[sticky fingers]{n. phr.}, {slang} 1. The habit of stealing things you see and want. •/Don’t leave money in your locker; some of the boys have sticky fingers./ •/Don’t leave that girl alone in the room with so many valuable objects around, because she has sticky fingers./ 2. Ability to catch a ball, especially football forward passes. •/Jack is very tall and has sticky fingers. He is an end on the football team./

[stiff] See: KEEP A STIFF UPPER LIP, SCARE OUT OF ONE’S WITS or SCARE STIFF.

[still] See: HEART STAND STILL.

[still life]{n. phr.} A term used by artists to describe a motionless picture of a bowl of fruit, flowers, etc. •/One of van Gogh’s most famous still lifes is a vase of yellow flowers./

[still waters run deep] Quiet people probably are profound thinkers. — A proverb. •/He doesn’t say much, but he sure looks smart. Well, still waters run deep, isn’t that true?/

[stir up]{v.} 1. To bring (something) into being, often by great exertion or activity; cause. •/It was a quiet afternoon, and John tried to stir up some excitement./ •/Bob stirred up a fight between Tom and Bill./ Compare: WHIP UP(2). 2. To cause (someone) to act; incite to action or movement; rouse. •/The coach’s pep talk stirred up the team to win./ •/When Mary heard what Betty said about her, she became stirred up./

[stir up a hornet’s nest]{v. phr.} To make many people angry; do something that many people don’t like. •/The principal stirred up a hornet’s nest by changing the rules at school./

[stitch] See: IN STITCHES.

[stock] See: IN STOCK, OUT OF STOCK, TAKE STOCK, TAKE STOCK IN.

[stock-in-trade]{n. phr.} The materials which one customarily deals, sells, or offers. •/Imported silk blouses from the Orient are the stock-in-trade of their small shop./ •/Anecdotes are often an after-dinner speaker’s stock-in-trade./

[stomach] See: EYES BIGGER THAN ONE’S STOMACH, BUTTERFLIES IN YOUR STOMACH, TURN ONE’S STOMACH.

[stone] See: CAST THE FIRST STONE, HAVE A HEART OF STONE, KILL TWO BIRDS WITH ONE STONE, LEAVE NO STONE UNTURNED, PEOPLE WHO LIVE IN GLASS HOUSES SHOULD NOT THROW STONES, ROLLING STONE GATHERS NO MOSS.

[stone-blind]{adj. phr.} 1. Completely blind. •/Poor Al is stone-blind and needs help to get across the street carefully./ 2. Highly intoxicated. •/George drank too much and got stone-blind at the office party./ See: GET STONED, THREE SHEETS TO THE WIND.

[stone-broke] or [dead broke] or [flat broke] {adj.}, {informal} Having no money; penniless. •/Jill wanted to go to the movies but she was stone-broke./ •/The man gambled and was soon flat broke./

[stone-cold]{adj.} Having no warmth; completely cold. — Used to describe things that are better when warm. •/The boys who got up late found their breakfast stone-cold./ •/The furnace went off and the radiators were stone-cold./

[stone-dead]{adj.}, {informal} Showing no signs of life; completely dead. •/Barry tried to revive the frozen robin but it was stone-dead./

[stone-deaf]{adj. phr.} Completely deaf. •/Sam is stone-deaf so let him read your lips if you know no sign language./

[stone wall] or [brick wall] {adj.} Something hard to overcome; an idea or belief that is hard to change. •/The students ran into a brick wall when they asked the principal to put off the examination./ •/Dick tried to change Father’s mind about letting him use the car Saturday night, but he was up against a stone wall./

[stone’s throw] or [within a stone’s throw] {adv. phr.} Within a very short distance. •/They live across the street from us, just within a stone’s throw./ See: HOP, SKIP AND A JUMP.

[stool pigeon]{n.} A criminal who informs on his associates. •/The detective was able to solve the crime mainly through information obtained from a stool pigeon./

[stop] See: PUT AN END TO(1), or PUT A STOP TO.

[stop at nothing]{v. phr.} To be unscrupulous. •/Al will stop at nothing to get Nancy to go out with him./

[stop by] See: DROP BY.

[stop cold] or [stop dead] or [stop in one’s tracks] {v. phr.}, {informal} To stop very quickly or with great force. •/The hunter pulled the trigger and stopped the deer cold./ •/When I saw Mary on the street, I was so surprised I stopped dead./ •/The deer heard a noise and he stopped in his tracks./

[stop off]{v.} To stop at a place for a short time while going somewhere. •/We stopped off after school at the soda fountain before going home./ •/On our trip to California we stopped off in Las Vegas for two days./

[stop over]{v.} To stay at a place overnight or for some other short time while on a trip elsewhere. •/When we came back from California, we stopped over one night near the Grand Canyon./

[stop short]{v. phr.} To suddenly stop. •/Jake stopped short when he heard somebody yell out his name loud but there was no one in sight./

[stop street]{n.} A street where cars must come to a full stop before crossing another street. •/Johnny was late because he traveled on a stop street./ Contrast: THROUGH STREET.

[stop the show]{v. phr.} To elicit such a strong applause from the audience that the show is interrupted. •/Pavarotti’s rendition of "O sole mio" always stops the show./

[stop up]{v. phr.} To block; close. •/If you want to get rid of the leak, you must stop up the two holes you have in the ceiling./

[store] See: DIME STORE, IN STORE, SET STORE BY, VARIETY STORE.

[storm] See: TAKE BY STORM.

[story] See: OLD STORY, SOB STORY, UPPER STORY.

[stow away]{v.} 1. {informal} To pack or store away. •/After New Year’s Day the Christmas decorations were stowed away until another season./ 2. To hide on a ship or another kind of transportation to get a free ride. •/John ran away from home and stowed away on a freighter going to Jamaica./

[straight] See: GO STRAIGHT, SHOOT STRAIGHT.

[straighten out]{v.} To correct a mistake; make you realize you are wrong. •/The teacher saw Jim’s awkward sentence on the board and asked for volunteers to straighten it out./ •/Sometimes only a good spanking will straighten out a naughty child./ Syn.: SQUARE AWAY(2).

[straighten up]{v.} To put in order; make neat. •/Vic had to straighten up his room before he could go swimming./ •/Mrs. Johnson straightened up the house before company came./ Compare: PICK UP(6b), SQUARE AWAY.

[straight face]{n.} A face that is not laughing or smiling. •/Mary told all the funny stories she knew to try to make Joan laugh, but Joan kept a straight face./ •/It is hard to tell when Jim is teasing you. He can tell a fib with a straight face./ •/When Bob fell into the water, he looked funny and I could hardly keep a straight face./

[straight from the horse’s mouth]{slang} Directly from the person or place where it began; from a reliable source or a person that cannot be doubted. •/They are going to be married. I got the news straight from the horse’s mouth — their minister./ •/John found out about the painting straight from the horse’s mouth, from the painter himself./

[straight from the shoulder]{adv. phr.}, {informal} In an open and honest way of speaking; without holding back anything because of fear or politeness or respect for someone’s feelings; frankly. •/John asked what he had done wrong. Bob told him straight from the shoulder./ •/The candidate for Congress spoke out against his opponent’s dishonesty straight from the shoulder./ Contrast: PULL ONE’S PUNCHES.