Common Expressions O

COMMON EXPRESSIONS: O - S

O
occur to one	To come into one’s mind. – The idea of asking for your help never occurred to me.
odds and ends	Miscellaneous items. – I found a few odds and ends on your desk. – We have finished the main work. There are only a few odds and ends left to do.
off and on	From time to time; now and then. – He comes to visit us off and on.
off balance	Surprised and unprepared. Also: off guard – Their couterproposal caught us off balance.
off the record	Unofficially; in confidence; not for publication or attribution. – He told me off the record who the next chairman will be.
off the top of one’s head	Wihout having much time to think before speaking. – Well, off the top of my head, I would say that’s a good idea. [aus dem Stegreif]
on a roll	Experiencing a number of successes in succession; hot (in the sense of "can’t lose"). – That company is really on a roll. Every six months they come out with a winning new product.
on a shoestring	With limited financial means. – He started on a shoestring, and now he is the CEO of a Fortune 500 company.
on hand	See: in stock
on hold	In a state of postponement or delay. – They had to put their plans for moving on hold.
on ice	In a state of reserve; temporarily stopped. – Your project will have to be put on ice until we get more money for our budget.
on occasion	See: off and on
on one’s mind	In one’s thoughts. – I’m sorry I forgot about you. I have a lot on my mind these days.
on one’s toes, be	Alert; prepared for action. – You have to be on your toes in this business. [auf Zack sein]
on paper	In theory; hypothetically. – On paper, they have the best team in baseball.
on purpose	Deliberately; intentionally. – I think he wanted to frighten us on purpose.
on schedule	See: on time
on second thought	Having had time to think about it more deeply. – At first, I liked the idea, but on second thought, I realized it would take most of my free time.
on standby	Waiting and available. – We have a team of technicians on standby in case anything goes wrong during the show.
on the ball	Alert; clever. – We only hire people who are ambitious and on the ball. This expression comes from baseball. The fielders must be alert and have their attention on the ball, because if it is hit, it travels at very high speed. [voll dasein]
on the fence	Undecided. – The senator is still on the fence concerning the new tax bill.
on the level	Honest; trustworthy. – We are going to get a raise? Is that on the level?
on the payroll	Employed at a company. – How many people are on the payroll here?
on the right foot, get off	To make a good beginning; to establish good relations. – I think I got off on the right foot with my new boss.
on the right track, be	To move in the right direction; to reason correctly. – Your answer isn’t exactly correct, but you are on the right track.
on the same wavelength	In accord with someone; in harmony with someone. – I work well with Ron. We’re on the same wavelength most of the time.
on the spot	(1) Immediately; without delay. – If anyone is caught stealing, they will be fired on the spot. (2) Under pressure. – I didn’t mean to put you on the spot by asking you that question in the meeting.
on the whole	In general; taking everything into consideration. – On the whole, we are pleased with their performance.
on time	See: in time
once and for all	As a final and permanent statement. – Once and for all, I do not want to enter politics.
one on one	A direct confrontation between two people or groups. – It sounds like marketing is going one on one with production. This comes from basketball, which often is played with one-person teams.
only game in town, the	The only choice available. – Practically speaking, Windows is the only game in town for most PC owners.
open question	An unresolved issue; a decision that must still be made. – What to do with the extra money is an open question.
open up doors	[idiom] Create opportunities. – This new funding will open doors for cancer research.
other side of the coin	The opposite aspects of a situation. – I’d like to take my vacation later when the weather is cold, but other side of the coin is I need a vacation now.
other way round, the	In the reverse direction. – Your credit card won’t work that way. You have to turn it the other way round.
out of commission	See: out of order
out of nowhere	Completely unexpected. – And then out of nowhere she produced evidence of their lying to the court. [wie aus dem Nichts]
out of order	Not functioning properly or at all. – The printer is out of order.
out of place	Inappropriate. – His behavior was out of place in that situation.
