{n. phr.}, {literary} The pinnacle of happiness.
•/We were in seventh heaven when the helicopter flew us over the magnificent
Grand Canyon./
[sewed up]
{adj. phr.}, {informal} Won or arranged as you wish;
decided. •/They thought they had the game sewed up, but the other team won it
with a touchdown in the last quarter./ •/Dick thought he had the job sewed
up, but another boy got it./ Compare: IN THE BAG.
[sexual harassment]
{n. phr.} The act of constantly making unwanted
advances of a sexual nature for which the offended party may seek legal
redress. •/The court fined Wilbur Catwallender $750,000 for sexual harassment
of two of his female employees./
[shack up with]
{v. phr.}, {slang} To move in with (someone) of the
opposite sex without marrying the person. •/Did you know that Ollie and Sue
aren’t married? They just decided to shack up for a while./ See: LIGHT
HOUSEKEEPING.
[shadow]
See: AFRAID OF ONE’S SHADOW, EYE SHADOW.
[shaggy dog (story)]
{n. phr.} A special kind of joke whose long and
often convoluted introduction and development delay the effect of the punch
line. •/Uncle Joe only seems to bore his audiences with his long shaggy dog
jokes, for when he comes to the long-awaited punch line, he gets very few
laughs./
[shake]
See: MORE THAN ONE COULD SHAKE A STICK AT.
[shake a leg]
{v. phr.}, {slang} To go fast; hurry. •/Shake a
leg! The bus won’t wait./ Compare: STEP ON IT.
[shakedown]
{n.} 1. A test. •/Let’s take the new car out and give it
a shakedown./ 2. An act of extorting money by threatening. •/It was a nasty
shakedown, to get $500 from the old man, promising to protect him./
[shake down]
{v. phr.} 1. To cause to fall by shaking. •/He shook
some pears down from the free./ 2. {informal} To test, practice, get
running smoothly (a ship or ship’s crew). •/The captain shook down his new
ship on a voyage to the Mediterranean Sea./ 3. {slang} To get money from
by threats. •/The gangsters shook the store owner down every month./
[shake in one’s shoes]
or [shake in one’s boots]{v. phr.},
{informal} To be very much afraid. •/The robber shook in his boots when
the police knocked on his door./
[shake off]
{v.}, {informal} To get away from when followed; get
rid of; escape from. •/A convict escaped from prison and shook off the
officers trying to follow him./ •/Tom could not shake off his cold./
[shake the dust from one’s feet]
{v. phr.} To depart or leave with some
measure of disgust or displeasure. •/Jim was so unhappy in our small,
provincial town that he was glad to shake the dust from his feet and move to
New York./
[shake up]
{v.}, {informal} To bother; worry; disturb. •/The
notice about a cut in pay shook up everybody in the office./
[shake-up]
{n.} A change; a reorganization. •/After the scandal there
was a major shake-up in the Cabinet./