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See Idioms

see a man about a dog

- to leave for some unmentioned purpose (often to go to the restroom)
I drank several cups of coffee and I soon had to stop my car to see a man about a dog.

see about (something)

- to check into something
I am going to see about getting the book before next week.

see double

- to see two of everything instead of one
I began to see double after I hit my head on the edge of the fence.

see eye to eye (with someone)

- to agree with someone
We do not always see eye to eye on things but generally I have a good relationship with my friend.

see fit to (do something)

- to decide to do something
I hope that my company sees fit to spend more time training its employees.

see no objection to (something)

- to not have any objection to something
I see no objection to my friend coming to the meeting with me.

see one`s way clear to (do something)

- to feel able to do something
"When you see your way clear to begin the job could you please come and tell me."

see red

- to become very angry
My friend saw red last night when I told him about the broken dishes.

see (someone or something) as (something)

- to consider someone as something
My friend sees me as an expert in financial matters although I am not.

see (someone) home

- to accompany someone home
I saw my cousin home after her visit last evening.

see (someone) off

- to go with someone to their point of departure
I went to the airport to see my mother off.

see (someone) out

- to go with someone out of a room/house
I went to the front door to see our guests out to their cars.

see (someone) to (somewhere)

- to escort someone to a place safely
I saw my friend to the door when he decided to go home.

see (something) out

- to finish something, to not quit doing something
I decided to stay with my company in order to see out the restructuring process.

see (something) through

- to do something until it is completed
I want to see the building project through until it is finished.

see stars

- to think that one is seeing stars as a result of being hit on the head
When I was hit by the opposing player I fell to the ground and began to see stars.

see the color of (someone's) money

- to verify that someone has (enough) money
I did not give anybody a ticket for the dinner until I saw the color of their money.

see the handwriting on the wall

- to know that something is certain to happen
We saw the handwriting on the wall and we knew that our company was going to go bankrupt.

see the last of (someone or something)

- to see someone or something for the last time
I was very happy to see the last of my friend who was visiting me.

see the light

- to realize your mistake, to suddenly see how to proceed with something
I finally saw the light and began to work at the same pace as everyone else.

see the light at the end of the tunnel

- to foresee an end to something such as a problem or a task
I could finally see the light at the end of the tunnel and I knew that I would finish the work soon.

see the light of day

- to be born, to begin
I do not believe that his plans to build a new house will ever see the light of day.

see the sights

- to see the important things in a place
We stopped downtown during our holiday so that we could see the sights.

see the world/things through rose-colored glasses

- to see only the good things about something, to be too optimistic
She is unrealistic and tends to see the world through rose-colored glasses.

see things

- to imagine sights that are not real, to think that one sees something that is not there
He is always daydreaming and imagining that he is seeing things.

see through (someone or something)

- to understand someone`s true character or motivation, to understand the real reason for something
I could easily see through the supervisor's attempt to fire the woman from her job.

see to it (that something is done)

- to take the responsibility to do something, to make sure that something is done
"Will you please see to it that the garbage is taken out in the morning."

see to (someone or something)

- to take care of someone or something
I will see to the rental car and my friend will see to the airplane tickets.

see which way the wind is blowing

- to determine what is the most suitable thing to do
I want to see which way the wind is blowing before I decide what to do about my job.


seeing is believing

- one must believe something that one sees
Seeing is believing and I did not believe the price of the car until I actually saw it.


Learning English through Idioms and Sayings

Say Idioms

(English Idioms & Sayings) Idioms beginning with SAY

say a mouthful

- to say something of great importance/meaning/length
"You certainly said a mouthful," I said when my friend began to tell me about his complaint.

say grace

- to say a prayer of thanks before or after a meal
The bride's father was asked to say grace before the wedding banquet.

say one`s piece

- to say openly what one thinks
I said my piece at the meeting and then left quietly by the back door.

say (something) in a roundabout way

- to say something indirectly
I had to say what I wanted to say in a roundabout way in order to make my point.

say (something) to (someone's) face

- to say something (often unpleasant) directly to someone
My supervisor always complains about me but she is afraid to say anything to my face.

say (something) under one's breath

- to say something so softly that almost nobody can hear it
The woman said something under her breath but I could not understand it.

say the word

- to give a sign, to show a wish
"Just say the word and I will come and meet you at the airport."

say uncle

- to surrender, to give in
The little boy was forced to say uncle and agree to do what the older boy wanted.

scale (something) down

- to make something smaller by a certain amount or proportion
The government decided to scale down their plans for the sports stadium.