out of the frying pan and into the fire	To go from a bad situation into a worse one. – By leaving her old job and taking her new one, she went from the frying pan into the fire. [vom Regen in die Traufe]
out of the woods	Out of danger. – We have solved two very big problems, but we are not out of the woods yet. [über den Berg sein]
out on a limb	In a difficult or awkward or dangerous position. – When he promised to exceed his goals, he really went out on a limb.
out to lunch	Not in touch with the real world, either due to lack of attention or mental weakness. – He just sat there while they talked about cutting his job. He’s really out to lunch.
outgoing	[adjective] (1) Departing (an office or a terminal). – The outgoing congressman will go into private business. – All outgoing flights have been cancelled. (2) Openly friendly and responsive. – She is a very nice, outgoing person.
over and done with	Finished. – Our worries about money are over and done with!
over and over	Again and again; repeatedly. – I’ve told you over and over, don’t do that.
over one’s head	(1) To one’s boss. – If you can’t help me with this problem, can I go over your head? This means May I speak to your boss? (2) Beyond one’s ability to understand. – This technical language is over my head.
over the hill	Beyond one’s best years. – Oliver used to be the best, but he’s over the hill now. [auf dem absteigenden Ast sein]
own person, be one’s	To be independent; to follow one’s own directions. – You can’t really tell Bob what to do. He is his own man. – Shirley is her own woman. She is totally independent.
P
par for the course	An average or normal result; what one would expect. – (Tony finished the test before anyone else.) That’s par for the course.
pass away	To die. – His father passed away yesterday. Also: pass on
pass the buck	To shift responsibility or blame to someone else. – Whenever something goes right, he takes the credit. Whenever something goes wrong, he passes the buck. This expression dates from the mid-1800s, when poker players would pass around a piece of buckshot (usually) to indicate who the next dealer was. When Harry Truman was the President of the United States, he put a sign on his desk which read: The buck stops here.
pass the hat	To collect money for a common cause. – We want to buy something for Margaret’s wedding, so we are passing the hat.
pat someone on the back	A word or gesture that shows approval or praise. – You deserve a pat on the back for the way you handled the Lewman deal. [jemandem auf die Schulter klopfen]
pay one’s dues	To earn something through hard work, long experience, or suffering. – You deserve a promotion. You have paid your dues. [seine Schulden bezahlen]
person of color	A non-white person. (African-Americans, Native Americans, Hispanics, Asians, etc.) – They have a good record of hiring persons of color.
peter out	To come to an end gradually. – Our supply of paper soon petered out.
pick someone’s brain	To get information or ideas from another person by asking questions. – If you don’t mind, I’d like to pick your brain for a while.
pick up the bill	To pay a bill. Also: pick up the check, pick up the tab – Let’s go to lunch. I’ll pick up the bill.
picket	Originally, pickets (also called picketers) were people whose duty was to stand outside the entrance to a place (for example, a factory) to discourage [entmutigen] workers from going in to work during a strike. Their goal often is to draw attention to a political cause, which they do by walking around carrying signs, usually in front of a place that symbolizes what they are against. Altogether they are called a picket line. - Only management crossed the picket line at the Ford plant today. To act in this way is to picket or to picket something or to picket a place. - Strikers picketed the restaurant. - A group that is against the use of animal fur in the making of clothes picketed the clothing store. - Pro-life activists have picketed many abortion clinics. There are other meanings of picket, including a pointed wooden stake [Pfahl] often used in making fences, called picket fences.
pickup on	To become aware of; to notice subtle signs. – Did you pick up on the anger between those two in the meeting?
pie in the sky	An impossible dream. – All of that talk about the new technology is just pie in the sky.
piece of cake	Something very easy to do. – (How was the workshop?) It was a piece of cake.
piece of one’s mind	Direct and severe criticism given to someone about something they did to make you angry. – When I find out who scratched my car, I’m going to give them a piece of my mind!
