Phrases Beginning With S

Phrases Beginning With S

English Phrases, proverbs, and expressions are an important part of everyday English. They come up all the time in both written and spoken English. Because Phrases don’t always make sense literally, you’ll need to familiarize yourself with the meaning and usage of each idiom. That may seem like a lot of work, but learning Phrases is fun, especially when you compare English Phrases to the Phrases in your own language.

List of Phrases Beginning With S

Phrases Beginning With S with Meaning and Example

Here’s a list of “Phrases Beginning With S” in English:

Salt of the Earth

Meaning: A very good and honest person.
Example: My grandmother is the salt of the earth; she always helps others.

Saving Grace

Meaning: A good quality that makes up for other negative qualities.
Example: His saving grace is his generosity, despite being sometimes rude.

Scared Stiff

Meaning: Very frightened.
Example: She was scared stiff when she saw the ghost in the old house.

Scratch the Surface

Meaning: To deal with or learn about only a small part of a subject or problem.
Example: We’ve only scratched the surface of the problem; there is still much to understand.

Second Nature

Meaning: A behavior that has been practiced for so long it seems natural.
Example: After years of training, driving has become second nature to her.

See Eye to Eye

Meaning: To agree with someone.
Example: They finally saw eye to eye on the new project plan.

See Red

Meaning: To become very angry.
Example: When he heard about the unfair decision, he saw red.

Seeing Is Believing

Meaning: To believe something when you see it with your own eyes.
Example: I didn’t believe the news until I saw it myself. Seeing is believing.

Set in Stone

Meaning: Something that cannot be changed.
Example: The schedule is not set in stone; we can still make adjustments.

Shake a Leg

Meaning: To hurry up.
Example: Come on, shake a leg or we’ll miss the bus!

Shoot for the Stars

Meaning: To aim for a very high or ambitious goal.
Example: If you’re going to set goals, why not shoot for the stars?

Short and Sweet

Meaning: Brief but pleasant.
Example: His speech was short and sweet, getting straight to the point.

Show Someone the Ropes

Meaning: To teach someone how to do a job or activity.
Example: On her first day, her colleague showed her the ropes.

Sick and Tired

Meaning: Annoyed or frustrated with something.
Example: She was sick and tired of the constant noise from the construction.

Silver Lining

Meaning: A positive aspect in a negative situation.
Example: Losing the job was tough, but the silver lining was that he found a better one.

Sitting Pretty

Meaning: To be in a good or advantageous position.
Example: After the successful investment, she’s sitting pretty with her finances.

Skeleton in the Closet

Meaning: A hidden secret or shame.
Example: Every family has its skeletons in the closet, but they prefer not to talk about them.

Skin and Bones

Meaning: Extremely thin.
Example: After the illness, he was just skin and bones.

Sleep on It

Meaning: To think about something overnight before making a decision.
Example: I’m not sure if I should accept the job offer. I’ll sleep on it.

Smell a Rat

Meaning: To suspect something is wrong.
Example: I smell a rat; this deal seems too good to be true.

Smooth Sailing

Meaning: To progress without problems.
Example: Once we sorted out the initial issues, the project was smooth sailing.

Spare No Expense

Meaning: To spend as much money as necessary to make something as good as possible.
Example: They spared no expense on their wedding, making it a grand event.

Speak of the Devil

Meaning: Said when a person appears just after being mentioned.
Example: Speak of the devil, there’s John! We were just talking about you.

Spill the Beans

Meaning: To reveal a secret.
Example: She couldn’t keep the surprise party a secret and spilled the beans.

Spin a Yarn

Meaning: To tell a long, imaginative story.
Example: Grandpa loves to spin a yarn about his adventures as a young man.

Split Hairs

Meaning: To argue about very small details or differences.
Example: Stop splitting hairs and focus on the main issue.

Spread Like Wildfire

Meaning: To spread very quickly.
Example: News of their engagement spread like wildfire.

Square One

Meaning: Back to the beginning.
Example: The plan didn’t work, so we’re back to square one.

Stand One’s Ground

Meaning: To refuse to change your opinion or position.
Example: Despite the pressure, she stood her ground and defended her views.

Steal Someone’s Thunder

Meaning: To take attention or praise away from someone else’s achievements.
Example: He stole her thunder by announcing his promotion at her birthday party.

Stick to Your Guns

Meaning: To remain firm in your beliefs or actions.
Example: Even though they disagreed, she stuck to her guns about the decision.

Straight from the Horse’s Mouth

Meaning: Directly from the source.
Example: I heard it straight from the horse’s mouth that the company is planning layoffs.

Strike While the Iron Is Hot

Meaning: To take action at the most favorable time.
Example: He decided to strike while the iron is hot and ask for a raise after his successful project.

Sweep Under the Rug

Meaning: To ignore or hide a problem.
Example: They tried to sweep the scandal under the rug, but it eventually came out.

Sweet Tooth

Meaning: A liking for sweet foods.
Example: She has a sweet tooth and can’t resist chocolate.

Swim Against the Tide

Meaning: To go against the prevailing opinion or tendency.
Example: He’s always swimming against the tide, never following the crowd.

Sword of Damocles

Meaning: A situation that threatens imminent harm or disaster.
Example: The threat of layoffs was a sword of Damocles hanging over the employees.

Scaredy-Cat

Meaning: A person who is easily frightened or lacks courage.
Example: Jenny is such a scaredy-cat; she wouldn’t go into the haunted house with us.

Scot-Free

Meaning: To escape without punishment or harm.
Example: He broke the window but got off scot-free because no one saw him do it.

Ships Passing In The Night

Meaning: People who meet for a brief moment and then part ways, often without significant interaction.
Example: We were like ships passing in the night at the conference, only exchanging a few words before going to different sessions.

Short End Of The Stick

Meaning: To get the less favorable outcome in a situation.
Example: When they divided the profits, I got the short end of the stick and only received a small share.

Shot In The Dark

Meaning: An attempt to guess something without having any facts or knowledge about the subject.
Example: Choosing the right answer was just a shot in the dark since I hadn’t studied for the quiz.

Sitting Duck

Meaning: Someone or something that is vulnerable to attack or criticism.
Example: Without any backup, the lone guard was a sitting duck for the robbers.

Slow And Steady Wins The Race

Meaning: Consistent, steady progress leads to success more than rushing or acting hastily.
Example: He prepared for the marathon by running a little more each day. Slow and steady wins the race, after all.

Son Of a Gun

Meaning: An expression of surprise or admiration.
Example: Well, son of a gun! You finished the project in half the time I expected.

Spill The Beans

Meaning: To reveal a secret or disclose information unintentionally or indiscreetly.
Example: Don’t invite Jim to the surprise party planning; he’s likely to spill the beans.

Stick a Fork In It

Meaning: To declare something is finished or done.
Example: After working all night on the report, I finally stuck a fork in it at 6 AM.

Swinging For The Fences

Meaning: To try to achieve something great or go all out, often taking a big risk.
Example: In his presentation, he was swinging for the fences, hoping to land the big contract.

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