American Heritage Dictionary of Idioms

SEED.

run to earth Also, run to ground. Track down, find, as in Somehow we have to run those relatives of hers to earth, or It won't be easy, but I'm sure we can run that jewelry to ground. This expression comes from hunting, where hounds run their quarry to the earth or ground, that is, to their lair. Its figurative use dates from the mid-1800s.

run to form Also, run true to form. Act as one expects, especially in keeping with previous behavior. For example, She ran to form, arriving an hour late, or The door-to-door campaign was running true to form, with solicitors always arriving at dinnertime. This term origi

nally was used for race horses running as expected from their previous record; it was transferred to human behavior in the late 1800s.

run to seed Also, go to seed. Become devitalized or worn out; deteriorate, as in I went back to visit my old elementary school, and sadly, it has really run to seed, or The gold medalist quickly went to seed after he left competition. This term alludes to plants that, when allowed to set seed after flowering, either taste bitter, as in the case of lettuce, or do not send out new buds, as is true of annual flowers. Its figurative use dates from the first half of the 1800s.

run up

1. Make or become greater or larger, as in That offer will run up the price of the stock. [Late 1500s] 2. Accumulate, as in She ran up huge bills at the florist. [First half of 1700s] 3. Sew rapidly, as in I can run up some new curtains for the kitchen. [Mid-1800s] 4. Raise a flag, as in Let's run up the flag in time for the holiday. This usage, originating in the navy about 1900, gave rise to the slangy phrase, Let's run it up the flagpole and see if anybody salutes, meaning, "Let's try this out." The latter originated about 1960 as advertising jargon.

run wild

hand. see RUN AMOK.

run with

1. Also, run around with. Socialize with; see RUN AROUND, def. 2. 2. Take as one's own, adopt; also, carry out enthusiastically. For example, He wanted to run with the idea and go public immediately. 3. run with the hare, hunt with the hounds. Support two opposing sides at the same time, as in He wants to increase the magazine's circulation along with its price?

that's trying to run with the hare and hunt with the hounds. This expression, alluding to being both hunter and hunted at the same time, dates from the 1400s and was already a proverb in John Heywood's 1546 collection.

rush

hand. see BUM'S RUSH; FOOLS RUSH IN WHERE ANGELS FEAR TO TREAD; MAD RUSH; (RUSH) OFF SOMEONE'S FEET.

rustle up

Get together food or some other needed item with some effort, as in I don't know what we have but I'll rustle up a meal somehow, or You boys need to rustle up some wood for a campfire. The verb rustle here means "to assemble in a hurry." [Late 1800s]

rut

hand. see IN A RUT.

S

saber rattling

A flamboyant display of military power; also, aggressive blustering. For example, There had been a great deal of saber rattling between the two nations but hostilities had never broken out. This term, originating about 1920 and alluding to an officer indicating he would draw his saber, at first referred to threatening military force but later was extended to more general use, as in Both candidates engaged in pre-debate saber rattling.

sack

hand. In addition to the idiom beginning with SACK, also see GET THE AX (SACK); HIT

THE HAY (SACK); SAD SACK.

sackcloth and ashes

Mourning or penitence, as in What I did to Julie's child was terrible, and I've been in sackcloth and ashes ever since. This term refers to the ancient Hebrew custom of indicating humility before God by wearing a coarse cloth, normally used to make sacks, and dusting oneself with ashes. In English it appeared in William Tyndale's 1526 biblical translations (Matthew 11:21), "They [the cities Tyre and Sidon] had repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes."

sack out

Go to sleep, go to bed, as in We sacked out about midnight. This slangy idiom is a verbal use of the noun sack, slang for "bed" since about 1940; it alludes to a sleeping bag and appears in such similar phrases as in the sack, in bed, and sack time, bedtime.

sacred cow

A person or thing immune to criticism or questioning, as in The rules governing the press conference have become a sacred cow in this administration. This term alludes to the honored status of cows in Hinduism, where they are a symbol of God's generosity to humankind. It has been used figuratively since about 1900.