pig in a poke	Something that is bought without the buyer seeing it or knowing all about it. – Some of these investment "opportunities" are like a pig in a poke. poke – old fashioned word for bag. [die Katze im Sack kaufen]
pinch hitter	A person who steps in and acts on behalf of another person. – Larry is ill today, but Henry will pinch hit for him at the meeting. In baseball, a player who enters the game in order to bat for a teammate at a critical moment or tight situation. This is a strategic move made by the manager.
play ball	To cooperate with someone. – Their sales team was not willing to play ball with us.
play fair	To act according to the rules, honestly and fairly. – Not everybody plays fair these days.
play hardball	To compete aggressively and without mercy. – Be careful when you are competing against them. They play hardball. This is a reference to standard baseball, as opposed to an easier game called softball, which is played with a larger, softer ball.
play one’s cards right	To use one’s resources and strategies well. – If you play your cards right, I think you could have that job.
player	Someone or a company that is active in a business area. – It’s hard to know what the big players will do next.
plays	Businesses that are good to invest in. – Netscape was a successful play for those who invested in it early. The word comes from the idea that investing is a game for those that are successful at it. And games (especially team sports) consist of individual "plays" or actions. Both in sports and in investing, of course, there are successful plays and unsuccessful plays. A player is someone who is active in a business area. – Everyone wants to know what the big players will do. To play means to participate in an investment. It can mean serious participation or not so very serious. – He likes to play the stock market.
point of no return	The point in a course of action when it is impossible to stop the action. – Once you have signed the merger agreement, you have reached the point of no return. Also: there is no turning back [Punkt, an dem es kein Zurück mehr gibt]
politically correct	Correct, in the opinion of people who want fair treatment for members of minority ethnic groups, religious groups, sexual life-styles, and to women. Politically correct behavior includes not speaking in stereotypes, not making jokes about such groups, giving members of such groups equal opportunities in the market place, in the work place, everywhere. Also: P.C. – I’m afraid that language is not politically correct. – What is politically correct in this situation? Political correctness is a big topic in the U.S.
pony up	To pay money that is owed or due. It is not clear where this expression comes from. – You’ll have to pony up the rent by tomorrow.
post	As a noun, post means a wooden or metal piece that is fixed in an upright position, especially to give support to something. [Pfosten] In earlier times, announcements and official notices were printed on paper and then nailed to a wooden post where the public could read it. The act of doing this was called posting information. Today, we use the verb to post for any act of making information known to the public, even if there is no wooden or metal post involved. - IBM has posted information about their newest products on its website. - Corporations must post their earnings figures each quarter.
preach to the choir	To make statements that are already believed and accepted by a friendly audience. – The president was preaching to the choir when he talked to the National Organization for Women about equality for women in the workplace. Also: preach to the converted
pretty	[adjective] Attractive. – She has a pretty face. [adverb] Relatively; rather. – The movie was pretty good. – He was pretty mad. – They were pretty late. And so on.
prime mover	The initial source of energy; someone or something that sets others in motion. – Keith was the prime mover behind the reorganization.
prop up	[idiom] To give support to something (or someone) that would otherwise fall. – The unpopular dictator is propped up by the military. [aufrichten]
proposition	One meaning is something offered for acceptance or consideration. It is another word for proposal. - Your idea is an interesting proposition. - I’d like to make you a proposition. You should be aware, however, that a second meaning is a request for sexual intercourse. When used as a verb, to proposition someone, it always has this meaning. - He propositioned her and she slapped his face.
pull out all the stops	Use everything that is at one’s disposal; use all resources. – In order to meet our deadline, we will have to pull out all the stops. This relates to large pipe organs. Pulling out the organ "stops" means using all the pipes fully, creating the fullest possible sound. [alle Register ziehen]
pull someone’s leg	To say something not true with the intention of making a joke. – I don’t believe you; you must be pulling my leg! – Relax! I was just pulling your leg.
push comes to shove, if	If a situation reaches a critical stage. – If push comes to shove, our CEO can contact their CEO.
