in the same breath said how wonderful he was. 2 if you talk about two people or things in the same breath, you think they are very similar » (often + as) He'sa relatively new director but his name has been mentioned in the same breath asHitchcock. not in the same league >< not nearly as good as something or someone else' (often + as) My four-year- old computer'sjust not in the same league as the latestmachines with their super-fast processors. It's the same old story. »: something that you say when a bad situation has happened many times before • It's the same old story - the women doall the workand the menjust sit around talking. sing the same tune British, American & Australian sing from the same hymnsheet/songsheet British if a group of people sing the same tune, they say the same things about a subject in public' (usually in continuous tenses) I want to make sure we're all singing the same tune beforewegive any intervlews to the newspapers. speakltalk the same language X( if two people speak the same language, they have similar beliefs and opinions, and express themselves in similar ways • There's no use setting up a meeting between the environmentalists and the construction company - they just don't speak the same language. tar sb with the same brush to believe wrongly that someone or something has the same bad qualities as someone or something that is similar • (usually passive) I admit that some football supporters do cause trouble but it's not fair that we're all being tarred with the same brush. 337 say sandwich be one sandwich short of a picnic humorous be a couple of sandwiches short of a picnic humorous if someone is one sandwich short of a picnic, they are stupid or crazy • After talking to him for about 10 minutes I decided he was definitely one sandwich short of apicnic. sang froid sangfroid the ability to stay calm in a difficult or dangerous situation • She showed remarkable sang froid despite a rude and noisy audience. sarcasm Sarcasm is the lowest form of wit. something that you say which means that using sarcasm (= saying the opposite of what you mean to make a joke) is unpleasant and is not a very clever thing to do • 'We're so grateful to you for arriving only 20minutes late!' 'Oh really, Matthew, don't you know sarcasm is the louiestform of wit?' saving a saving grace X. a good quality that makes you like something or someone although you do not like anything else about them' It's a small cinema and the seats are uncomfortable, but the saving grace is that people aren't allowed to eat during thefilm. savoir-faire savoir-faire the ability to do or say the right thing in any social situation • She demonstrates great sauoirfaire when dealing with clients. say You can say that again! informal something that you say in order to show you completely agree with something that someone has just said. 'That was an absolutely delicious lunch.' 'You can say that again!' Please purchase PDF Split-Merge on www.verypdf.com to remove this watermark. saying saying It goes without saying. X something that you say when you believe that what you will say next is generally accepted or understood s It goes without saying that we're delighted about the new baby. says What sb says goes. informal something that you say in order to tell someone which person in a group makes the final decisions about what happens • Moria's the team leader and what she says goes. scales The scales fall from sb's eyes. literary if the scales fall from someone's eyes, they are suddenly able to understand the truth> When I saw his photograph in the paper, the scales fell from my eyes and I realized I'd beenconned. tip the scales /' 1 to make something more or less likely to happen, or to make someone more or less likely to succeed • (often + against) Recent environmental disasters have tipped the scales against oil producers. • The sudden economicgrowth in the area should tip the scales in favour of new investment. 2 to weigh a certain amount. (usually + at) Hetips the scalesatjust over250pounds. scalp be out for/after sb's scalp mainly American to want to punish someone because you blame them for something bad that has happened • The mayor has made one mistake too many and the voters are out for his scalp. scandal a scandal sheet American & Australian, informal a newspaper or magazine that contains many articles about shocking or surprising events • It's just a scandal sheet - full of murders, beatings, suicides and little else. 338 scarce be as scarce as hen's teeth American & Australian to be very difficult or impossible to find • It was the President's inauguration and hotel rooms in Washington wereas scarce as hen's teeth. make yourself scarce informal to leave, especially in order to avoid trouble • I think you'd better make yourself scarce - at least until I've had a chance totalk toyour father. scared be scared shitless British, American & Australian, taboo be scared shit American, taboo to be very frrghtened s I was woken by the sound of someone moving around downstairs - I was scaredshitlessl run scared mainly American to be worried that you are going to be defeated » (usually in continuous tenses) Thereare rumours that the Democrats are running scared after recent opinion polls showed their rivals tobeway out in front. scaredy-cat a scaredy-cat informal someone who is frightened when there is no reason to be Ib This phrase is used especially by children. • Go on you scaredy-cat,jump in. scarlet a scarlet woman old-fashioned a woman who people think is morally bad because she has sex with a lot of men • She was labelled a