scare (someone) out of his or her wits

- to frighten someone very much
The dog scared the little boy out of his wits.

scare (someone) silly

- to frighten someone very much
The mouse scared the girl silly.

scare (someone) stiff

- to scare someone severely
The little boy was able to scare his little brother stiff when he decided to hide in the closet and scare him.

scare the (living) daylights out of (someone)

- to frighten someone very much
Falling off the bicycle scared the daylights out of the little girl.

scare up (someone or something)

- to find someone or something, to gather something with some effort
We were able to scare up a couple of sleeping bags so that we could go camping.

scared silly/stiff

- to be frightened very much
I was scared stiff during the horror movie.

scatter (something) around

- to carelessly put something in different places
My papers are always scattered around my house and I am never able to find them.

school of hard knocks

- the ordinary experiences of life
The man learned about life in the school of hard knocks.

school of thought

- a particular philosophy
There are many schools of thought about how the government should proceed with its new transportation plan.

scout around for (someone or something)

- to search here and there and all over for someone or something
The company is scouting around for a new warehouse for their products.

scrape the bottom of the barrel

- to take whatever is left after the best has been taken
The company is scraping the bottom of the barrel if they must give that woman a job.

scrape (something) together

- to gather small amounts of money or something (usually with some difficulty) for some purpose
We managed to scrape together enough money to go on a holiday even though business is very bad at the momen

Posted by Learning English through Idioms and Sayings/Proverbs

S Idioms

(English Idioms & Sayings) Idioms beginning with S

sack out

- to go to bed, to go to sleep
I sacked out as soon as I arrived home last evening.

a sacred cow

- something that is never criticized or laughed at even if it sometimes deserves to be
The medical insurance system is a sacred cow of the government and is never criticized by anyone.

sadder but wiser

- unhappy but educated (said about someone or something after an unpleasant experience)
The man was sadder but wiser after he learned that his wallet had been stolen.

saddle (someone) with (something)

- to give someone something undesirable or difficult to deal with
I try not to saddle my friend with the problems that I am having at work.

safe and sound

- to be safe/whole/healthy
We arrived at our destination safe and sound after a long journey.

to be on the safe side

- to take no chances
It may rain so to be on the safe side I think that I will bring my umbrella.

safety in numbers

- to feel safe by being surrounded by a large number of people
There was safety in numbers when the students went to complain to the principal about their new teacher.

sage advice

- very good and wise advice
I waited for my friend to ask me for my sage advice regarding his problems.

sail into (someone)

- to scold or criticize someone very hard, to attack someone
When I entered the office my supervisor sailed into me for being late.

sail right through (something)

- to finish something quickly and easily
I was able to sail right through the material for my final exam.

sail under false colors

- to pretend to be something that one is not
The politician was sailing under false colors when he appealed to the citizens for votes.

salt away money

- to save money
My friend has salted away much money from her new job.

salt of the earth

- basic and fundamentally good people
The members of our club are all the salt of the earth and are fun to spend time with.

same as (someone or something)

- to be identical to someone or something
My sister is exactly the same as the girl who lives down the block.

Same here!

- Me too! I agree!
"Same here," I replied when someone said that they were having problems with their Internet provider.

same old story

- something that occurs or has occurred in the same way before
It is always the same old story with my friend. He borrows money but he never wants to pay it back.

same to you

- the same comment applies to you
"The same to you," the boy said when his friend said that he was stupid.

sands of time

- the accumulated tiny amounts of time (like the sand in an hourglass)
The sands of time have done much to change the woman's attitude toward her sister.

save face

- to preserve one`s good reputation or dignity when something has happened to hurt it
Our boss was very embarrassed when our company lost a lot of money. However, he was able to save face when he showed that the problems were outside of his control.

save one`s breath

- to remain silent because talking will do no good
You may as well save your breath and not talk to her as she will not believe you anyway.

save one`s neck/skin

- to save oneself from danger or trouble
The man left the scene of the fire as soon as possible in order to save his neck.

save (something) for a rainy day

- to reserve something/money for the future
I always try to save some money for a rainy day when I get paid.

save the day

- to bring about victory or success (when defeat is likely)
The player saved the day for his team when he played his best game of the season.

save up for (something)

- to save money in order to buy something
My friend's brother is saving up for a new digital camera.

saved by the bell

- to be rescued from a difficult situation just in time by something that brings the situation to a sudden end
I was saved by the bell and do not have to give my presentation until tomorrow.

saving grace

- something that saves someone or something that would otherwise be a total disaster
The man's saving grace was his mathematical ability. His other personality traits were very strange.

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