put a spin on	To give a certain meaning or interpretation to. – His job is to put a spin on events for the reporters. – The liberals put one spin on what happened, and the conservatives put the opposite spin on the story.
put down	(1) To write down. – Put down your name and address, please. (2) To criticize someone in an insulting way. – She is always putting her husband down.
put down as	To classify something. – Put this down as a huge mistake in judgment.
put down to	To explain something by indicating its cause; to attribute something to its cause. – I put down his performance to simple fatigue.
put in a good word	To make a supportive comment on someone else’s behalf. – I’ll put in a good word for you when I see him.
put into words	To express verbally. – I can hardly put into words how grateful I am for your help.
put one’s mind to	To concentrate on something; to be determined to achieve something. – You can do almost anything if you put your mind to it. Also: set one’s mind on
put one’s money where one’s mouth is	To wager money on the truth of one’s statements; to show one’s faith in one’s opinion by taking some action. – If you are so certain that anyone can criticize our CEO, why don’t you put your money where your mouth is? [seinen Worten Taten folgen lassen]
put someone up	To give someone a place to stay for a short time. – We can put you up for a couple of nights.
put up	(1) To build or erect. – They are going to put up a bookstore here. (2) To invest money for the establishment of a business. – Each party put up two million dollars. (3) To wager money. – He put up ten thousand dollars on the fight.
put up with	To tolerate (something or someone); to be patient with. – I cannot put up with his negative attitude much longer.
Q
quite a bit / quite a few	A considerable amount; a substantial amount. quite a bit – for something that cannot be counted: – There is quite a bit of snow on the ground. Also: quite a lot of – There is quite a lot of snow on the ground. – There is quite a lot of confusion here. [ziemlich viel]
quite a few	quite a few – for things that can be counted: – There are quite a few people outside. Also: quite a lot of – There are quite a lot of people outside. – There are quite a few problems here. [ziemlich viele]
R
rain cats and dogs	To rain especially hard. – It’s raining cats and dogs. I guess the picnic is off. Also: rain buckets, pour down
rain check	When an offer or invitation cannot be accepted, rain check means a repetition of the offer or invitation at a later, better time. – I’m afraid I can’t go to lunch with you today, but can I take a rain check? If a baseball game is stopped because of rain, the game will be played on a later date, and the fans are given a rain check, which is a ticket for the make up game. Any time you are unable to accept an invitation that you really would like to accept, you can say, "Can I take a rain check?" The other person understands that you would like the same invitation again at a better time.
rain or shine	No matter what the situation may be like. – Rain or shine, we are going to finish this work by the Friday noon.
rainy day, a	A time of need or trouble. – We may need this money for a rainy day.
raise one’s sights	To increase one’s goals or expectations. – The economy has improved. I think we should raise our sights. This expression comes from shooting. The sights of a gun refers to any device which aids the eye in finding the target. [sich ein höheres Ziel setzen]
raring to go	Very eager to begin. – At the kickoff meeting, everyone was raring to go. This refers to a horse rearing ("raring"), which means standing on its hind legs. [kaum abwarten können, bis es losgeht]
rat race	The intense competition found in the workplace or everyday life; the boring, repetitious aspect of everyday work. – Our vacation ends tomorrow. On Monday the rat race begins again.
red herring	Something that draws attention away from the central issue. – All of this talk about bonus plans is a red herring. The real issue is who will still be here in six months! This idiom comes from a practice long ago of dragging a strong-smelling herring across a trail so that the tracking dogs could not follow one’s scent.
red tape	Official paperwork; forms and procedures in a bureaucracy. – This company has too much red tape. We need to streamline procedures. At one time, British bureaucrats tied all of their documents together with red ribbon.
red-letter day	A very special day. – It will be a red-letter day when we finally have one standardized computer system throughout the company.
reinvent the wheel	To continually repeat a process from the beginning in an inefficient way. – We have to reinvent the wheel every time a new consultant comes in. [sich mit Problemen aufhalten, die längst gelöst sind]
résumé	[noun] A list of a person’s professional qualifications and work experience and education. Also: resume – Please send us a copy of your résumé.