scarlet woman and excluded from polite society. scattered be scattered to the four winds literary if a group of things or people are scattered to the four winds, they are sent to different places which are far away from each other • Homes were destroyed and families were scattered to the four winds. scenario the nightmare/worst-case scenario the worst thing that could possibly happen· I suppose the worst-casescenario Please purchase PDF Split-Merge on www.verypdf.com to remove this watermark. would be if both of us lost our jobs at the same time, scene set the scene to describe a situation where something is goingtohappen soon. First,let's set the scene - it was a cold dark night with a strong wind blowing set the scene for sth if you set the scene for something, you make itpossibleor likely to happen> The recent resignation of two government ministers has set the scene for a pre- electioncrisis. the scene is set for sth • After a disastrous first half, thescene was setfor a humiliating defeat. scenes scent putlthrow sb off the scent if you throw someone off the scent, you givethem false or confusing information to try to stop them discovering something Ib A scent is a smell produced by an animal which can act asa signal to other animals trying to find or followit.• The police werethrown off the scentfor a while byfalse evidencegiven by two of the witnesses. scheme E '\J in the grand/great scheme of things ," if you say that in the grand scheme of things something is not important, you mean that it is not important when compared to much more serious things • In the grand scheme of things, whether 339 scrap another actress has her navel pierced is not really that significant. school the school of hard knocks learning through difficult experiences • An early training in the school of hard knocks was goodpreparation for a career inpolitics. schoolboy schoolboy humour British & Australian schoolboy humor American & Australian stupid jokes that are rude but not offensive· Isn't he a bit oldfor this type of schoolboyhumour? science blind sb with science British & Australian if you blind someone with science, you confuse them by using technical language that they are not likely to understand. I think hedecidedto blind us with science because he didn't want us asking any difficult questions. score know the score informal to know all the important facts in a situation, especially the unpleasant ones • You know the score - no payment until after the article ispublished. settle a score X to harm someone whohas harmed you in the past. (often + with) Policebelieve the killer was a gang member settling a score with a rival gang. settle old scores. (often + with) She used herfarewell speech tosettle some old scoreswith her opponents. scot-free get away/off scot-free informal to avoidthe punishment that you deserve or expect • If you don't take out a complaint against him he'll get off scot- free! scrap throw sb/sth on the scrap heap informal to getrid of someoneor something that is not wanted orneededany more· (usually Please purchase PDF Split-Merge on www.verypdf.com to remove this watermark. scratch passive) Many people overforty who can't find a job feel they've been thrown on the scrap heap. be on the scrap heap. Thesekids areon thescrap heap as soonas they leaveschool. scratch not be up to scratch to not be of an acceptable standard or quality> I'm afraid your last essay wasn't up toscratch. not come up to scratch British & Australian • Under the new system, we will not continue toemploy teacherswhose work doesn't comeup toscratch. bring sb/sth up to scratch British & Australian • If you practise hard on this piece you should be able to bring it up to scratch by next week. screw have a screw loose informal to be crazy • I think that woman has a screw loose- shegoes out in her slippers. screws put the screws on sb informal to use force or threats to make someone do what you want f!::J In the past, screws or thumbscrews were devices used to hurt people by crushing their thumbs in order to force them to do something. • They put the screws on him until eventually he wasforced toresign. tightenlturn the screws on sb informal • The police are turning the screws on drivers who don't wear their seat belts by fining them. scrimp scrimp and save to spend very little money, especially because you are saving it to buy something expensive. (often + to do sth) Wehad to scrimp and save to buy ourfirst house. 340 scum the scum of the earth very informal X if a group of people are the scum of the earth, they are the worst type of people f!::J Scumis alayer of unpleasant or dirty substance that has formed on top of a liquid.• Peoplewho abuse children are the scum of theearth. sea your sea legs the ability to keep your balance when walking on a moving ship and not feelill • It took me a while toget my sea legs, but Ifeel fine now. a sea change literary a completechange. (often + in) The huge increase in the number of people working freelance represents a sea change in patterns of employment over the last 10 years. be at sea British, American & Australian be all at sea British & Australian if someone is at sea, they are completely confused • I'm all at sea with this computer manual. seal put/set the seal on sth slightly formal to make something certain or complete • The ambassador's visit set theseal on the trade agreement between the two countries. seams be bulging/bursting at the seams informal if a place is bursting at the seams, it has a very large number of people or things in it • All my family came to stay for the wedding and our little house was bursting at the seams. be coming/falling apart at the seams 1 if a system or organization is coming apart at the seams, it is in a very bad condition and likely tofail. Fora while it seemed that the wholeAsian economy was just coming apart at theseams. 