sadder but wiser

Unhappy but having learned from one's mistakes, as in Sadder but wiser, she's never going near poison ivy again. The pairing of these two adjectives was first recorded in Samuel Coleridge's The

hand. In addition to the idioms beginning with SAIL, also see (SAIL UNDER) FALSE

COLORS; PLAIN SAILING; SET SAIL; SMOOTH SAILING; TAKE THE WIND OUT OF ONE'S SAILS; TRIM ONE'S SAILS.

sail close to the wind

Be on the verge of doing something illegal or improper, as in She was sailing pretty close to the wind when she called him a liar. This term alludes to the danger incurred when literally sailing too close to (that is, in the direction of) the wind. Its figurative use dates from the first half of the 1800s.

sail into

Attack or criticize vigorously, as in It was part of his technique to sail into the sales force at the start of their end-of-the-year meeting. This term derives from sail in the sense of "move vigorously." [Mid1800s]

sail through Also, sail right through. Accomplish quickly and easily, make easy progress through, as in He sailed through the written test in no time, or We sailed right through customs.

This expression alludes to a boat moving quickly and easily through the water. [Mid-1900s]

sail under false colors

hand. see under FALSE COLORS.

sake

hand. see FOR THE SAKE OF.

salad days

The time of youth, innocence, and inexperience, as in Back in our salad days we went anywhere at night, never thinking about whether it was safe or not. This expression, alluding to the greenness of inexperience, was probably invented by Shakespeare in Antony and Cleopatra (1:5), when Cleopatra, now enamored of Antony, speaks of her early admiration for Julius Caesar as foolish: "My salad days, when I was green in judgment, cold in blood."

sale

hand. see CLOSE THE SALE; ON SALE; WHITE SALE.

sales pitch

A line of talk that attempts to persuade someone of something, as in Let's hear your latest sales pitch for energy conservation. This term uses the noun pitch in the sense of "a talk," or more literally, a throwing of words at one. [Slang; late 1800s]

salt

hand. In addition to the idioms beginning with SALT, also see BACK TO THE SALT

MINES; WITH A GRAIN OF SALT.

salt away Also, salt down. Keep in reserve, store, save, as in He salted away most of his earnings in a bank account. This idiom alludes to using salt as a food preservative. [Mid-1800s]

salt of the earth, the

The best or noblest of their kind, as in These campers are the salt of the earth. This metaphoric term was used by Jesus for those who were persecuted for being loyal to him (Matthew 5:13) and has been repeated ever since.

Samaritan

hand. see GOOD SAMARITAN.

same

hand. In addition to the idioms beginning with SAME, also see ALL THE SAME;

AMOUNT TO THE SAME THING; AT THE SAME TIME; BY THE SAME TOKEN; CAST IN THE SAME MOLD; GREAT MINDS (RUN IN THE SAME CHANNEL); IN THE SAME BOAT; IN THE SAME BREATH; IN THE SAME LEAGUE; ONE AND THE SAME; ON THE SAME WAVELENGTH.

same difference

No difference at all, the same thing, as in She's my sister, or stepsister?

same difference. This jocular colloquial phrase dates from about 1940.

same here Also, the same with me. Me too, I agree, as in I think she was lying all along.?

Same here, or I couldn't sleep because of the noise.?

The same with me. The first phrase is also used in an order for food or drink to indicate one wants the same thing as the previous person ordering; for example, One more beer, please.?

Same here. [Colloquial; late 1800s]

same old story, the Also, the same old rigmarole. A frequently recurring event or situation, as in It's the same old story?

they won't hire you without experience but how can you get experience if you're not hired? Both these expressions originally alluded to a tiresome, rambling discourse but today are used mainly for an irksome recurrence. The first gained currency during World War II with a song, "As Time Goes By," popularized in the film Casablanca (1942).

same to you

I wish you the same (as you have wished me), as in Merry Christmas!?