right off the bat	Instantly; immediately. – On his first day on the job, he started going around right off the bat, asking people about their problems and ideas. This expression alludes to the speed with which a baseball changes direction when it is hit by a bat.
ring a bell	To be familiar; to trigger a memory. –
rip off	To steal or copy without permission. – He ripped off our best ideas.
rise through the ranks	To start at or near the bottom and work one’s way to the top. – He started in the mail room and rose through the ranks to become president.
rise to the occasion	To show unexpected talent in a difficult situation. – When the starting quarterback was carried off the field, the backup quarterback rose to the occasion and led the team to victory.
rock the boat	See: make waves
roll around	To return as a function of a regularly occuring pattern. – Each year when Christmas rolls around, we are kinder to each other.
roll in the aisles	To laugh uncontrollably. – His story had us rolling in the aisles. [sich vor Lachen kugeln]
roll up one’s sleeves	To prepare for hard, serious work. – It’s time for us to roll up our sleeves and get this work done. [die Ärmel hochkrempeln]
roll with the punches	To cope with adversity by being flexible; to bend, but not break, under pressure or attack. (from boxing) – He has had so much criticism in his life, he has learned to roll with the punches.
rub the wrong way	To irritate or annoy. – I don’t know why exactly, but he certainly rubs me the wrong way.
run into	(1) To meet by chance. – I ran into a friend of yours downtown today. (2) To find by chance. – I ran into an interesting used bookstore today. (3) To collide with. – His car ran into mine. – We have run into a problem.
run into a brick wall	To encounter a serious obstacle. – When it came time to get approval for the project, we ran into a brick wall. [plötzlich vor einer Mauer stehen]
run into the ground	(1) To ruin or destroy something. – In just two years, he ran the company into the ground. (2) To go too far with a good thing. – Praise is a good motivator, but we shouldn’t run it into the ground. (3) To discuss a topic until everyone is tired of it. – We have run the issue of political correctness into the ground. Also: drive s.t. into the ground
run the show	To be in charge; to take control. – Who is running the show here?
run up	To accumulate (bills or debt). – We have run up a gigantic phone bill this month.
S
sacred cow	Something or someone that is immune to criticism or questioning. – There are too many sacred cows in the budget. [heilige Kuh]
saddle someone with	To burden someone with. – I got saddled with organizing the press meeting. saddle – a leather seat for the rider of a horse. [jmdm. etw. aufbürden]
safe and sound	Out of danger and unharmed. – I’ll be glad when we are back on the ground, safe and sound. sound [adjective] – healthy; solid; free from injury; free from error [sicher und wohlbehalten]
sales pitch	A presentation of arguments that tries to persuade someone to buy something, whether a product or an idea. – Their sales people generally have excellent sales pitches. pitch [verb] – to throw. pitch [noun] – something thrown. When sales people pitch a product, they are throwing ideas and arguments and mental pictures at the customer. Also: sales delivery
save one’s breath	To refrain from arguing in favor of a hopeless cause. – Save your breath. You can’t change his thinking. [spar dir die Spucke]
scare off	[verb] To frighten someone (or something) enough that they run away. – You have to be careful with some customers. Too much enthusiasm will scare them off. To scare someone means to frighten them. – Don’t scare the children. Scared means frightened. – I am scared of snakes. Scary means frightening. – I don’t like scary movies.
scared to death	To be extremely frightened or very worried about something. – I’m scared to death I won’t get my raise. [es ist mir angst und bange]
school of hard knocks	Life’s practical teachings, including difficult experiences and disappointments. – Unlike you young fellows, I got my education in the school of hard knocks.
scoring position, in	In position to achieve success soon. – With regard to signing a contract with them, I’d say we are in scoring position.
screw one	[slang] To do non-physical damage to someone; to cheat someone; to hurt someone’s reputation, chances for success, etc. – When it came time for performance appraisals, he screwed me.