2 if someone is comingapart at the seams, they are feelingextremely upset and have difficulty continuing to do the things Please purchase PDF Split-Merge on www.verypdf.com to remove this watermark. they usually do • It's no excuse, but we were all working really hard and none of us noticed that Rory uias justfalling apart at the seams. search Search me! informal something that you say when you do not know the answer to a question' 'Where's Jack gone?' 'Search me!' seat be in the driving seat British be in the driver's seat American & Australian to be in control of a situation • The consumer is in the driving seat due to the huge range of goods on the market. fly by the seat of your pants informal to do something difficult without the necessary experience or ability • (often in continuous tenses) None of us had ever worked on a magazine before so we were flying by theseat of ourpants. by the seat of your pants if you do something by the seat of your pants, you do it using your own experience and ability, without help from anyone else • Wefound our way by the seat of our pants, but if I ever did another jungle trek I'd take a guide. X '- seats bums on seats British & Australian, informal fannies in the seats American, informal if a public performance or a sports event puts bums on seats, many people pay to goand see it • This production needsa big name toput bums on seats. second second best something that is not as goodas the thing that you really want. I know exactly what sort of apartment I'm lookingfor and I'm not going to settletor second best. be second to none X to be better than anything or anyone else • The hotel's restaurant facilities are second tonone. 341 second-class come off second best >2 to be beaten in a competition or an argument. I've given up arguing with my big brother because I always come off second best. get alyour second wind British, American & Australian get alyour second breath American to suddenly have new energy to continue doing something after you were feeling tired • After two hours we could hardly walk another step, but we got a second wind as weneared home. play second fiddle X- if you play second fiddle to someone, they are in a stronger position or are more important than you' (usually + to) You'll have tochoosebetweenyour wife and me. I won'tplay secondfiddle toanyone. without a second thought X if you do something without a second thought, you doit without thinking about whether or not you should' She doesn't worry about money - she'll spend a hundred pounds on a dress without a second thought. not give sth a second thought. He'd fire you if he had.to - he wouldn't give it a second thought. second-class a second-class citizen X someone who is treated as if they are less important than other people in society • Although she was married to an Australian, Louise couldn't get a work visa and it made her feel like a second- classcitizen. Please purchase PDF Split-Merge on www.verypdf.com to remove this watermark. second-guess second-guess X, second-guess sb/sth 1 to try to guess what will happen or what someone will do • It's notfor us tosecond- guess the court's decision - we'lljust have to wait and see. 2 to criticize someone's actions or an event after it has happened. It's easy tosecond- guess the team's coach- but let'sface it, he made big mistakes. see see sb/sth for what they (really) are to start to understand the truth about someone or something, especially when the truth is bad' She suddenly saw him for what he was - a cold-hearted, calculating killer. see it coming X to see that something is likely to happen, especially something bad • I wasn't surprised when the company closeddown. Youcould see it coming. seed seed money American & Australian money that is used to start a business or other activity' With $250,000 in seed money they started to recruit executives and advisersfor their new venture. go/run to seed to stop taking care of your appearance so that you no longer look attractive • I almost didn't recognize John. He's really gone toseedsince his wife left him. seeds V sow the seeds of sth .F "- to do something that will cause an unpleasant situation in the future • He may be sowing the seeds of his own destruction by using violence against his people. seeing Seeing is believing. )( something that you say which means you can only believe that something surprising or strange is true if you see it yourself • I'd never have imagined my parents could dance, but seeing is believing. 