[Sunday] See: MONTH OF SUNDAYS.

[Sunday best] or [Sunday-go-to-meeting clothes] See: BEST BIB AND TUCKER.

[sunny-side up]{adj.} Fried on one side only. •/Barbara likes her eggs sunny-side up./

[supper] See: COVERED-DISH SUPPER or POTLUCK SUPPER.

[supply] See: IN SHORT SUPPLY.

[sure] See: FOR SURE, MAKE SURE, TO BE SURE.

[sure enough]{adv.} As expected. •/Charles was afraid he had done badly on the test, and sure enough, his grade was failing./ •/The children saw a familiar shape coming up the street and hoped it was their lost dog. When it came near, sure enough, it was Spot./ Compare: SURE THING(2).

[sure-enough]{adj.} Real; genuine. •/Rick found a sure-enough nickel./ •/Martha’s uncle gave her a sure-enough pearl on a little gold chain./ •/Jane’s uncle is a sure-enough cowboy./

[surefire]{adj.} Without fail; effective; bringing actual results. •/During a campaign the only surefire way to get the sympathy of the voters is to mingle with them in person./

[sure thing] 1. {n.}, {informal} Something sure to happen; something about which there is no doubt. •/It’s no fun betting on a sure thing./ 2. {adv.} Of course; certainly •/Sure thing, I’ll be glad to do it for you./ Compare: FOR SURE(2), SURE ENOUGH.

[surface] See: SCRATCH THE SURFACE.

[surprise] See: TAKE BY SURPRISE.

[survival of the fittest]{n. phr.} The staying alive or in action of the best prepared; often: idea that those living things best able to adjust to life survive and those unable to adjust die out. •/Life in the old West was often a case of survival of the fittest./ •/With changes in the world’s climate, dinosaurs died but many smaller animals lived on. It was survival of the fittest./ •/On the 50-mile hike it was survival of the fittest; only 12 out of 25 Scouts finished./

[suspicion] See: ABOVE SUSPICION.

[swallow] See: LOOK LIKE THE CAT THAT ATE THE CANARY.

[swallow hook, line, and sinker] See: HOOK, LINE, AND SINKER.

[swallow one’s pride]{v. phr.} To bring your pride under control; humble yourself. •/After Bill lost the race, he swallowed his pride and shook hands with the winner./ Compare: EAT ONE’S WORDS,

[swallow one’s words] 1. To speak unclearly; fail to put enough breath into your words. •/Phyllis was hard to understand because she swallowed her words./ 2. See: EAT ONE’S WORDS.

[swallow up]{v. phr.} To do away with; absorb; engulf. •/My expenses are so great that they swallow up my modest salary./

[swan song]{n. phr.}, {literary} A farewell or last appearance. •/The famous soprano gave her swan song in La Traviata before she retired./

[SWAT team]{n.}, {informal} Police unit trained for especially hazardous or sensitive law-enforcement assignments; short for Special Weapons and Tactics. •/Joe made the SWAT team of the NYPD due to his athletic skills./

[swathe] See: CUT A SWATHE.

[swear by]{v.} 1. To use as the support or authority that what you are saying is truthful; take an oath upon. •/A witness swears by the Bible that he will tell the truth./ •/In ancient Greece a doctor swore by Apollo, the god of healing, that he would be a good doctor./ •/John swore by his honor he would return the bike./ 2. To have complete confidence in; be sure of; trust completely. •/When John has to go somewhere fast, he swears by his bike to get there./ •/We can be sure that Fred will come on time, since his friend Tom swears by him./

[swear in] or [swear into] {v.} To have a person swear or promise to do his duty as a member or an officer of an organization, government department, or similar group. — "Swear into" is used when the name of the group is given. •/Mary and Ann will be sworn into the club tonight./ •/Fred was sworn in as class president./ •/Many new men were sworn into the army last month./ •/At the inauguration, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court swore in the new President./

[swear off]{v.}, {informal} To give up something you like or you have got in the habit of using by making a promise. •/Mary swore off candy until she lost ten pounds./ •/John has sworn off dessert for Lent./

[swear out]{v.} To get (a written order to do something) by swearing that a person has broken the law. •/The policeman swore out a warrant for the suspect’s arrest./ •/The detectives swore out a search warrant./

[sweat] See: BY THE SWEAT OF ONE’S BROW.

[sweat blood]{v. phr.}, {slang} 1. To be very much worried. •/The engine of the airplane stopped, and the pilot sweated blood as he glided to a safe landing./ 2. To work very hard. •/Jim sweated blood to finish his composition on time./

[sweat out]{v.}, {informal} To wait anxiously; worry while waiting. •/Karl was sweating out the results of the college exams./ •/The search plane signaled that help was on the way. The men in the lifeboat just had to sweat it out./

[Sweeney] See: TELL IT TO THE MARINES or TELL IT TO SWEENEY.

[sweep] See: NEW BROOM SWEEPS CLEAN.

[sweep off one’s feet]{v. phr.} To make (someone) have feelings (as love or happiness) too strong to control; overcome with strong feeling; win sudden and complete acceptance by (someone) through the feelings. •/The handsome football captain swept Joan off her feet when he said so many things to her at the dance./ •/Joan was swept off her feet when the football captain started flirting with her./ •/Mary is swept off her feet whenever she hears a band start playing./ •/John was swept off his feet when he won the contest./ Compare: BOWL OVER (2), CARRY AWAY.

[sweep out of]{v. phr.} To leave in an impressive, majestic manner. •/Offended by Tim’s remark, Mary swept out of the room with her head high in the air./

[sweep the city] or [country] or [nation] or [world] {v. phr.} To gain great attention or popularity throughout the city, country, etc. •/Pavarotti’s unmatched tenor voice swept the world in an unprecedented manner./

[sweep under the rug]{v. phr.} To hide or dismiss casually (something one is ashamed of or does not know what to do about). •/In many places, drug abuse by school children is swept under the rug./

[sweet] See: SHORT AND SWEET.

[sweetie pie]{n.}, {informal} A person who is loved; darling; sweetheart. •/Arnold blushed with pleasure when Annie called him her sweetie pie./ •/Nancy is Bill’s sweetie pie./

[sweet on]{adj. phr.}, {informal} In love with; very fond of. •/John is sweet on Alice./

[sweet talk] 1. {n.}, {informal} Too much praise; flattery. •/Sometimes a girl’s better judgment is overcome by sweet talk./ 2. {v.}, {informal} To get what you want by great praise; flatter. •/Polly could sweet talk her husband into anything./

[sweet tooth]{n. phr.} A great weakness or predilection for sweets. •/Sue has such a sweet tooth that she hardly eats anything else but cake./

[swelled head]{n.}, {informal} A feeling that you are very important or more important than you really are. •/When John won the race, he got a swelled head./ •/Pretty girls shouldn’t get a swelled head about it./ — [swell-headed] {adj. phr.} •/After he was elected captain of the team, Bob became swell-headed./ Compare: BIG HEAD.