[sit up]{v.} 1. To move into a sitting position. •/Joe sat up when he heard the knock on his bedroom door./ 2. To stay awake instead of going to bed. •/Mrs. Jones will sit up until both of her daughters get home from the dance./ •/We sat up until two A.M. hoping for news from Alaska./ 3. {informal} To be surprised. •/Janice really sat up when I told her the gossip about Tom./

[sit-up]{n.} A vigorous exercise in which the abdominal muscles are strengthened by locking one’s feet in a fastening device and sitting up numerous times. •/Do a few sit-ups if you want to reduce your waist./

[sit up and take notice]{v. phr.}, {informal} To be surprised into noticing something. •/Grace had never impressed her teachers. Hearing that she had won the essay contest made them sit up and take notice./ •/George’s sudden success made the town sit up and take notice./

[sit up for]{v. phr.} To wait until after the usual bedtime for someone’s return. •/Mrs. Smith always sits up for her two daughters, no matter how late it is./

[sit up with]{v. phr.} To be with; particularly to keep someone ill company. •/Mrs. Brown sat up with her sick husband all night in the hospital room./

[sit well (with)]{v.} Find favor with; please. •/The reduced school budget did not sit well with the teachers./

[sit with]{v.}, {informal} To be accepted by; affect. — Used in interrogative sentences and in negative sentences modified by "well". •/How did your story sit with your mother?/ •/Bob’s poor sportsmanship doesn’t sit well with the coach./

[six] See: AT SIXES AND SEVENS, DEEP-SIX.

[six bits]{n.}, {slang} Seventy-five cents. •/"Lend me six bits till Friday, Sam," said Jim. "I’ve spent all my allowance."/ Compare: TWO BITS.

[six of one and half-a-dozen of the other]{n. phr.} Two things the same; not a real choice; no difference. •/Which coat do you like better, the brown or the blue? It’s six of one and half-a-dozen of the other./ •/Johnny says it’s six of one and half-a-dozen of the other whether he does the job tonight or tomorrow night./

[size] See: CUT DOWN TO SIZE, PINT-SIZE.

[size up]{v.}, {informal} To decide what one thinks about (something); to form an opinion about (something). •/Give Joe an hour to size up the situation and he’ll tell you what to do next./ •/Our coach went to New York to size up the team we’ll face in our homecoming game./ Compare: TAKE STOCK(2).

[skate] See: CHEAP SKATE.

[skate on thin ice]{v. phr.} To take a chance; risk danger, disapproval or anger. •/You’ll be skating on thin ice if you ask Dad to increase your allowance again./ •/John knew he was skating on thin ice, but he could not resist teasing his sister about her boyfriend./

[skating rink]{n.}, {slang}, {citizen’s band radio jargon} Slippery road. •/Attention all units — there’s a skating rink ahead!/

[skeleton in the closet]{n. phr.} A shameful secret; someone or something kept hidden, especially by a family. •/The skeleton in our family closet was Uncle Willie. No one mentioned him because he drank too much./

[skid lid]{n.}, {slang} A crash helmet worn by motorcyclists and race drivers. •/How much did you pay for that handsome skid lid?/

[skid row]{n.} The poor part of a city where men live who have no jobs and drink too much liquor. •/That man was once rich, but he drank and gambled too much, and ended his life living on skid row./ •/The Bowery is New York City’s skid row./

[skim the surface]{v. phr.} To do something very superficially. •/He seems knowledgeable in many different areas but his familiarity is very superficial, since he only skims the surface of everything he touches./

[skin] See: BY THE SKIN OF ONE’S TEETH, GET UNDER ONE’S SKIN, JUMP OUT OF ONE’S SKIN, KEEP ONE’S EYES PEELED or KEEP ONE’S EYES SKINNED, SAVE ONE’S NECK or SAVE ONE’S SKIN, WITH A WHOLE SKIN or IN A WHOLE SKIN.

[skin alive]{v. phr.} 1. {informal} To scold angrily. •/Mother will skin you alive when she sees your torn pants./ 2. {informal} To spank or beat. •/Dad was ready to skin us alive when he found we had ruined his saw./ 3. {slang} To defeat. •/We all did our best, but the visiting gymnastic team skinned us alive./

[skin and bones]{n.} A person or animal that is very thin; someone very skinny. •/The puppy is healthy now, but when we found him he was just skin and bones./ •/Have you been dieting? You’re nothing but skin and bones!/

[skin-deep]{adj.} Only on the surface; not having any deep or honest meaning; not really or closely connected with what it seems to belong to. •/Mary’s friendliness with Joan is only skin-deep./ •/Ralph crammed for the test and got a good grade, but his knowledge of the lesson is only skin-deep./ Contrast: BRED IN THE BONE.

[skin off one’s nose]{n. phr.}, {slang} Matter of interest, concern, or trouble to you. Normally used in the negative. •/Go to Jake’s party if you wish. It’s no skin off my nose./ •/Grace didn’t pay any attention to our argument. It wasn’t any skin off her nose./ •/You could at least say hello to our visitor. It’s no skin off your nose./

[skip] See: HEART SKIP A BEAT.

[skip bail] See: JUMP BAIL.

[skip it]{v. phr.}, {informal} To forget all about it. •/When Jack tried to reward him for returning his lost dog, the man said to skip it./ •/I asked what the fight was about, but the boys said to skip it./

[skip out]{v.}, {informal} To leave in a hurry; especially after cheating or taking money dishonestly; sneak away; leave without permission. •/The man skipped out of the hotel without paying his bill./ •/"How did you get out of the house after supper, Harry? " "I skipped out!"/

[skirt around]{v. phr.} To avoid something. •/"Let’s not skirt around the facts," said the attorney to his client. "You must tell me the truth."/

[sky] See: OUT OF THE BLUE or OUT OF A CLEAR SKY or OUT OF A CLEAR BLUE SKY, REACH FOR THE SKY.

[sky is the limit] There is no upper limit to something. •/"Buy me the fastest racehorse in Hong Kong," Mr. Lee instructed his broker. "Spend whatever is necessary; the sky is the limit."/

[slack off]{v. phr.} 1. To become less active; grow lazy. •/Since construction work has been slacking off toward the end of the summer, many workers were dismissed./ 2. To gradually reduce; taper off. •/The snowstorms tend to slack off over the Great Lakes by the first of April./

[slam] See: GRAND SLAM.

[slap down]{v.}, {slang} 1. To stop (someone, usually in a lower position or job) from doing or saying something, in a rough way or with a scolding; silence. •/When Billy talked back, the teacher slapped him down./ 2. To put a quick stop to; refuse roughly. •/The boss slapped down our idea of taking a nap on the job every afternoon./

[slap in the face(1)]{n.} An insult; a disappointment. •/We felt that it was a slap in the face when our gift was returned unopened./ •/Doris thought it was a slap in the face when her boyfriend invited another girl to the dance./ Compare: KICK IN THE PANTS.

[slap in the face(2)]{v. phr.} To insult; embarrass; make feel bad. •/John slapped our club in the face by saying that everyone in it was stupid./ •/I don’t want to slap her in the face by not coming to her party./