342 seen have seen better days humorous X if something or someone has seen better days, they are not in such a good condition as they used to be • Our washing machine has seen better days. • Wewere met at the hotel entrance by an ageing porter who had evidently seen betterdays. have to be seen to be believed if something has to be seen to be believed, it is so surprising or shocking that it is difficult to believe • The devastation had to beseentobe believed. haven't seen hide nor hair of sb/ sth informal if you have not seen hide nor hair of someone or something, you have not seen them for a period of time' (often + since) I haven't seen hide nor hair of her since last Sunday, and I'm beginning to get rather worried. self-made a self-made man a man who is rich and successful as a result of his own work and not because his family had a lot of money' Critchley was a self-made man who learned accounting while working in a brush factory. sell the hard sell a method of trying very hard to persuade someone to buy something even if they do not want to • All I did was ask for a price list and a carpet salesman started giving me the hard sell. OPPOSITE the soft sell' Weprefer touse the soft sell on our customers. We simply explain the insurance packages and leave them todecidefor themselves. sense knock (some) sense into sb informal to use strong methods in order to teach someone to stop behaving stupidly • A month in prison should knock some sense into him. Please purchase PDF Split-Merge on www.verypdf.com to remove this watermark. senses / come to your senses ~ to start to understand that you have been behaving in a stupid way· So you've finally realized what a mistake you're making. I wondered how long it would take you tocome toyour senses. bring sb to their senses • It was my father who finally brought me to my senses by telling me that if I didn't go back to college I might regret it for the rest of my life. set be set in concrete r: if an arrangement, a plan or a rule is set in concrete, it is completely fixed so that it cannot be changed. (usually negative) We've drawn up some rough guidelines- they're by nomeans set in concrete. seven the seven year itch humorous if someone who is married gets the seven year itch, they become bored with their relationship after about seven years and often want to start a sexual relationship with another person • He keeps talking about all the women he knew before we weremarried - I think he'sgot the seven- year itch. seventh be in seventh heaven humorous ), to be extremely happy • Since they got married they'Vebeenin seventh heaven. sex a sex kitten old-fashioned a young woman who is sexually exciting or attractive fib Some women think this phrase is offensive.• All she needs todo is untie her hair and remove her spectacles and she's transformed into a gorgeous sex kitten. a sex object if someone thinks of a person as a sex object, they only think about having sex with them and do not think about their character or abilities. How on earth can youfeel anything for a man whojust treats you as a sex object? 343 shaft shade put sb/sth in the shade to be so interesting or so good that other similar people or things seem less important by comparison. I thought I'd done quite well, but Claire's exam results put mine in the shade. shades Shadesof sb/sth. something that you say when someone or something makes you think of another person or thing s Wevisited the university campus and had afew drinks in the bar. Shades of my student days. shadow a shadow of your former self if you are a shadow of your former self, you are less strong or less powerful than you were in the past • He came back to work after 3 months, completely cured of the cancer but a shadow of hisformer self. beyond/without a shadow of a doubt if something is true beyond a shadow of a doubt, there is no doubt that it is true • This is without a shadow of a doubt the bestfilm I have seenall year. in sb's shadow if you are in someone's shadow, you receive less attention and seem less important than them> For most of his life he lived in theshadow of his morefamous brother. in/under sth's shadow if you are in the shadow of an unpleasant event, you cannot forget that it has happened or might happen in the future • The local population were living under theshadow of war. shaft get the shaft American, informal X. if someone gets the shaft, they are not treated in a fair way • The tax system is all wrong - the richjust get richer and it's thepoor whoget theshaft. give sb the shaft American, informal • They gave him the shaft - he lost his job for no reasonat all. Please purchase PDF Split-Merge on www.verypdf.com to remove this watermark. shag shag like a shag on a rock Australian, very informal completelyalone fb A shag is a large sea bird.• They walked out and left me like a shag on a rock. shaggy a shaggy dog story a joke which is a long story with a silly end s My grandad insists on telling these shaggy dog stories, which nobody finds funny except him. shakes in two shakes (of a lamb's tail) old- fashioned in a couple of shakes old-fashioned very soon. I'll be with you in two shakes of a lamb's tail. shaking be shaking in your boots/shoes to bevery frightened or anxious. Damon was shaking in his shoes when he heard all the shouting. shanks Shanks's pony British, American & Australian, old-fashioned Shank's mare American, old-fashioned walking as a method of travel. I missed the last bus and had to get home on Shanks's pony. shape Shape up or ship out. informal something that you say in order to tell someonethat if their behaviour doesnot improve, they will have to leave. This is the third serious mistake you've made this month. It's not good enough - you 'regoing tohave toshape up or ship out. the shape of things to come if something is the shape of things to come, it is a sign of what is likely to become popular in the future • Is shopping on the Internet the shape of things tocome? in any shape or form X of any type • I'm opposed to war in any shape orform. 