screw up	[slang] To make a complete mess of something or someone. – He really screwed up the investigation.
search me	I have no idea. – Why don’t we have more people? – Search me.
see eye-to-eye	To agree about something. – They see eye-to-eye on most things. – We don’t see eye-to-eye on this.
sell someone short	To underestimate the true value or worth of someone. – Don’t sell him short. He really knows what he’s doing.
send a message	To do something that will show others your true position or intentions. Also: send a signal – I think if we legalize soft drugs, it will send the wrong message to our young people.
send for	To request the presence of someone; to request the delivery of something. – He sent for his assistant. – She sent for more paper. This is probably a shortened form of to send someone to ask for.
send out for	To order something (especially food) from a company that delivers. – Let’s send out for pizza.
serves one right, it	One is receiving a correct punishment. – He was caught cheating and now he has to pay a fine? It serves him right. – He quit just when you need him? It serves you right for the way you misused his abilities. (Also: Serves you right for …)
set fire to	To cause to ignite and burn. Also: set on fire – Lightning set fire to the forest.
set off	(1) To cause (an action) to happen. – His speech set off a strike. – The decision set off a riot. (2) To cause to explode. – Someone set off a bomb. (3) To begin a journey. – When do you set off for Hawaii?
set on fire	To cause to ignite and burn. Also: set fire to – Lightning set the forest on fire.
set one straight	To correct someone’s understanding of the facts. – He’s wrong about that. I’ll have to set him straight.
set the record straight	To correct an inaccurate reporting of events or information. – I’d like to set the record straight and say that I have never been arrested.
(be) set to do st.	In this expression, set is an adjective meaning ready or prepared. I am set to do something. = I am ready to do something. - We were set to go on a picnic but it rained. = - We were ready to go on a picnic but it rained. Often, people say all set, which simply means completely ready. -We were all set to go on a picnic but it rained. To get set means to become ready. - We have to get set for the next phase. - We have to get ready for the next phase. - We have to become prepared for the next phase.
settle down	(1) To become calm. – Don’t get so upset. Settle down. Everything will be all right. (2) To get married; to live a stable life. – He decided to settle down in a small town.
settle for	To accept as a compromise. – They were asking for one million dollars but they settled for half of that.
settle on	To decide something. – After much heated discussion, we finally settled on Plan A.
settle up	To pay a debt or one’s share of the cost. – I’ll pay the bill now and we can settle up outside.
shake a leg	(1) To move faster; hurry up. – Come on, shake a leg! The play starts in one hour. (2) To dance. [colloquial] – Once in a while I like to get out and shake a leg.
shake up	To upset greatly. – We finally arrived safely with no one hurt, but everyone was shaken up. (shake – shook – shaken)
shape up	To improve to a point of meeting a standard. – The new project team is beginning to shape up.
shoe is on the other foot, the	The circumstances have reversed; the two parties have changed places. – I used to work for him, and now the shoe is on the other foot. He works form me.
shoot down	To reject or defeat (ideas, suggestions, etc.) or expose as false (claims, statements, etc.). – He shot down each of my ideas. Also: shoot down in flames
short of	To be short of something means to have not enough of it. It does not mean you have nothing. – We are short of bread. We only have four slices. You can be short of gas, short of time, short of patience, short of experience, and so on. Even if you ask to borrow some money from a person who is two meters tall, he could say: – I'm sorry but I'm a little short.
shot in the arm, a	A stimulus or booster; something that gives new energy. – I hope this new management team will give this company the shot in the arm that it needs. [Aufschwung geben]
show one’s true colors	To reveal oneself as one really is. – He finally showed his true colors when he refused to support our plan at the meeting.
show someone out	To escort someone to the door. – Thank you for coming. My secretary will show you out. Also: see someone out / show someone to the door – My secretary will see you out. – My secretary will show you TO the door. However, it would be a big mistake to say show you the door.
show someone the door	To order someone to leave. – He was very impolite, so I showed him the door. – George, please show Mr. Martin the door. (Please get him out of here.)