Same to you. [Late 1800s]

as in I was having a hard time changing the flat tire but along came Bud, who saved my bacon, or The boat capsized in icy waters, but the life preservers saved our skins. The allusion in the first term is no longer clear. It may simply be a comical way of referring to one's body or one's life. At the time it was first recorded, in 1654, bacon was a prized commodity, so perhaps saving one's bacon was tantamount to keeping something precious. Both variants allude to saving one's life, the one with skin dating from the early 1500s, and with neck, alluding to beheading, from the late 1600s.

save one's breath

Refrain from arguing about a lost cause, as in You can save your breath; I'm not going to change my mind. This term was also put as save your breath to cool your porridge (or broth), that is, by not blowing on the too hot liquid. The idea of not expending one's breath to say something another person doesn't want to hear dates from the early 1700s.

save the day

Prevent a misfortune, as in They had forgotten the knife to cut the wedding cake, but Elizabeth arrived with one and saved the day.

save up

Accumulate something for a particular purpose, as in Jan had been saving up her allowance for a new bicycle. [First half of 1800s]

saving grace, a

A redeeming quality, especially one compensating for drawbacks or negative characteristics. For example, She may not be too knowledgeable, but her saving grace is that she doesn't pretend to be. This term, dating from the late 1500s, at first referred to the concept of being saved from eternal damnation, and was used more loosely only from the late 1800s on.

hand. see OLD SAW.

say

hand. In addition to the idioms beginning with SAY, also see BEFORE YOU CAN SAY

JACK ROBINSON; CRY (SAY) UNCLE; DO AS I SAY; GET ONE'S SAY; GIVE (SAY) THE WORD; GO WITHOUT (SAYING); HAVE A SAY IN; I DARE SAY; I' LL SAY; NEEDLESS TO SAY; NEVER SAY DIE; NEVER SAY NEVER; NOT TO MENTION (SAY NOTHING OF); ON ONE'S SAY-SO; STRANGE TO SAY; SUFFICE IT TO SAY; THAT IS (TO SAY); TO SAY THE LEAST; YOU CAN SAY THAT AGAIN; YOU DON'T SAY. Also see UNDER SAID.

say a mouthful

Utter something important or meaningful, as in You said a mouthful when you called him a fine

something is so scarce as to be nonexistent. [Mid-1800s]

scarcely ever

hand. see HARDLY EVER.

scare

hand. In addition to the idioms beginning with SCARE, also see RUN SCARED.

scare out of one's wits Also, frighten out of one's wits; scare stiff or silly or to death or the living daylights out of or the pants off. Terrify, make one panic, as in When the lights went out, she was scared out of her wits, or I was scared stiff that I would fail the driver's test.

The first of these hyperbolic terms, scare out of one's wits, is the oldest and, like silly, suggests one is frightened enough to lose one's mind. The verb scare dates from about 1200, and out of one's wits was first recorded in William Tyndale's translation of the Bible in 1526 (I Corinthians 14:23): "Will they not say that ye are out of your wits?" They were first put together in 1697, the same period from which came scare out of one's seven senses, a usage now obsolete. The variant using daylights, which sometimes occurs without living, dates from the 1950s. Daylights at one time referred to the eyes but here means "vital organs." Frighten to death was first recorded in Charles Dickens's Barnaby Rudge (1840) and scare to death probably appeared about the same time. However, to death used as an intensifier dates from the 1500s. These terms allude to the fact that a sudden fright can precipitate cardiac arrest. Scare stiff, first recorded in 1905, alludes to the temporary paralysis that can accompany intense fear. For the last variant, see also under

PANTS OFF.

scare up Also, scrape together or up. Assemble or produce with considerable effort, as in We managed to scare up extra chairs for the unexpectedly large audience, or He managed to scrape together enough cash to buy two more tickets. The first term alludes to scare in the sense of "flush game out of cover" and dates from the mid-1800s; the variant, alluding to scratching or clawing for something, was first recorded in 1549. Also see SCRAPE UP AN ACQUAINTANCE.

scarlet woman

A prostitute, an immoral woman, as in Malicious gossip had it that she was a scarlet woman, which was quite untrue. This expression first appeared in Revelation 17:5, describing Saint John's vision of a woman in scarlet clothes with an inscription on her forehead, "Mystery, Babylon the Great, the mother of harlots and abominations of the earth." Some interpreters believe she stood for Rome, drunk with the blood of saints, but by about 1700 the term was being used more generally for a woman with loose morals.

scene

hand. see BEHIND THE SCENES; MAKE A SCENE; MAKE THE SCENE; ON THE SCENE; SET THE SCENE FOR.

scent

hand. see THROW OFF, def. 3.