344 knock/lick sth/sb into shape whip sth/sb into shape to improvethe condition of something or the condition or behaviour of someone • The prime minister's main aim is to knock the economy into shape. • Little Sean is a bit wild but the teachers'll soon lick him into shape when hestarts school. shapes all shapes and sizes »: many different types of people or things • Mortgage deals come in all shapes and sizes thesedays. share Share and share alike. something that yousaywhich means that it is good to share things fairly and equally. Come on now, don't keep them all toyourself - share and share alike. sharp the sharp end mainly British the sharp end of an activity or job is the most difficult part where problems are likely to happen • (usually + of) She enjoys the challenge of being at the sharp end of investment banking. be as sharp as a tack American to be very intelligent. He may beold, but he's still as sharp as a tack. Look sharp! 1 old-fashioned something that you say in order to tell someone to hurry • Look sharp! Wehave to leave infiue minutes. 2 mainly American something that you say in order to warn someone about something. Look sharp! That ladder isn't very steady. shebang / the whole shebang informal X the whole of something, including everything that is connectedwith it • The party's next week but my parents are organizing the wholeshebang. sheep I might as well be hangedlhung for a sheep as a lamb. something that you say when you are going to be punished for something so Please purchase PDF Split-Merge on www.verypdf.com to remove this watermark. [...]... speaking out of both sides of their mouths? Y- be two sides of the same coin be different/opposite sides of the same coin if two things are two sides of the same coin, they are very closely related they seem different • Violent behaviour and deep insecurity are often two sides of the same coin.• Higher living standards and an increase in the general level of dissatisfaction are opposite sides of the same... experience six six of one and half a dozen of the other if you say that a bad situation is six of one and half a dozen of the other, you mean that two people or groups are equally responsible • Harriet's always accusing Donald of starting arguments, but lf you ask me, it's six of one and half a dozen of the other six of the best British & Australian, old- fashioned if you give someone six of the best, you... mathematical sleight of hand was required to make thefigures add up 2 quick, clever movements of your hands, especially when performing magic tricks • With impressive sleight of hand he produced two pigeons out of his top hat slice a slice of life if a film, a play, or a piece of writing shows a slice of life, it shows life as it really is • The drama, a slice of life about a group of unmarried mothers,... late! soft soft in the head informal )< stupid or crazy s I can't change my mind now, she'll think I've gone soft in the head be soft on sb old-fashioned to be in love with someone I think Conor must be soft on Julie - he keeps sending her cards Please purchase PDF Split-Merge on www.verypdf.com to remove this softly 362 have a soft spot for sb/sth to feel a lot of affection for someone or something, often... [a lot of/ some etc.] stick British, informal come in for [a lot of/ some etc.] stick British, informal to be criticized or laughed at because of something that you do • (often + from) I get a lot of stick from people at work over the way I dress • The government has come in for a lot of stick from the press over its handling of the crisis give sb [a lot of/ some etc.] stick British, informal (often +... cup of coffee- that's a sight for sore eyes • You're a sightfor sore eyes,all dressed up in your new outfit lose sight of sth x to forget about an important idea or a fact because you are thinking too much about other things> Some members of the peace force seem to have lost sight of thefact that they are here to help people out of sight American if the amount of something, especially money, is out of. .. drew the short straw You're on toiletcleaning duty fall short of sth x if something falls short of a particular level or standard, it does not reach it • Sales for the first half of the year fell short of the target get the short end of the stick American & Australian to suffer the bad effects of a situation • The people who get the short end of the Please purchase PDF Split-Merge on www.verypdf.com to... at those pieces of raw meat Ifelt sick to my stomach side be (on) the wrong side of 30/40 etc to be older than 30, 40 etc.• I don't know his exact age but I should say he's the wrong side of fifty be (on) the right side of 30/40 etc • She's not a kid anymore but she's OPPOSITE certainly on the right side of than) 30 (= younger be on the side of the angels someone who is on the side of the angels is... intrigue the smallfry in your house - kids love them c / a small fortune I~ a lot of money • Her hair ought to look good - she spends a small fortune on it the small hours the early hours of the morning (often + of) I was up till the small hours of Wednesday morning finishing off that report • She was born in the small hours of Saturday morning be gratefullthankful for small mercies if someone should be... earn a lot of money but they work their socks off [beatlbore/charm etc.] the socks off sb if someone beats, bores, charms etc the socks off someone, they beat, bore, or charm them completely • He was one of those teachers who bored the socks off his students with his classes sod Sod's Law British, humorous the way in which plans fail and bad things happen where there is any possibility of them doing . they're speaking out of both sides of their mouths? Y- be two sides of the same coin be different/opposite sides of the same coin if two things are two sides of the. (often + to do sth) Wehad to scrimp and save to buy ourfirst house. 340 scum the scum of the earth very informal X if a group of people are the scum of