show up	(1) To come to a scheduled meeting or event. – Everyone showed up at the party. (2) To reveal (faults, weaknesses, bad characteristics, etc.). – This failure showed up their basic incompetence.
sick and tired	Completely weary of something or bored with something; fed up. – I am sick and tired of his lying to us. [es hängt mir zum Hals heraus]
sick and tired of	A state of never wanting (something) again. – I am sick and tired of these endless meetings. [jemanden / etwas satt haben]
sink or swim	Perish or survive; fail or succeed (in a critical situation). – This is a major moment in his career. It’s sink or swim for him. – It’s a sink-or-swim situation.
sitting duck, a	An easy target. – He is a sitting duck for the first business consultant that comes through the door.
six of one – half a dozen of the other	Two alternatives are of equal value or importance. – Bob and Ralph are both good candidates for the position. It’s six of one, half a dozen of the other.
size up	To make an estimate or judgment. – How do you size up the situation?
skeleton in the closet	To have an embarrassing secret about oneself. – You shouldn’t run for president these days if you have any skeletons in the closet. [eine Leiche im Keller haben]
slam dunk	A question that is very easy and requires no time to think. – Who would we get if we could get anybody? That’s a slam dunk. Jack Welch, of course. A dunk is a move in basketball in which a player jumps above the rim and throws the ball down and into the basket. A slam dunk is a powerful dunk. For a tall basketball player, it is a particularly easy shot to make, almost impossible to miss. In the same way, any question that is particularly easy can be called a slam dunk.
slap in the face, a	An insult intended to embarrass. – It was a slap in the face when the prime minister refused to meet with him.
slap on the back, a	A gesture of congratulations. – I received a bonus and a slap on the back for my efforts.
slap on the wrist, a	A mild punishment, such as a verbal criticism. – We are waiting to see if the punishment will fit the crime or if he will only receive a slap on the wrist.
sleep on something	To postpone a decision until the next day in order to have more time to think about it. – I can’t tell you right now. Let me sleep on it.
slip one’s mind	To forget or overlook something. – I wanted to call him yesterday, but it slipped my mind.
slowly but surely	Gradually; step by step; bit by bit. – Slowly but surely we are implementing the changes.
small talk	Superficial conversation that establishes a friendly climate. – How to make small talk interesting and enjoyable is both a challenge and an art.
smell fishy	To attract suspicion. – He claims to know a lot of important people, but something smells fishy to me. I think he’s lying.
smoking gun	Concrete proof of a crime. – The oval office tapes constituted a smoking gun in the Watergate investigation.
soft soap	[verb] To flatter with the intention of getting something. – You can’t soft soap him. [noun] Flattery. – Soft soap doesn’t work on him.
some	Approximately; roughly. – Some 5000 people were present for the wedding.
sort of	Somewhat; rather; to a limited degree. Also: kind of – I am sort of hungry, but we can eat later if you like. [ein bischen]
sound bite	A short (often ten seconds or less) dramatic excerpt from a recorded statement that is used on news programs. – Today’s politicians focus more on creating sound bites than in making a well-structured speech.
sound out	[phrasal verb] To seek the opinions or intentions of someone else. – The president will sound out certain members of congress before he makes his speech.
speak of the devil	A phrase used when the person being talked about suddenly enters the room. – Well, speak of the devil. Hi, Jeff, we were just talking about you. This is a shortening of an older expression: Speak of the devil and he’s sure to appear.
speak the same language	To understand one another very well. – I like working with Jane. We speak the same language.
speak up	(1) To talk more loudly. – You’ll have to speak up. Our connection is bad. (2) To voice one’s opinions. – You should learn to speak up in the meetings, Ted. People are expected generally to speak up in business. It is assumed that if someone never speaks up, he or she is either too weak, too uninformed, or too stupid for the group they are in.
spin control	Manipulation of the way the news is interpreted, especially political news. – Every politician practices spin control, some better than others. If a ball is spinning quickly as it falls to the ground, it will bounce in the direction of the spin. Therefore, if you can put a strong spin on the ball, you can control the way it will bounce. Likewise, if you can control the "spin" of a news story, then you can control the way the news story will "bounce" (that is, how people understand it). You can put a positive spin or a negative spin on a story or a different spin it. – The president’s people are putting a positive spin on the story. – The Republicans have put a very different spin on it. – What is your spin on the election?
spin doctor	Someone whose job is to explain events in a way that is beneficial to the people he works for. – The senator has some very good spin doctors working for him.
spin off	[verb] To produce something new based on something that already exists. It can be a new product or a new technology or a new company. – That division may spin off and become an independent company. spin-off [noun] – the result of spinning off. – That company is a spin-off of the company I work for.
spin one’s wheels	To take action that produces no result; to waste one’s time. – Unless management backs this idea, we are just spinning our wheels.
split hairs	To argue about unimportant differences. – Let’s not split hairs about exactly when it started. Let’s just say sometime before noon.
split the difference	To compromise by dividing the difference by two. – You say $500 and I say $400. Let’s split the difference and say $450. [sich in der Mitte treffen]
stand for	To represent or symbolize. – White stands for purity and innocence. – T.G.I.F stands for thank God it’s Friday.
stand in for	To substitute for (another person). – Can you stand in for me at the press conference? I have to see a dentist.
standoff	A competitive situation in which no competitor can win. Also: tie, draw, deadlock – The two armies battled to a standoff.
start over	To begin again from the beginning. – I accidentally erased the file and had to start over again. Also: start all over [ganz von vorn anfangen]
startup	[noun] A new company, often one trying to develop new products and services or markets. Also: startup company – The number of startups has fallen this year. to start up [transitive verb] to cause something (businesses, motors, conversations, …) to begin functioning. – I started up a conversation with him about …
state-of-the-art	The highest level of development. – This flat screen monitor is state-of-the-art.
step up to the plate	To face a test, especially without fear (from baseball) – You can’t run away from this problem; everyone expects you to step up to the plate now.
stick one’s neck out	To make oneself vulnerable; take a risk. – You are asking me to stick my neck out, but I am glad to help you.
stick together	To remain united. – We have to stick together is we want to have any real influence.
straighten out	To clear up any confusion or misunderstanding. – I’m sure this is a misunderstanding between us. Let’s try to straighten it out.
stretch one’s legs	To get up and go for a short walk. – I’m tired and need a break. Let’s stretch our legs for five minutes.
stretched thin	If something stretches (like a rubber band), it becomes thinner; if it stretches too much it may break. If a budget is stretched thin, it means there isn’t enough money for new spending. If manpower [Arbeitskräfte] is stretched thin, there aren’t enough people for additional tasks. – I would like to help you but our staff is stretched a little thin right now.
strike out	To fail completely in an undertaking. – He quite simply refused to strike out when everyone thought it was impossible. This is taken from baseball. When a batter fails to hit the ball in three tries, he strikes out. Although this is bad for the batter, it is very good for the pitcher. Nevertheless, we use the term in its negative meaning. (strike – struck- struck)
stuffed shirt	Someone who is overly formal or self-important. – I don’t want to work with that stuffed shirt. [Wichtigteur]
supposed to	(1) Intended to; believed to; expected to. – He is supposed to be a very good tennis player. – This method is supposed to work very well. (2) Required to. – You are supposed to see the boss at two o’clock. – You are supposed to finish at five o’clock. not supposed to – not permitted to. – You are not supposed to smoke here.
sure of oneself	Self-confident. – I like working with people who are sure of themselves. [selbstsicher]
swallow one’s pride	To humble oneself. – After losing his temper, he had to swallow his pride and apologize to everybody.
sweep under the rug	To hide or ignore some kind of negative information. – They wanted to sweep all of it under the rug.
swelled head, a	To be conceited or arrogant. – Don’t let your success give you a swelled head, Jim.